Real Estate, Marketing, Software

(With apologies to Kathleen Allardyce’s Getting It Write, Inc.)

Let’s face it, not all of us were born with superb writing skills.  Perhaps, there are a few of us that skipped English class. On top of that, the use of technology has given us a reason to be careless when it comes to writing.   And whether we like to admit it or not:  Sum of us R far 2 lazy & ur writin & spellign does matter.

People are busy.  At times, it’s easy to forget about the details.  But, missing those very small details may be detrimental to our own professional image.  It is vital to take the extra time to have a closer look at our writing.

One of the worst things is coming across a truly great website, only to find it littered with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, or just poorly written content.  Trust me, people do notice these things.  I can honestly say there are times that I have left websites because the writing was similar to that of a grade-school student.  This may sound harsh – but it’s true.

Whether writing content for your website or blog, descriptions for your listings or really anything at all – take these few tips into consideration:

1. Write, Review, Repeat Out Loud

Read what you’ve written out loud.  Often times what you write comes across differently when read aloud than how it sounds in your head or how it looks on paper.  If it sounds strange or forced, chances are it might require a second look.  Correct punctuation is essential.  Once you have mastered your piece of literature, have someone else read it as well.  Between a few sets of eyes, you are sure to catch any mistakes and avoid making them available to your public audience.

2. Avoid Repetition

It’s easy to ramble.  I’m perfectly guilty of it – we all are.  Be careful of going overboard.  Many of us tend to say the same thing a million times in a thousand different ways.  Carefully think about the point you want to make, and deliver it effectively in one shot.  Also, avoid using the same word repeatedly in the identical paragraph.  You might like the word ‘awesome’, but it’s not the only descriptive word out there.  When stuck for words, a thesaurus is your best friend. The one I like to use can be found right here.  It’s the perfect tool to broaden your vocabulary and to help “fancy” up your writing.

3. Know your Homophones

That’s right, I said homophones!  For those of us who might have skipped English class to hit the arcade, I’m referring to words that sound the same but are both spelled and used differently.  This is a basic grammar rule that is easily forgotten.  They’re, their, and there all have different uses, and their there is a correct time and place for each of them.  It may seem trivial, it’s one of the most basic rules of grammar, and misusing these words is one of the biggest pet peeves.

4. Steer clear of a split personality

Everybody has different preferences when it comes to selecting a point-of-view and writing in first person or third person.  A specific point-of-view may be more appropriate than another, depending on what the subject is.  The key is to keep the same point-of-view throughout your piece. Avoid confusing the reader by sticking with one grammatical personality.

5.  Spell check, people!

Using spell check is an obvious choice for writers, and one of the most important.  There are several online spell check forms that allow you to quickly copy your text and scope out the mistakes.  Another option, and one we strongly recommend, is to install spell check software directly on your computer.  There are many programs available to you, but many of which are subscription based.  If you are running Internet Explorer, you can download a free version of ieSpell.  After downloading, you can quickly run the spell check from the Tools option in your browser.  This will run a quick check for you and help correct any of those unwanted mistakes.  This is handy tool for using while composing any web-based text entries. Imagine showing your sellers how beautifully you presented their listing, but every third word in the description is spelled incorrectly.  Take the time to save yourself from that embarrassment!

That’s a quick list to get you started. What are some of your biggest grammar pet peeves?  Writing tips?  Feel free to share your comments here, and help us all get on our way to perfect grammatical writing!

And, just for the record…I never skipped school, I swear.

One Response to “Getting It ‘Write’”

1. Megan says:

   August 18, 2009 at 9:50 am

   Thanks for posting these great reminders Tanis. These are basics everyone should know and put to use but so often are left to fall by the wayside.
   P.S. And I skipped school a lot. LOL