Common Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Although it can be tedious, correct grammar and punctuation are important to writing. It makes the message clearer and easier to read. To become a better writer, consider some of these common writing mistakes and how to avoid them.

Incomplete or Fragmented Sentences. Every sentence should have a subject and a verb. In addition, the sentence must have a main clause since a dependent clause cannot stand on its own. For example the dependent clause "Because it was 10 o'clock" will not work. It has a subject and a verb but it cannot stand alone. Instead it should read, "Because it was 10 o'clock the store was closed." It could also read, "It was 10 o'clock." The "because" is what turns it into a dependent clause, and without it, the sentence can stand alone. Sometimes in dialogue, though, a dependent clause is allowed. To avoid incomplete sentences check for a subject and verb in each sentence, then check for a main clause.

Confusing Words. Be aware of words that are similar in spelling or sound. Often, these words are used in the wrong way. For example, "affect" and "effect" are often used incorrectly. "Affect" is a verb, while "effect" is usually a noun.

Affect: The snowstorm affected the results of the race.

Effect: The snowstorm created serious side effects to the race.

To learn about other confusing words visit Words That Are Often Confused.

Run-On Sentences. A run-on sentence consists of two or more main clauses or thoughts that are run together in one sentence. Some sentences, although technically correct, are easier to read if they are broken into shorter sentences. To avoid run-on sentences, review each sentence to see whether it contains more than one independent clause. If there is more than one independent clause make sure the clauses are separated by appropriate punctuation. Sometimes, though, you may choose to break the two clauses into two separate sentences.

Wrong: She walked past the theater slowly she wished she could see the movie. Co

Correct: She walked past the theater slowly. She wished she could see the movie.

Word Choice. Journaling can often seem boring or bland when the writer chooses words that are not descriptive or exciting. A sentence like "It was a nice day" tells very little about the day because "nice" is not very descriptive. Rather than using words like "walked," "talked," or "happy," try "swaggered," "whispered" or "thrilled." Be careful not to overuse such words, though, because then the effectiveness is lost!

OK: He had a sandwich and went home.

Better: He grabbed a ham sandwich off the counter and ate it while running for home.

Spellchecker. Do NOT rely on your computer's spell-check device. It will not catch everything, especially grammatical errors. For example, did you mean "they're," "there" or "their"? A spellchecker will not know. A paper or electronic dictionary will help. If you look up the word and it's not what you want, look up similar-sounding words until you find the one you want.

Parallelism. When a sentence lists a series of items, keep these items in parallel form. An easy way to check this is to mentally write the items as a list and make sure they are all in the same format.

Wrong: He went to the party to eat popcorn, drink and for singing a song.

Correct: He went to the party to eat, drink and sing. OR He went to the party to eat popcorn, drink lemonade, and sing a song.

In the incorrect sentence, the list of items would look like this:

• eat popcorn
• drink
• for singing a song

The first two use the infinitive form of the verb, and the last one uses a prepositional phrase.

Clear Pronouns. Make sure the subject and the pronouns are clear. Pronouns such as "he," "she" and "they" can be unclear in a sentence. Check to make sure it is clear which noun the pronoun is referring to in the sentence.

Unclear: Jackie entered her sister's room to get her blanket. (The last "her" is unclear. Is it Jackie's blanket or her sister's blanket?)

Clear: Jackie entered her sister's room to get her sister's blanket. OR When Jackie discovered her blanket was missing, she entered her sister's room to get it.

Singular and Plural Pronouns. Make sure that the pronoun form agrees with the antecedent. , For example, if the pronoun is replacing a plural subject, use a plural pronoun.

Many people make this mistake because they do not want to be gender-specific.

Wrong: If you see the postal worker, hand them this letter.

Correct: If you see the postal worker, hand him or her this letter.

Apostrophes. Apostrophes indicate possession and form contractions. Do not use an apostrophe to indicate a plural form of a word.

Wrong: The dog's need to go for a walk.

Correct: The dogs need to go for a walk.

For possession, use an apostrophe followed by ‘s' for singular nouns, and an apostrophe alone for plurals. For example, "The dog's collar is blue." and "The dogs' collars are blue."

Apostrophes are also used for contractions. For example, "He's six feet tall."

All writers make mistakes in their initial writing and they need to proofread for spelling and grammar errors. Avoid errors by examining each word in the paper individually and by reading carefully. Reading the paper aloud can help you make sure you haven't missed or repeated any words. Best yet, have someone else read your text.