Sometimes I stop and take a look at my writing, whether it be a blog post, an email, or something else… and I’m mortified. And then I wonder… do I talk like this too?

For the record, my mom taught 5th grade since I was in 7th, so I was constantly “reminded” how not to say things, grammar-wise. Because of this, I’ve always felt I had an upper hand when it came to language, but I’m constantly consistently continually reminded that there is a lot I need to re-learn.

I never sucked at writing until AP English

A couple of weeks ago I was reading a post from my friend (and now favorite HS English teacher), Christa about what students aren’t asking and I recalled my high school AP English teacher professor. The last item on her list:

You knew what I meant. Why did you take points off on this answer? Translation=I made every attempt to provide quality vagueness, and I think that alone should be rewarded.

…about which I commented:

That last one cracks me up. We used to do that all the time! It’s funny though, it didn’t work when I got to AP English. I had a crusty old Ukrainian for a teacher who really should have been a college professor, and I swore he hated me.

He ripped me apart in red pen once for misusing “sated” (instead of satiated). C’mon, to a high schooler… same basic idea, right? Nope, totally different word and I should have known better.

Looking back, I wish all my teachers had been like him.

It was incredible to me how intelligent and thoughtful my other teachers all thought I was, how they constantly showed my writing as examples of how to do it right. I couldn’t believe someone could think otherwise - he must have been off his rocker. I was getting pretty darn full of myself actually, so Mr. Ukraine was a refreshing kick in the butt I should have seen for that.

I should not even say that

As we get older we all develop certain habits, and we go through phases too, so those habits change. One of my bad habits I noticed the other day is writing “even” a lot, as in “you can even do this”. In a recent email to a client I said it twice, referring to things she would be able to do with her new website.

Even. It’s not a bad word, and in that context, it’s perfectly “legal” but I realized I say it way too much to try to emphasize a point and it ends up lessening its impact after awhile.

It’s like in The Incredibles when the villain tries to make everyone a super hero… so no one would be super. By over emphasizing things in my excitement for them, I’m essentially nullifying the really special things. If everything is “so cool” then nothing is really cool. Cool?

Superfluous

I’ve been thinking about language a lot lately, especially as I’ve been teaching AJ at home in preparation for kindergarten. There’s one big habit I developed in high school that needs to be unlearned, and I have a “sneaking suspicion” I’m not alone in this one.

Because it was my senior year before I ran into Mr. Ukraine, my superfluous writing had been encouraged and strengthened by my other teachers. And so I kept on writing this way, not so much to “get by” anymore, but out of habit.

A few lessons to learn (or re-learn)

So here’s a list of things I’m working on:

1. So - First, of course, is starting sentences with “So…”
   I started the previous sentence that way on purpose so you’d see what I mean. It’s a tough one for me because I tend to write the way I talk when I blog (though not so much when I really sit down and write).

2. Doubting yourself - Over-using words like may, could, should, would, might, and can. This is subtle, but makes a big difference. In The Elements of Style, it is explained, If your every sentence admits a doubt, your writing will lack authority.

   1. No - If you want to follow web standards, CSS can be used to separate markup and style.
   2. Yes - To follow web standards, CSS is used to separate markup and style.
      See, shorter, more to the point, and a little more authoritative.

3. Even - I covered this one but I’m reminding myself.
   As it is said above, if your every sentence exclaims something, your words will be lost when there is something worth an exclamation.

   1. No - You can even have people subscribe to your feed via email.
   2. Yes - You can have people subscribe via email as well.

4. Active voice - This was a common thing to mess with in high school.
   Many times, teachers would give a set number of words we had to write: Give me 1500 words on the American Revolution. So we’d come up with creative ways to extend or words without really saying anything more. Here’s a simple example:

   1. The curtain was drawn just after the last show was brought to a close.
   2. The show ended and they drew the curtain.

5. Negative form - I do this too and I don’t catch it right away.
   It don’t think it’s imperative, but I notice a difference when I’m reading. Using the positive form makes things more clear.

   1. It’s not often that I get to go anywhere without the kids.
   2. When I go out, I usually have the kids with me.

Common Mistakes

And, some common mistakes in language that I’ve noticed or have done myself a time or two.

* “try and” vs. “try to”
** I once misused stationary with the COO of the company I worked for and he never let me forget it.

Commonly misspelled words

• mispelled -> misspelled :)
• relient -> reliant
• definately -> definitely
• mentaly -> mentally
• aquire -> acquire
• seperate -> separate
• noticable -> noticeable (’notice’ and ‘able’, or ‘able to be noticed’)
• exausted -> exhausted
• priveledge -> privilege
• relavent -> relevant
• twelth -> twelfth
• rediculous -> ridiculous (I think ‘ridicule’)

Constantly, Consistently, Continually

Coming back to this one, I have to stop to think which word to use in different places, so here’s a basic idea of what each word means.

Constantly

Remaining the same over a period of time. So if something is not ceasing, use “constantly”.

Consistently

Unchanging in effect over a period of time. The difference is slight, but I’d say only use it if something is not changing in the way it happens, as opposed to something that doesn’t stop happening, which would be constant.

Continually

Frequently occurring. I would use “continually” for something that happens often but not without ceasing, like “constantly”. You could probably use recurring here too, as if that doesn’t confuse things even more.

I don’t think I’d nitpick on these at all. It’s just something I think about sometimes. :)

There’s so much more and I’m sure I’ve missed some big ones, so what are some things you struggle with?