Common Writing Mistakes (With My Comments)

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

  1. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.   Agree, Not Guilty
  2. Never use no double negatives.  Agree, Not Guilty
  3. Use the semicolon properly, always where it is appropriate; and never where it is not.  Agree, Not Guilty
  4. Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it where it is not needed. Partially Agree, Not Guilty
  5. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.   Agree, Not Guilty
  6. No sentence fragments.   Bullshit.
  7. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.   Agree, Very Guilty
  8. Avoid commas, that are not necessary.  Agree, Guilty
  9. When you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.  Agree, Guilty
  10. A writer must not shift your point of view. Agree, Not Guil — oh, look!  A chipmunk!!
  11. Do not overuse exclamation marks!!! (In fact, avoid them whenever possible!!!)   Partially agree, Somewhat guilty
  12. And do not start a sentence with a conjunction.  Disagree, Very Guilty
  13. Place pronouns as closely as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents.  Agree, Occasionally Guilty
  14. Hyphenate only between syllables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.   Agree, Not Guilty
  15. Write all adverbial forms correct.  Agree, Not Guilty
  16. Don't use contractions. Depends on Situation, Guilty
  17. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. Agree, Not Guilty
  18. It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms. Generally Agree, Not Guilty
  19. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Generally Agree, Generally Not Guilty
  20. Steer clear of incorrect verb forms that have snuck into the language. Agree, Not Guilty
  21. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.  Generally Disagree, Guilty
  22. Avoid modernisms that sound flaky. Generally Agree, Guilty
  23. Avoid barbarisms: they impact too forcefully. Confused By This So Probably Guilty
  24. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies. Agree, Very Very Guilty
  25. Everyone should be careful to use singular pronouns with singular nouns in their writing.  Agree, Probably Guilty Occasionally
  26. Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration. Disagree (I love alliteration), But Not Guilty
  27. Do not string a large number of prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.  Agree, Rarely Guilty 
  28. Always pick on the the correct idiom.  Agree, Not Guilty
  29. "Avoid overuse of 'quotation' 'marks.'"   Agree, "Occasional" Guilt
  30. Never use more words than are necessary to get your point across: be concise.  Agree, Extremely Guilty
  31. Awayz check you're spelling. (Your spellchecker would only pick up one of the two errors here.)  Agree, Guilty Beyond Belief
  32. Always be avoided by the passive voice.  Generally Agree, Guilty
  33. Every sentence a verb.   Agree, Not Guilty
  34. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague: seek viable alternatives.  Disagree, Guilty As Charged