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Improve your writing
@ Mods.
Pardon me for USING RED color of Font a lot, it was necessary for elaborating in a detailed way. 10 simple things you can do to improve your writing Maybe you’ve never penned a single blog entry, never been asked to write a progress report, never had to read over a colleague’s work for errors, and never had to send a critically important e-mail message to your boss. If that’s the case, you’re free to go now. But for most of us, a certain amount of writing is part of our job — and unfortunately, our efforts aren’t always as effective as they should be. The good thing about following a few rules in your writing, even if some of them seem arbitrary or trivial, is that it frees you up to concentrate on what you’re trying to say instead of trying to figure out why something doesn’t sound right or worrying that it’s just plain wrong. 1: Echoes Bad practice: Repeated words or phrases set up an echo in the reader’s head or a “Didn’t I just read that?” glitch that can be distracting. Example:
2: Nonparallel list items Bad practice: We often use an inconsistent structure for lists or headings, mostly in computing. Example: We will cover these topics:
3: Agreement problems Bad practice: Sometimes we lose track of what the subject is, and our verb doesn’t match. Examples:
4: Referring to companies, organizations, etc., as “they” Bad practice: A company — or any collective group that’s being referred to as a single entity — is often treated as plural, but it shouldn’t be. Examples:
5: Hyphenating “ly” adverbs Bad practice: “ly” adverbs never take a hyphen, but they pop up a lot. Examples:
6: Using “which” instead of “that” Bad practice: We sometimes use “which” to set off an essential clause (instead of “that”). Examples:
7: Wordy constructions; deadwood phrases Nothing is worse for a reader than having to slog through a sea of unnecessary verbiage. Here are a few culprits to watch for in your own writing. Has the ability to can At this point in time now Due to the fact that because In order to to In the event that if Prior to the start of before 8: Using “that” instead of “who” Bad practice: Some writers use “that” to refer to people. Examples:
9: Inconsistent use of the final serial comma Bad practice: One convention says to use a comma to set off the final item in a series of three or more items; another (equally popular) convention says to leave it out. But some writers bounce between the two rules. Examples:
10: Using a comma to join two dependent clauses Bad practice: Commas are a great source of controversy and often the victim of misguided personal discretion. But there is this rule: Two dependent clauses don’t need one. Examples:
Source: Tech Republic |
The Following User Says Thank You to Surmount For This Useful Post: | ||
goshi (Friday, October 17, 2008) |
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