How can we polish our work and make it stand out? I say this as I currently await a requested fix from Triond, and I confess, this is not my first one.
I typed "well," when I meant "will," and another time I typed "knew," when I meant "new." I must admit that I am also guilty of trying to perform many tasks simultaneously, and being perhaps too anxious to see my article in print. But then, I would also like to have an article that I can be proud of, not one that embarrasses me, as I view its many imperfections. (If I were still in school, my professors would have subtracted a grade.)
Most of the work that I have had the privilege of reading on Triond's pages has been creative, informative, and well written. I have truly learned a lot from my fellow writers and count myself lucky to stand among them. So, please believe me when I say that this article is not meant to be critical, because I am perhaps the most at fault.
Triond works some magic for their writers with their article placements, and the tools they give to improve readership. We owe it to ourselves to work some magic of our own, called editing.
How could I have avoided my errors?
Let the Work Get Cold
When the creative juices are flowing, I know exactly what I am saying. Thoughts are flowing, fingers flying to keep up. Here is where my problem lies. My fingers have not captured all of my mind's thoughts, but as I read it, my mind tricks me by filling in the blanks. If I wait until my mind is occupied with something else, I can see my work much clearer and correct these little errors.
Homonyms
These tricky little words “sound” just like the right ones, but are spelled differently. Spell check does not pick them up, because they are not misspelled words, if they were used in the right context.
When I said “knew studies reveal” I know it should have been “new studies”, but spell check did not. If you have read any of my work, I am sure you could list a few of my errors for me. (Send me an email at Triond Community, and I will be sure to address those areas.)
I relied on spell check to correct my misspelled words. If I had read it in an article written by someone else, I would have picked it up immediately, and perhaps not continued reading. Do I want someone to drop my article, before they have finished the last word? No, I want them to be so impressed that they bookmark it and return later to reread.
Some Common Homonyms
- bread, bred
- blue, blew
- add, ad
- flue, flew
- high, hi
- knew, new
- sea, see
- their, there, they're
- through, threw
Verb Usage
According to Building English Skills published by McDougal, Littlle & Company “There are two numbers in grammar: singular and plural.” If a word refers to one person, place or thing it is singular, but if it refers to more than one, it becomes plural. But this would not truly be a rule, if there was not an exception, would it? Are not there always exceptions to the rule? The verb “be” is one of them, and the pronoun “you” is another.
Examples
The more often we say these aloud, the more familiar we become. Proper verb use becomes second nature, with repetition.
When more than one subject is discussed the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it, such as:
Neither Kelly nor Joanne is here today.
The Browns and Smiths are coming.
Notice how the verb is singular in one instance and plural in the other. A hand out can be
viewed at Owl
explaining the use of verbs. The difference in this example is explained as dollars being referred to as an amount of money needing a singular verb, and speaking of dollars themselves requiring a plural verb. Many examples are offered there at no charge. Practice exercises are also included.
Let Your Reader Know Your Sources
If you read it in a book, let them know the title and author, in case they would like to verify the information. If it came from an internet site, leave the address, so the reader can see for themselves that what is in the article is legitimate. Often information can be found on the internet that is amazing and interesting. Although it makes good reading, we owe our audience credibility, and can only find that through credible sources.
If I want an article that I can be proud of, not concerned about the commenter's picking apart, and one that can be submitted to book marking services, I need to pay more attention. If that means letting it sit overnight before I press the submit button, so be it. I did not mean to leave my English skills behind when I completed my English class so here is my refresher course.
Editor's Tip
When submitting your articles to Triond, please be sure to check out the basic Styling Guidelines. This should ensure a smoother (and better looking) publication process.
