Post by Gingerbread Man on Jul 22, 2014 12:13:55 GMT
Ok, a woman in my office who worked on her degree while at work just graduated with a masters in business. She just sent me this gem with this note:
She wrote "I know that I make common mistakes when writing, maybe this can assist you as well. Just something that I ran across."
And attached this:
10 GRAMMATICAL
ERRORS THAT CAN
UNDERMINE YOUR
TECHNICAL WRITING
When writing for technical audiences it is obviously important for the technology
content to be correct. However, there is another element that also needs
attention: grammar. Poor grammar is unlikely to score you many points when
trying to get content placed with a magazine or website. This is because an
editor is less likely to publish a piece in which he or she needs to invest
considerable time correcting grammatical errors. It will also introduce a certain
amount of wariness surrounding future submitted pieces.
Even if you are publishing your own content it is just as (if not more) important to
get things right because you have no editorial safety net to protect you from
falling flat on your face.
One way of minimizing mistakes is to familiarize yourself with a few everyday
banana skins that have been catching writers unawares for centuries. As a
starting point, the list below offers 10 of the most common items that can lead to
errors, together with examples of their correct use. You have been warned!
1. Your/you’re – if in doubt, replace the apostrophe with the missing letter to
check if the sentence still makes sense.
Your next project will be huge
You’re going to need extra resources (contraction of ‘you are’)
2. Its/It’s – as above. Note that, unlike nouns, ‘it’ does not take a possessive
mark.
Its potential is huge
It’s going to demand lots of time (contraction of ‘it is’)
3. There/they’re/their.
There will be additional payments for production workers
They’re getting extra shifts ready to cope with demand (contraction of ‘they
are’)
Their time will have to be used efficiently (group possessive)
4. The possessive apostrophe – its position depends on whether the word
is singular or plural.
The owner’s position was clear (There is a single owner)
The owners’ position was clear (There are multiple owners)
5. Affect/effect. These are, respectively, verb and noun. ‘Effect’ can also be
used as a verb but, in that case, has a different meaning.
It will affect the number of deliveries required (verb)
The effect on our logistics will be considerable (noun)
6. Compliment/complement. These are often confused. The former is an
expression of praise; the latter relates to completing a group or entity.
We need to complement our team with a subcontractor
It’s a huge compliment to our management team
7. To/too.
I’ve got to speak with our sales manager
I’ve got too many jobs to do
8. Lead/led. ‘Led’ is the past tense of ‘lead’; the common mistake is to use
‘lead’ as the past tense.
Apparently he wanted to lead the team
He’s always led them to believe otherwise
9. In to/into.
He walked in to the office yesterday
He went into business with someone else
10. Finally, one that annoys editors the world over – the random use of
capital letters, often to simply emphasize a word. Stick to the rules, capital
letters at the start of sentences, for proper nouns such as the names of people
and places, and for ‘I’. That’s all folks.
How do you get though a degree at all if you haven't mastered basic grammar?
She wrote "I know that I make common mistakes when writing, maybe this can assist you as well. Just something that I ran across."
And attached this:
10 GRAMMATICAL
ERRORS THAT CAN
UNDERMINE YOUR
TECHNICAL WRITING
When writing for technical audiences it is obviously important for the technology
content to be correct. However, there is another element that also needs
attention: grammar. Poor grammar is unlikely to score you many points when
trying to get content placed with a magazine or website. This is because an
editor is less likely to publish a piece in which he or she needs to invest
considerable time correcting grammatical errors. It will also introduce a certain
amount of wariness surrounding future submitted pieces.
Even if you are publishing your own content it is just as (if not more) important to
get things right because you have no editorial safety net to protect you from
falling flat on your face.
One way of minimizing mistakes is to familiarize yourself with a few everyday
banana skins that have been catching writers unawares for centuries. As a
starting point, the list below offers 10 of the most common items that can lead to
errors, together with examples of their correct use. You have been warned!
1. Your/you’re – if in doubt, replace the apostrophe with the missing letter to
check if the sentence still makes sense.
Your next project will be huge
You’re going to need extra resources (contraction of ‘you are’)
2. Its/It’s – as above. Note that, unlike nouns, ‘it’ does not take a possessive
mark.
Its potential is huge
It’s going to demand lots of time (contraction of ‘it is’)
3. There/they’re/their.
There will be additional payments for production workers
They’re getting extra shifts ready to cope with demand (contraction of ‘they
are’)
Their time will have to be used efficiently (group possessive)
4. The possessive apostrophe – its position depends on whether the word
is singular or plural.
The owner’s position was clear (There is a single owner)
The owners’ position was clear (There are multiple owners)
5. Affect/effect. These are, respectively, verb and noun. ‘Effect’ can also be
used as a verb but, in that case, has a different meaning.
It will affect the number of deliveries required (verb)
The effect on our logistics will be considerable (noun)
6. Compliment/complement. These are often confused. The former is an
expression of praise; the latter relates to completing a group or entity.
We need to complement our team with a subcontractor
It’s a huge compliment to our management team
7. To/too.
I’ve got to speak with our sales manager
I’ve got too many jobs to do
8. Lead/led. ‘Led’ is the past tense of ‘lead’; the common mistake is to use
‘lead’ as the past tense.
Apparently he wanted to lead the team
He’s always led them to believe otherwise
9. In to/into.
He walked in to the office yesterday
He went into business with someone else
10. Finally, one that annoys editors the world over – the random use of
capital letters, often to simply emphasize a word. Stick to the rules, capital
letters at the start of sentences, for proper nouns such as the names of people
and places, and for ‘I’. That’s all folks.
How do you get though a degree at all if you haven't mastered basic grammar?
