While we can’t all be literary gurus, we can make sure we don’t look like a year 3 student wrote our emails. Here are some simple, quick steps to smarten up your writing and make your high school English teacher proud.
Step 1: Check your spelling. It’s an obvious one, but often we don’t even bother to run a spellcheck* before sending out an important email or filing a report. Your computer or email program will pick up those embarrassingly obvious boo-boos and help you look like the professional you are.
(*Australian Oxford Dictionary spelling)
Step 2: Check your grammar. A spell-checker is great, and while it detects spelling mistakes, it doesn’t notice if you’ve used an incorrect word, spelled correctly. Are you ordering stationery or stationary? Both spelt correctly, but which one reflects office supplies and which one means to remain in one place? Your spell-checker won’t pick that up for you, so consult the dictionary if you’re unsure.
Step 3: Re-read your words. Once you’ve written what you mean to say, re-read it to see if you’ve actually written it. Read it slowly, look for missing words or spaces, awkward descriptions, repetition. Try to approach it as though you are reading it for the first time.
Step 4: Mumble it to yourself. Take your time, take a breath and read it again, out loud. Notice where you naturally take a breath or pause (this indicates where you should place a comma) and where a new idea begins (time for a full-stop, new sentence). Punctuation helps add emphasis and stops ideas from disappearing into each other.
Step 5: Check the details. Got a numbered list? Make sure you haven’t skipped any. Meant to include contact phone numbers and emails? See that you’ve included them. Is everything bullet-pointed that you meant to? Is it all in the same sized font? These little details can smarten up or dumb down your writing. And even on paper (or online), first impressions count.