Ten Tips for Better Writing

As a copy editor I come across many common mistakes in writing, most of them from otherwise smart people. The more forgivable mistakes come from a lack of awareness; the less forgivable are a result of laziness. Bad writing not only makes you look bad, it's insulting to the person reading it. Whether you're writing an e-mail to a colleague, a newsletter to clients, or a paper for a grade or publication, your writing matters. You do not need to be a stellar grammarian or wordsmith to produce decent writing. You just need to care. You've made an excellent first step by reading this article. Based on common mistakes, the following are ten tips to help improve your writing.

Tip 1: Take Pride in Your Writing

No matter who you are or how often you write, your writing has a voice. More than anything you do not want this voice to convey indolence, apathy, or sloppiness, especially if you are not indolent, apathetic, or sloppy. I put this as Tip 1 because the most important first step. With pride comes a willingness to put forth an effort, something that is always appreciated. Don't worry-I ask for only a little effort. I will not be suggesting that you read the Chicago Manual of Style, fifteenth edition, from beginning to end. (But if you feel so moved I will never stop you. Be sure to have Post-its nearby to flag your favorite pages.)

Tip 2: Use a Dictionary

No, really. Not only does it come in handy for knowing the proper use of a word, it'll ensure correct spelling. The most commonly misspelled words are compound words, and for some reason we're obsessed with hyphenating prefixes-more often than not a hyphen should not be used. Some examples: snakelike (not snake-like), reelect (not re-elect), noncommittal (not non-committal), and the like. See Chicago Manual of Style 7.82 to 7.90 for further guidance. Using a dictionary is not as much of a hassle as you think. If you don't already own one, I recommend Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, eleventh edition. This particular dictionary is commonly used by publishers. My favorite part of this dictionary: the CD-ROM. This places the dictionary right on your computer and allows you type in the word you seek instead of needing to flip through pages. It's an incredible time saver, taking only seconds to check a word (and reducing the validity of any excuse to not check the word). You do lose the opportunity to mark off each word you look up, a la Diane Court, but it should increase your dictionary usage, which makes us all a little better. Until you spend your money well on a dictionary, check out Merriam-Webster Online at www.merriam-webster.com. Make sure that whatever dictionary you own is the most recent edition; new words will have been added and the spelling and use of old words will have changed, most often a compound word that was once two words or hyphenated will have been made into one word based on increased usage.

Tip 3: Use the Correct Pronoun

Even if you can't recite the definition of a pronoun, you know what it is, and you use it often. A pronoun is a substitute word for a noun (I, me, you, it, he, him, she, her, we, us, they, them, each other, one another, myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves, someone, everyone, nobody, anybody, etc.). These pronouns can be broken down into categories: personal, possessive, reciprocal, reflexive, object, subject. You do not need to know all of these to be a better writer. The biggest rule to remember is agreement. The most common mistake made regarding agreement is the use of "he or she" versus "they." Make sure your pronoun matches the subject, plural versus singular. For example, "A writer should use correct pronouns when they write" is incorrect. Writer is the subject, and it is singular, so the pronoun should be "he or she." "A writer should use correct pronouns when he or she writes." If the reader knows the writer (subject) is male or female, it is okay to use "he" or "she" alone; if speaking generally, make sure you avoid sexist writing by using "he or she." Even better, make the subject of such statements plural: "Writers should use correct pronouns when they write." Note as well if you are writing in the first person ("I am a writer"), second person ("you are a writer"), or third person ("he or she is a writer"). "When a person writes, you should use correct pronouns" is incorrect. "When a person writes, he or she should use correct pronouns" or "When you write, you should use correct pronouns" is correct.

Tip 4: Do Not Use an Apostrophe to Pluralize

Apostrophes denote possession or missing letters or numbers in an abbreviation: "That's Tara's cookie." It is never correct to use an apostrophe to pluralize. "Tara grew up in the 1980s" is correct. Simply pay attention to this while writing and especially while proofreading your work.

Tip 5: Do Not Use Quotation Marks for Emphasis

Putting quotation marks around a word or phrase does not provide emphasis. In fact, it creates the opposite effect (often humorously so). Quotation marks should be used when quoting text, writing dialogue, denoting a term, and to indicate song and article titles. Especially in any sort of scholarly writing, using quotation marks incorrectly for emphasis will be confusing to the reader. Placing a sign outside of cookie store that reads "We have the 'best' cookies" would lead me to believe that your cookies are anything but the best. The quotation marks around the word "best" makes it a sarcastic statement, meaning your cookies are bad. Similarly, a sign reading "We serve 'chicken' salad" tells me that your chicken is in fact not chicken. Bonus tip: most punctuation appears inside of quotation marks. See Chicago Manual of Style 6.8-6.10.

Tip 6: Use "Only" Correctly

"Only" is a modifier, meaning it modifies the word immediately following it. I find that it's used incorrectly more often than it's used correctly. So, be careful where you put it in your sentence. If you say, "I only ate cookies all week" means you only ate cookies, you didn't make them, throw them, wear them, or plant them. Likely this is not the distinction you meant to make. What you meant to say was "I ate only cookies all week," meaning you didn't eat anything else but cookies. "Only" rarely modifies the verb, so make sure it's in front of the noun you want to modify.

Tip 7: Use Proper Capitalization

Most words you think should be capitalized shouldn't: president, professor, master's degree, university, state, association, and the like are lowercase unless used as a title in a proper name. Correct: Introduction to Writing will be taught by Professor Wordsmith, PhD, at the University of New York. Charles Wordsmith is a professor of writing at the local university, where he obtained a doctoral degree. President Obama is the president of the United States. Citizens must obey all federal and state laws in the State of New York. You get the picture. Once again, look it up in the dictionary if you aren't sure. Bonus tip: for the names of products and commodities do a quick Internet search; most of the time you'll come across the company or product's Web site, on which you'll find the correct spelling of the word. Some examples are PowerPoint, eBay, McDonald's, WinZip, E-ZPass. You may also come across some trademarked names in your dictionary, such as Plexiglas, Dumpster, and Jacuzzi.

Tip 8: Be Assertive and Specific

Don't be vague and wishy-washy. Avoid such words and phrases as "thing," "someone," "they say," "it's been said that," "sometimes," "probably," "maybe," etc. If you have an opinion on a subject or want to share information you believe to be fact, don't preface your statement with "Possibly . . ." or "It could be true that. . . ." Saying "cookies are good" is more definitive than "it is believed that cookies can be good." If you find yourself afraid to make a definitive statement, do a little more research.

Tip 9: Don't Overuse a Word, Phrase, or Punctuation Mark

As aforementioned, we all have a voice when we write. As when we speak verbally, we all have our verbal ticks. "Like," "you know," "right," "as a matter of fact" are such phrases we may say often without realizing we're saying them. When writing, this tendency can manifest itself as an overuse of a particular word or punctuation mark. If your page is full of dashes or parentheses, be sure to go through and revise these sentences. I often see semicolons overused, and what's worse, they are used incorrectly. (Be sure to have a grasp on the proper use of semicolons if you are going to use them.) Be careful how many times you begin a sentence with "Additionally" or "However" or a similar word. As when speaking, when writing you may not realize you have this tick. See Tip 10.

Tip 10: Review Your Work

Or, better yet, have someone else review your work, when appropriate. When you reread and proofread your work you will find a mistake and then be glad you reviewed your writing. You'll find your tick, the misplaced "only," a weak statement, a word capitalized incorrectly, a "they" that should be "he or she" and be glad you reviewed your work.