How to Write More Professionally by Avoiding Some Common Mistakes

Many common writing mistakes -- where homonyms (words that sound alike but have different meanings) are used incorrectly -- are not picked up by spellchecks. Avoiding these errors will make you and your writing more professional.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dictionary
• Word-processing program

1. 
    

   your and you're
   Do you know when to use which? If you use the wrong one, spellcheck won't pick it up because it's spelled right. An easy way to remember is that the you're with the apostrophe (') is a contraction meaning "you are". And "your" is a possessive.
   
   Example:
   
   "You're going to your party now."

2. 
    

   This one is my personal pet peeve and you'll be surprised how often it's misused in professional environments.
   "its" and "it's".
   
   I think most people simply guess at whether or not the apostrophe is needed. The rule is that similar to the above example, it's with the apostrophe is a contraction meaning "it is" and its is a possessive. If what you mean can be translated into "it is" then you need the apostrophe.
   
   Example:
   
   "It's time for the bird to return to its nest."

3. 
    

   Another set of very commonly misused words is "They're" and "their" and "there". Again, "They're" is a contraction meaning "they are". Their is a possessive, and "there" refers to a place or is used in the context "there is" or "over there".
   
   Example:
   
   "They're going to their school over there."

Tips & Warnings

• When in doubt of which word to use, consult your dictionary.

[shasha10]

on 6/28/2009 We all need these reminders. Thanks for sharing. I have trouble with a few other words.

[edieness]

on 6/22/2009 It is funny how you forget the things you learned in JR high. Great article to have out there on How to Write More Professionally by Avoiding Some Common Mistakes.