Write Right, Part 1

The Things We Say Wrong

In business, we write A LOT.  Text messages.  Instant messages.  Emails.  Posts and comments on social media.  Requests for Proposals.  Reports.  Presentations.  Blogs.  And, these days, business executives are penning books more than ever before… even if they’d never published anything before.  In almost any job, we are required to write.  And, how we write says a lot about who we are.  When a message has grammatical, syntax or spelling errors or uses words incorrectly, it can make a person seem uneducated or simple, even if they are highly intelligent.  While they say that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, people will most certainly judge a book if the title has a typo or uses an incorrect turn of phrase.

We are writing more than ever before.  While technology provides a myriad of tools to catch errors — spell check, thesaurus, spelling and grammar check – those tools are not perfect.  They can fix some things but not all.  And, in some mediums — such as text or instant messaging — there are no such tools.  In fact, auto-correct can sometimes even add to the mistakes.   It is important to be able to write well even when there is no help from technology… especially when there is no help from technology.

However, writing is a lot like math.  Most of what we learned about how to write happened in school many years ago.  We learned the rules of grammar, diagramming sentences, subject/verb agreement, run-on sentences, prepositional phrases and the like in grade school… decades ago.  Those who didn’t master writing basics back then might think it impossible to master now, many years later.  And, for many, it is embarrassing to admit that they don’t write well.  Others are oblivious to mistakes they make that make them look foolish. 

Incorrectly-written Words / Phrases

For those who’ve spent years writing something the wrong way and suddenly learn the right way, it can be more than a little embarrassing.  So to keep that from happening again, here are 50 common phrases that are often written incorrectly because they are written the way they sound, or the way that makes sense, or just because that’s what people say (even though it’s wrong).  Read on and be ashamed no more.

Having reviewed some of the most common errors people make in writing expressions or sayings should help keep you from making a blunder on the next business proposal, email or text message.  And while getting something like this right may seem like a small thing, it might influence how you are perceived, elevate you above the competition or earn the respect of a potential client.  So it may not be such a small thing after all? 

Next week, we’ll look at words that are commonly mistaken for one another and other writing faux pas. (Wink).  Stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” David McCullough

© 2022, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.

The post Write Right, Part 1 first appeared on Monday Mornings with Madison.