These are errors in thread titles currently in the first 2 pages of the Writing Issues subforums: Exert instead of excerpt Pendent instead of pendant (yes yes, barely acceptable, I know ) Alot instead of a lot Using "good" as an adverb Politically correctness instead of political correctness What is your thoughts instead of what are your thoughts Conscious instead of conscience Characters race instead of character's race Two Character instead of Two Characters Medevil instead of medieval Publushed instead of published That amounts to 11 errors in 350 thread titles. While that's only 3%, on a forum full of writers the errors stick out like a sore thumb. And these are the thread titles, not the threads. I hesitated starting this thread. I'm setting myself up to be attacked for every typo I ever miss correcting from now until the thread is forgotten. I'm sure I have more than a 3% typo rate but hopefully I fail to correct less than 1% after proofreading my posts. I know there are people here whose English is their second language. (I forgive you.) I know typos happen, I make them all the time. (I forgive me and you.) My point is not that people here make too many typos. Our keyboards make us do it and proofreading doesn't guarantee catching them. But the reason I am posting the thread is to suggest if writing is your thing, keep in mind your posts represent your work. It's akin to using bad grammar in a job interview. It might not go over well. At a bare minimum, if you aren't using some kind of spellchecker you should be. I'm just trying to be helpful, so please don't attack the messenger. And feel free to point out my errors, I learn from mistakes.
I applaud this. I'm not suggesting we nitpick each other. That's clearly not what this site is about. And of course every one of us makes mistakes. I, myself, am a horrible typist. But I cringe when I make a dumb error, and I generally try to correct it. Not out of any need to be seen as perfect. Hell no! I've been a moderator here. If I had a thin skin, I'd never have been able to do that. In a way, you could say it's a matter of pride. Not a pride that fears being seen with a wart or two, but a pride in what I am working toward. Every time I write, I am expressing something, and I want it to be clear and to the point. I am a writer. I express myself through words. And I know the impressions I form about someone whose posts are murky or sloppy. Right or wrong, I don't perceive that person as serious about writing, or at least that they have a long road before them. Impressions matter. First impressions can be overcome, but the sum of all impressions has staying power.
Hear, hear! And you left out one that drives me to distraction: the seeming refusal to properly distinguish among "there", "their" and "they're".
Thanks for being so nice about incorrect grammar. But, yeah I always read over my work to make sure. And, I usually use spell check. To be fair, if you are typing quickly, such as myself, you make dumb mistakes. And the websites spell check isn't the best around. Sometimes if I type a word wrong, and I try to correct it, sometimes It'll give me weird words. Though, that might be my fault. Hell, I don't think it's a big deal though.
I get most of these correctly, expect character's race and a lot. That's pretty good for a measly 15 year old . I like this post, i'm glad you're able to spot these things dead on. Already doing better than my English teacher this year (she literally teaches the class nothing, very sad actually).
I agree with the general consensus here. If we're writers, we should take pride in getting the basics of spelling, punctuation, and grammar right. If I see someone here who consistently makes a ton of mistakes in simple forum posts, I privately think that person will never become a published writer - they just don't care enough.
What about lose and loose? That one drives me into an apoplectic rage whenever I see it. There is absolutely no need for it. To and Too...and on occasion I've seen these mixed up with two! Then and Than. Your and you're Who and whom. I won't even start on incorrect usage of idioms. I lied, maybe a little....OK, just one! The correct phrase is "I couldn't care less". It is not, nor has it ever been "I could care less", that phrase doesn't even make sense in the context most people us it. This idiom is used to express the fact that you care so little about something that it would be difficult for you to care any less than you already do. RRRRAAAGGGGEEE!
The trick is simply re-read everything you post I make silly mistakes like "And then there's some ideas" - not because I don't know it's a mistake but more that sometimes you just speak that way. I do try to correct most mistakes that I see in my posts though - just irks me if I don't.
I wasn't listing the most common ones I see, I was listing the ones currently in thread titles. But feel free to add to the list with frequent flyers. A bit of trivia for a laugh, (if the NYT and the web site, spellweb.com, are correct): People often mix up then and than. But I've found myself making the mistake as a typo so I always keep that in mind when I see the mistake.
Titles and headlines are often the most overlooked by proofreaders. I helped put out a section of a phone book called, "Public and Social" and four different people proofed the thing and the customer signed off on it as well. It went to press and all 17,000 of them read, "Pubic and Social."
I've found this on every writing site I've ever looked at. An occasional typo, ESL - those I can overlook. But, as others have said, we're writers. It should be second nature to proofread what we write, no matter where we write.
Did you read the thread? Perhaps it was about foot race between poster's characters. Spellchecker's not necessarily enough. As far as spelling and punctuation goes, I'm pretty terrible. I write fast and make loads of spelling errors - led, lead, began, begun, their, there, they're - But the computer ignores them because they are still correct words. If I have time I'll read my post aloud to myself. I do not have the skill set yet to make a piece of writing perfect, but hearing it aloud seems to make the errors I can correct more obvious.
Just thought I'd point that out ... I sometimes do that, too. I use a word correctly in one sentence, then use a homonym in another. I've noticed this in my own postings and I make it a point to check them, but a few still get through.
Same with me as well, sometimes i'll put incorrect words just for the fact that i'm not realizing that i'm doing so, which is the reason why there is plenty of mistakes in my writing sometimes XD. Good thing there is spellchecker, some words daunt on me in spelling. I've learned to master a few that i used to have problems with, but there is still plenty for me to correct. I get angry when i have bad English teachers, because i always want to learn more and speak better and write better. I hate not improving- it's a huge pet peeve of mine when i'm not learning. It might be rare for someone as young as i to feel that way in this generation, but i'm proud to be one who wants to know more about everything. I know it's rather easy for me to say your when i'm talking to someone directly but the correct way is you're. I always mess up on that, but I've gotten a little better at noticing that and correcting it. Or instead of a little, i sometimes type alittle, which is quite common amongst most people. Same with a lot, which most people like me type alot automatically. It's just a habit that needs to be amended, but it's always good when someone points that out, it's always quite assuring.
Yes, Yes! My particular peeves are the they're/their/there, your/your're and lose/loose (which, when used incorrectly, I read in a really annoying voice in my head). I try to give the benefit of the doubt and assume it's a typo, but then when I see the same mistake several times in the same post, I cringe. As far as "a lot," I had an English teacher in high school who taught this in a way I've never forgotten: If you write "a lot" as "alot," then you should be writing all nouns with a as part of the word -- "adog," "acat," "atelevision," etc.
An idom I generally don't like: 'pissed' when what is really meant is 'pissed off'. 'Pissed' means drunk, 'pissed off' means angry! Also, I have learnt to touch type so when it comes to the finger memory for words, I occasionally get the wrong one. 'There' and 'their' is the main culprit. The only way to catch that is to re-read before posting and correct where necessary.
Bear in mind that this is a colloquialism and its meaning is subject to regional variation and change over time. "Pissed" in the US doesn't mean the same as in the UK...but I very much take your point.
On another site I used draw for drawer - I know the difference, but even after editing and polishing, it escaped my notice, until it was 'kindly' pointed out by a fellow WF user
I missed this one last night -- yes! This irritates me to no end. Another one I can't stand is use of "irregardless." It is NOT a word. It's either "regardless" or "irrespective."
Regional dialect gaffes are not my gripe. Yes, I huff andshake my head when I hear someone say, "You've got another thing coming."* My peeve is universally incorrect usage like "your" vs "you're" or "lose" vs "loose." My gripe is inappropriate capitalization of Common Nouns, subjective vs objective pronoun usage, and random by-guess-and-by-golly placement of commas. I also have a gripe about the pervasive misuse of italics as a writer's duct tape to fix anything they don't know how to write properly. I tend to overlook misspellings, but if the same misspelling is repeated several times, I'm more inclined to let the writer know.
