Nov 21 2008
Profreading Your Writting
“Proofread carefully to see if you any words out”
~ Author Unknown
I have always been a grammar snob. It’s one of my greatest failings as an English Literature major.
During university, my grammar was impeccable. Rarely did I misplace a comma, and even rarer still was I guilty of misusing an apostrophe.
I haven’t been a student for several years now, and recently I noticed that my natural flair for proper grammar has diminished. In fact, when I posted comments on other people’s blogs this week, I only saw my mistakes once I’d hit ’send.’
Oh, the shame of getting a dose of my own medicine!
My problem is three-fold:
- I haven’t been actively writing formal papers and essays for a long time, so I’m rusty.
- Grammar usage has relaxed with all the informal ‘writing’ we do these days (emails, text messages), and contemporary literature often bends grammar rules.
- I haven’t been diligent enough with my proofreading.
How many times have you send a cover letter to a potential employer, or an email to someone important, and then discovered you made some dreadful grammatical error?
I know I cringe when I see other people’s mistakes, so I should be taking better care to practice what I preach.
Before you send it, proofread it!
