Credibility and grammar

Good grammar gives people credibility. It’s critical. You lose integrity if what you put on paper is incorrect or lazy. Using improper grammar in social media, in papers, emails, or websites makes other people assume that you are stupid. Your words and use of grammar portrays who you are; they reflect you, they get you hired, they help you pass subjects at university, and as a company they help people trust you. 

Hold back on dropping commas throughout your sentences like bombs over Hiroshima. Read it aloud. Does it sound good or does it sound like a machine gun? Details. Attention to detail is ensuring high standards, and giving your devotion and attention to the details of your work. It means that your end result is polished. 

As a writer, editor and proofreader I know it’s easy to make mistakes when rushing. Even wordsmiths need to pause and mentally work stuff out. My problem words are affect versus effect. My Apostrophes, colons and commas can be thrown around like a sock in a tumble dryer so get it proofread. Check your words for plurals, it’s women for more than one, not woman. 

A key aspect to remember is readability. If the reader has to slam on the brakes at something s/he scans or needs to go back to re-read because it was confusing – you’ll lose them. When we write ourselves, we have in our heads, how it’s supposed to sound. This could lead to ghost words. Words we think are there but aren’t. A Proofreader is brilliant at picking this up. A proofreader will also remove or suggest you remove superfluous words such as ‘that’. Less is more. People don’t want to read waffle. They want to get to the point. Know your their, there and they’re’ s, your and you’re, and it’s and its. Get it stuck in your head, but if you can’t, get a proofreader. Here, I can recommend one at www.kirstieanders.com