1. Not varying your word choice enough – If you use the same term in a piece too often, you’ll torture your readers. With so many words in the English language, it doesn’t hurt to change them occasionally. A thesaurus can help you turn amateurish writing into professional prose.
2. Starting every paragraph with words of the same letter – This practice isn’t always obvious, but as I look down a page while I edit, if I spot a series of paragraphs that begin with “the,” they stand out. Again, variety will sharpen your writing.
3. Not changing the length of your sentences – As one writer put it, three short sentences in a row becomes annoying. Your readers shouldn’t stumble over certain passages. Watch the flow of your sentences; pay attention to their rhythms and edit them accordingly.
4. The passive voice – This is one of my favorite writerly nemeses. That’s because almost everyone has lapsed into the passive voice at some point, including me. The cliché about its popularity in the business world is true. Yes, it’s hard to remove it all the time, but in many cases, there’s no excuse not to just get to the point.
5. Too many paragraphs of similar length – Some writers think one- or two-sentence paragraphs are cool, but too many in a row can frustrate readers. Marketing writers often do this in an attempt to build a connection. At the same time, too many long paragraphs can look intimidating. Generally, you want to keep sentences on the same topic together, but sometimes, for the sake of variety, you can get away with breaking some of them up.
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Quotes
“It is inappropriate to use an exclamation point in formal writing, such as a business resume, school book report, or a due college paper, as the style expected in these should be objective, standard, and informative.” ~ WhiteSmoke
“The unnecessary use of quotation marks is a sign of amateurish writing.” ~ Grammarist
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Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com
