Are You Researching & Correcting Your Posts
I have recently been a little ashamed to be a WA member. This has come about because of the lack of good english being used on some of the blogs.
There have been several lately that I have not managed to make any sense of and as a consequence I have not commented on them.
Surely if people are doing the proper research they will be seeing good English. I think many are not researching their subjects properly and therefore not picking up the correct English to use.
When it comes to spelling and grammar I find the spell and grammar check here pretty comprehensive.
Should we be telling these members of their errors?
Derek
Recent Comments
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Unfortunately, Gary while Grammarly is excellent for spelling it is quite atrocious at grammar. The program in site content is far more accurate.
Derek
I had raised a similar question. And I think it is only beneficial for the person, if we let them know of their errors, but in a pleasant, helpful way.
We all want everyone to be successful and hopefully when we critique others, their take away will be seen as helpful and positive. I know for me I would be thankful for it.
Wanda
That is fine if they are premium members as you have the private message facility, but for others you only have this platform.
Derek
Spelling or grammar doesn't always do the big thing though I have noticed. Well perhaps spelling does for some, depending on the amount of errors.
As for grammar, if we look at things like not using And at the beginning of a sentence and similar stuff, you might find that people don't really care about that.
I would much prefer to read a blog the way someone talks to me versus something completely correct.
What is important though, and your post made me realize that once more, is to update your posts with images, video and calls to action. This is what I sometimes don't add to my articles and they are really important for the chance of ranking.
Steven
I couldn't agree with you more, me, being a person involved in sales off and on my entire life. I have learned it is better to be yourself and to talk as you would to a friend to a potential customer. He or she will embrace you more, may you have a wonderful weekend my friend.
Spelling errors generally show a lack of interest in the language you are using or perhaps a lack of knowledge. We should all blog conversationally but that doesn't excuse the bad English.
Derek
Hey Derek, I love this ideal of letting other members know they have mistakes in their post. This could help them be mindful that people do recognize the misspellings of words or the use of wrong words like There in reference of people instead of Their the correct word.
Thanks for this Great post.
Trust me Derick it happens I had a scare about some of the misspelling mistakes I had made dealing with my website.
But if anything the sight content and Grammarly combined does help me with spelling when I have some trouble from time to time.
Thanks for your response Victor. I use site content as I have found several problems when using Grammarly.
A big problem is having words that sound the same but are spelt differently. There are unlikely to be picked up in either program as the spelling is correct but the meaning wrong.
Derek
Yes, we should. I certainly want to learn about my errors, and I have. I use the spell and grammar checkers, but I get into trouble if I don't expand the screen I make mistakes in Wordpress because the editor type is small.
I'm not sure a direct approach would achieve anything Derek. I think we all can miss the odd spelling mistake in our enthusiasm.
Perhaps these general reminders will prompt everyone to make sure before they click publish.
We have quite a few English as a second language writers in WA. They are struggling enough to learn without being targeted.
Then there are others for reasons known only to them, who have decided not to use the spell, grammar and construction check available on every writing platform here.
Maybe start a campaign of 'Click before you print!'
Lily 😊
I agree. Make a subtle note about it. There are times when you might be in a hurry or do not know how to spell a word so you might guess instead of making sure it is correct. Misspelled words and lack of knowing how to write a good paragraph can and most likely will hurt you in the long run. It just isn’t professional and people will notice. I will be the first to say I have been guilty of this before so I just take the extra time to proof read what I wrote to make sure everything is correct. Now I’m nervous and hope this post doesn’t have any errors.😁
That certainly sounds like a good plan Lily. I am not on about the odd spelling mistake but more the posts that are littered with them
Derek
You are fine Penny. We all have little slips now and then, but when I can't read a post because of bad English I wonder what they are using to check their work.
Derek
Thanks Derek. I have not, because I didn’t know if it’s appropriate. I did PM Kyle but haven’t heard back.
Joe
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I very much like and agree with this article. I've noticed some errors myself but don't know how to go about saying it and not hurting anyone's feelings or making someone mad. I am, by no means perfect, but spelling and grammar is something I'm particularly good at. In that respect, it's hard for me to get past the error. Great post! Thank you!
You're welcome Lorelie. I am glad I am not the only one.
Derek