Avoid looking like an amateur. You’ll see these mistakes in print, but you can do better.
- Please, never use multiple exclamation points!!!!
- Avoid single exclamation points except for one- or two-word exclamations, like Wow! or No way!
- When we want a concept of physical distance use farther (think of “far” as distance). Otherwise, use further. So nothing could be further from the truth. But the harder we work, the farther we drift apart.
- Use less than for quantities, fewer for things you can count. He has fewer appointments but still has less than enough time.
- When someone says yes, no quotes are needed around yes.
- Never write TEXT IN ALL CAPS. It’s not nice to shout like that. Use only italics for emphasis.
- Avoid the weak –ly adverbs by using stronger verbs. Instead of he ran rapidly, he dashed. Instead of she furtively listened, she eavesdropped.
- Set off introductory phrases with commas. We avoid train wrecks that way.
- Don’t use etcetera or etc. If it’s not important for the author to clarify what more is meant, readers shouldn’t be asked to guess.
- Use critical when on the verge of death. Otherwise, use crucial.
- All the –ward words like inward, backward, and toward should not have an s tacked onto the end.
- Avoid using very and other indefinite qualifiers like long, big, and some. Readers can’t distinguish much difference between happy, very happy, and very very happy. Is there a difference between a bag of marbles and a bag of some marbles? Don’t lose your marbles with some.
- Stay away from redundant expressions like end result, live audience, and past memories. Can a result be anywhere but the end? Only graveyards have dead audiences. Future memories are called dreams.
- Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks.
