1. Comma splices. These happen when a comma is placed between two separate clauses.
Example: You’ve read the book, now see the movie.
Revised: You’ve read the book; now see the movie.
2. Apostrophe abuse. This occurs when apostrophes appear in words that shouldn’t have them or certain words lack apostrophes when they’re necessary.
Example: Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
3. Wordiness. Sentences with too many words, especially those that could be simplified, lack impact.
Example: “I hope your year has been as good as ours up to now and that you’re enjoying the beautiful summer weather we’ve been having.”
Revised: “I hope your year so far has been as good as ours and that you’re enjoying the beautiful summer weather.”
4. The passive voice. Passive verbs, those in “to be” form, tend to weaken sentences compared to active verbs. You can’t always avoid them, especially if you don’t know who did (or will do) something.
Example: “Your landscape plan determines how you want your lawn and garden to be designed.”
In this case, if the document isn’t specifically addressed to the do-it-yourselfer, the passive voice is a shortcut around whether the reader will handle the details him or herself or choose a professional.
Otherwise, if you know who will tackle the task, you can change it to: “Your landscape plan determines how you want to design your lawn and garden.”
5. Wrong tense. Don’t mistake the present for the future tense.
Example: We will be collecting litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.
Revised: We will collect litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.
The present tense — “we will be collecting” — is incorrect. Remove “be” and change the action verb “collect” to the future tense, which is correct because the event will occur later.
Here’s the original article. Need help with your writing? Contact me today!
Quotes
“Rereading reveals rubbish and redundance.” ~ Duane Alan Hahn
“The time to begin an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time, you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” ~ Mark Twain
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Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com
