Wednesday, June 20, 2007

How to Overcome Common Mistakes in Web Writing That Will Lead to Your Blog's Ultimate Success

DON'T ALLOW SPELL CHECKER TO DO ALL THE WORK FOR YOU
When a web writer allows a software program to correct every spelling or grammatical error found in his blog or article, that writer is opening himself up to a variety of errors in his content that will go on the web and generate very bad press regarding his unprofessional writing skills. The main categories that every content writer needs to study to ensure professional web page content is:

1. Editorial Style
A decent editor will always steer away from using hyphenated words and overuse of capital letters. Also, when you are always using phrases such as "In order to...", you are actually wasting words. Edit out the words "in order" and just use "to" in all future sentences where this is appropriate.

The best way to write "email" is to use "e-mail" with a hyphen attached, but you should not use hyphens everywhere you think it is needed. Be very prudent with the hyphen rule at all times. For example, when you write "on-line" with the hyphen, it is not really necessary. How does this look: "online"? Isn't that more pleasant to look at?

When you are using more formal text in your content page, you should always spell out phrases like "world wide web" instead of using "WWW" or "www". Remember that some readers are not familiar with even the most common internet phrases, so it's always good to spell everything out for those people less inclined to keep up with web terminology.

2. Grammar
Most of the common mistakes that are made by web writers originate with using incorrect grammar. You need to stop writing at times and think about HOW you are using a word instead of WHY you have chosen it. For example. when you are using "affect" as opposed to "affect", you need to remember that "affect" is a verb that means "to influence". "Effect" is a noun that is defined as "a result of something", an entirely different meaning altogether.

A huge topic of contention between editors is the usage of "that" as opposed to "which". I believe that if the sentence you are using these words in sounds better when you separate them by a comma, always go with "which".

3. Punctuation
These errors should be easy to catch when it comes to content writers, but always make sure to double check your work before submitting your pages to be published. The most common punctuation error is using "it's" when "its" should be used instead. Remember that "it's" is a contraction for "it is" or "it has" when using this word.

Another huge common punctuation error is using "they're" instead of "their". "They're" should only be used when you are referencing something that more than one person is doing, for example: "They're the only football players that never allowed for one touchdown the entire season." When you are using "their" in a sentence, you are describing the person who owns something. A good example: "The group of women that belong to the Valentine Social Club keep their belongings in the club's storage area."

By following these rules by the book, you should be able to decrease your overall writing errors by at least 30% within a month's time.

Wikipedia

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rob_Mead

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