Why is Writing So Important?

When confronted with the rules of grammar, most of us cock our heads and say, “Sure, I remember grade school.”  Grammar and usage are just as important in our day-to-day lives as that algebra we said we’d never use.  Read on for advice and simple tips to improve your writing skills.

Spelling

It seems simple enough, but spelling is probably the most common error made in adult writing.  No one grades our memos and presentations, so when we make a mistake, it’s rarely pointed out to us.  If someone notices it, they ignore it rather than take a chance on embarrassing us, or worse, correcting a boss or higher-ranked coworker.

Spellcheck Software

You cannot rely on spellcheckers in office software.  Let me repeat that.  You cannot rely on spellcheckers.  Ever.  I mean it.  Spellcheckers do not know the difference between homonyms, which results in the wrong word, spelled correctly.  Programs also do not know whether you mean the possessive its or the contraction it’s, leaving you with the wrong one.

Imagine how embarrassing it would be to write “I Quite!” when you want to quit your job.  The spellchecker would let that one slide right by you.

Also, you should learn to check the individual spelling of a word if you are unsure.  Just because the rule you learned in grade school stated “i before e except after c” does not make it the proper rule for every word.  Common exceptions are weird, foreigner, neither, leisure, seizes and height.

Dictionaries and Thesauri

Dictionaries are cheap, and Merriam Webster has a free, online dictionary and thesaurus at its website.  If the dictionary lists the usage as nonstandard, read that as wrong.  It is always better to spend a minute to double check than to make a mistake on an important presentation.

A thesaurus is a book that lists synonyms of words.  It can help you figure out the difference between words that sound alike, or mean almost the same thing.