The two articles below outline words and phrases that are often misused when writing.
• 10 words often misused in press releases
• 12 unforgivable writing mistakes
• 10 words often misused in press releases
See online:
10 words often misused in press releases, by Matt Wilson via
prdaily.com
It's bad enough that some communicators overuse buzzwords in news releases and memos. Even worse is the sad truth that often those words aren't even used correctly.
Any writer should pause and ask, "Am I saying what I think I am?" before using these 10 words.
Quality.
A lot of times you'll see this word floating in a sentence, all on its own. "Our products are quality," or, "These are quality services." Looking the word up in the dictionary does yield definitions that show the word "quality" by itself can mean excellence, but more often the word refers to a scale from good to poor. Something can be "low quality" just as easily as it can be "high quality." Add in that modifier—"excellent quality, highest quality"—so people know for sure what you're trying to say.
Unique.
This word has the opposite problem. Writers often try to modify it, calling things "very unique," or "rather unique." But the word unique already means what's being described is like no other thing in the world. There aren't any degrees of that. Either it's unique or it isn't. If you feel a need to modify the word with a "somewhat," there's a pretty good chance what you're describing isn't really unique.
Innovation.
Much like "unique," people trying to write compelling copy sometimes don't think "innovation" says enough on its own, so they modify it with adjectives such as "new" and "groundbreaking." But if something is innovative, it is, by definition, new and breaks some kind of figurative ground. Old innovations are history.
Official.
It's common to see news releases touting the "official launch" of a product or office
emails about the "official kickoff" of some companywide initiative. It makes it sound like what's going on is a big deal. But seeing the word raises some questions: Was there an unofficial launch? What makes this one official? Will someone need to contact a notary?
Exclusive.
If you're sending out a news release about something, there's no way you're giving anyone an "exclusive first look" at anything. News releases go out to numerous news organizations. If you were really granting an exclusive, the information you're giving out should only be going to one. But what if you refer to a product, event or service as "exclusive"? If that's what it is, that's fine. If you aren't going out of your way to exclude people from buying it, it isn't exclusive.
Breaking.
If news is "breaking," it's happening right this second. If you have time to write a news release about it, it isn't breaking. It broke.
Never/ever.
Phrases such as "never before seen" and "for the first time ever" are tricky. Whether your organization is doing something it's never done before is something you can probably verify, but who can say whether the public reaction to something will be the biggest ever or the world will "never be the same" after some product is released? Phrases like that reek of hyperbole. And, yes, it's your job to sell the media or your employees on your message, but they also want the truth.
Revolutionary.
It takes more than something being new or a little bit different for it to be considered revolutionary. It has to be radically different, to the point where people completely rethink whatever came before. People talk about it, want to learn about it, change the way they do things based on it. In other words, if something's revolutionary, it doesn't need a news release.
Literally.
If you don't work for an amusement park or a fair, nothing you write about will be "a literal roller coaster ride." Likewise, if you don't work for NASA or perhaps an airline, nothing you do goes "literally into the stratosphere." You mean "figuratively." That's the opposite of "literally."
Social.
In recent years, the term "social" has come more and more to mean "pertaining to social media," especially in business. But that's awfully confusing when the actual word "social" continues to mean "friendly," or, more broadly, "pertaining to society."
Social Security doesn't have anything to do with Facebook. Calling your organization "social" doesn't necessarily mean it's big on Twitter. All it means is that it deals with people. If you're talking about social media, use the whole phrase.
• 12 unforgivable writing mistakes
See online: 12 unforgivable writing mistakes, by Jacqui MacKenzie via
prdaily.com
We all make mistakes, but there are some that writers should never make.
Though the casual tone of blogging has allowed us to be less formal with the written word, it doesn’t mean we can simply ignore the fundamental rules of writing and grammar. The occasional typo can be brushed off as an innocent oversight, but there are some writing errors that are just plain unforgivable.
These blunders can ruin your credibility as a writer.
1. Fewer versus less
Unforgivable: There are less days in February than in March.
Correct: There are fewer days in February than in March.
Use fewer when referring to things that can be counted. For example, “She ate fewer cupcakes tonight than she did last night.” Use less when referring to volumes or to things that cannot be counted: “The cupcakes had less frosting yesterday.”
2. Affect versus effect
Unforgivable: Our services will have a positive affect on your business.
Correct: Our services will have a positive effect on your business.
Although affect and effect can each be used as either a noun or a verb, the more common usages are affect as a verb and effect as a noun. In the example above, the effect is the result of the services. In the sentence, “Our services can affect how customers see your business,” affect is to produce an effect upon, or to influence.
3. Pronoun/antecedent disagreement
Unforgivable: If you hire a professional copywriter, make sure they know how to write.
Correct: If you hire a professional copywriter, make sure she knows how to write.
In the above sentences, copywriter is singular. So the pronoun should be singular, as well. Many people avoid gender-specific pronouns, but all too often, that just leads to bad grammar. The correct choices include using “he or she”—pick one and stick to that gender—or using a plural antecedent (which is the noun to which the pronoun refers): “When hiring copywriters, make sure they know how to write.”
4. Misspellings
Unforgivable: Are you on Goggle+?
Correct: Are you on Google+?
Be sure to proofread your work. Misspelling the name of a company, a website or a person is a sign of sheer laziness.
5. It’s versus its
Unforgivable: The pizza became famous for it’s unique flavors and toppings.
Correct: The pizza became famous for its unique flavors and toppings.
This is a common mistake because technically, it’s follows the rule of using an apostrophe to convey possessives (for example, the pizza’s flavor). But an apostrophe is used for the contraction of it is or it has: “It’s the best pizza ever!”
6. Misuse of the semicolon
Unforgivable: I love to write; but I hate using semicolons.
Correct: I love to write; I hate using semicolons.
Semicolons can get confusing. Rather than make an unforgivable mistake, I tend to avoid them whenever possible. Use a semicolon to connect two related independent clauses without a conjunction (the example above), or within a complex series: “I’ve lived in Waukegan, Ill.; Alameda, Calif.; and Bartlett, Tenn.” Do not use a semicolon with a conjunction (and, but, for, or, so, nor, yet).
7. Alot versus a lot
Unforgivable: Alot of people make this mistake.
Correct: A lot of people make this mistake.
Alot is not a word!
8. Inconsistency
Unforgivable: His favorite colors are red, blue, and green. My favorite colors are yellow, purple and pink.
Correct: His favorite colors are red, blue and green. My favorite colors are yellow, purple and pink.
Each of the above sentences is structurally fine, but the top two are inconsistent with each other, because the first sentence uses the Oxford comma and the second does not. Don’t use the Oxford comma in one sentence and leave it out the next. Don’t spell out ten in the first paragraph and write 10 in the last. Writing rules change depending on what style of writing you follow (Chicago Manual or Associated Press), but whichever style you use, be consistent throughout your copy.
9. Poorly cited stats and quotes
Unforgivable: Women make up 97 percent of Pinterest users.
Correct: According to AppData, women make up 97 percent of Pinterest users.
Back up statistics and quotes by letting your readers know where you got the information. If you can, provide a link back to the exact Web page where you found the data. Failure to prove where you got your facts will weaken your content.
10. Then versus than
Unforgivable: I enjoy sitting much better then running.
Correct: I enjoy sitting much better than running.
Than is used for comparisons, although then is used to refer to a point in time or “in addition to.” For example: “Back then, I was strong enough to run a marathon. Now, my legs and lungs are in worse shape than they used to be.”
11. Lose versus Loose
Unforgivable: If you loose your keys again, I’m not letting you in.
Correct: If you lose your keys again, I’m not letting you in.
Lose is a verb, and loose is most commonly used as an adjective. Use loose when referring to something that doesn’t fit or isn’t secure, such as loose pants or loose attachments. Loose can also be used as a verb—for example, “loose a knot”—but in these cases, loosen is a more common word.
12. Stolen content
Unforgivable: Always.
Correct: Never.
This one isn’t really a mistake, but rather just plain wrong. Never steal and use content that isn’t yours and play it off as your own work. Not only is that theft, but it’s also copyright infringement. Write original, informative content, and always proofread your work.
Any common writing mistakes that you think are simply unforgivable?