Nothing is worse than writing an articulate and accurate web piece, blog post, press release or story about your department only to have a grammatical error foil your credibility. The grammar police will quickly write a citation to your Fire Department.
Here are five mistakes to avoid when writing copy.
1. Your vs. You’re
This one drives me insane, and it’s become extremely common among writers. All it takes to avoid this error is to take a second and think about what you’re trying to say.
“Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your Department” or “your Chief.” “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re screwing up your writing by using your when you really mean you are.”
2. It’s vs. Its
This is another common mistake. It’s also easily avoided by thinking through what you’re trying to say.
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in “this press release has lost its credibility.” Here’s an easy rule of thumb—repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” instead. If that sounds goofy, “its” is likely the correct choice.
3. There vs. Their
This one seems to trip up everyone occasionally, often as a pure typo. Make sure to watch for it when you proofread.
“There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place (“let’s go there”) or as a pronoun (“there is no hope”). “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “their bags” or “their opinions.” Always do the “that’s ours!” test—are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, “their” will get you there.
4. Affect vs. Effect
To this day I have to pause and mentally sort this one out in order to get it right. As with any of the other common mistakes people make when writing, it’s taking that moment to get it right that makes the difference.
“Affect” is a verb, as in “Your ability to communicate clearly will affect your department’s mission.” “Effect” is a noun, as in “The effect of roof ventilation on a hose team’s visibility is well documented.” By thinking in terms of “the effect,” you can usually sort out which is which, because you can’t stick a “the” in front of a verb. While some people do use “effect” as a verb (“a strategy to effect a settlement”), they are usually lawyers, and you should therefore ignore them if you want to write like a human!
5. The Dangling Participle
The dangling participle may be the most egregious of the most common writing mistakes. Not only will this error damage the flow of your writing, it can also make it impossible for someone to understand what you’re trying to say.
Check out these two examples I found -
After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.
Uhh… keep your decomposing brother away from me!
Featuring plug-in circuit boards, we can strongly endorse this server’s flexibility and growth potential.
Hmmm… robotic copy written by people embedded with circuit boards. Makes sense.
The problem with both of the above is that the participial phrase that begins the sentence is not intended to modify what follows next in the sentence. However, readers mentally expect it to work that way, so your opening phrase should always modify what immediately follows. If it doesn’t, you’ve left the participle dangling, as well as those who are reading your copy.
I make some of these mistakes. The problem for me is writing too fast. However, I have great friends who enjoy pointing out my mistakes. Thanks for the lesson!
Wow Fire Critic, I just learned my own lesson. I was proofing some copy for my Department website and caught an Affect vs. Effect!
There are two things I teach during familiarization classes with our FFs…
A “Median” is the center grass section usually found on a highway… A “Medium” is a level of doneness when ordering a steak or someone who reaches out to the dead.
And – It’s not “nukyoular” ever. It never has been and never will be. If the presenter has issues saying this word then just practice saying it as if it were two words. “New” and “Clear”. When these two words are spoken together the result will always be “nuclear”. Thanks for the website.
George Bush couldn’t have said it better!
Don’t use any form of the phrase “begs the question”, unless you are absolutely sure what it means and that it applies. The phrase is regularly used incorrectly. Educated people know this and cringe.
Briefly put, “begging the question” is a fallacy in logical argument. It DOES NOT mean that the issue being discussed requires or suggests a question that needs to be posed.
A good description of the “begging the question” fallacy can be found in “The Trivium”, a book by Sister Miriam Joseph Rauh, edited by Marguerite McGlinn, published by Paul Dry Books, 2002.
Don’t use “myself” to look educated, unless you are absolutely sure it’s not “I” or “me” you should use. As my teachers suggested when I in fourth grade, the best way to determine which word to use, is to test its use by itself.
Sentences to check for accuracy:
a) Myself and my wife went to the store.
Myself went to the store. WRONG
I went to the store. CORRECT!
A second problem with the original sentence is that it should be “My wife and I…”. One always puts the other first in the sentence.
b) The loud noise scared my dog and myself.
The loud noise scared myself. WRONG
The loud noise scared ME. CORRECT!
2.) Don’t use any form of the phrase “begs the question”, unless you are absolutely sure what it means and that it applies. The phrase is regularly used incorrectly.
Educated people know the proper use of “myself”and cringe at its misuse.
Proverbs 17:28 says “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”
If you aren’t absolutely positive of the grammatical correctness and proper spelling of the words in ALL your communications then you should consider finding someone who can help you proof your written communications and coach you before you give a speech.
The following is a form letter our department fire chief composed and mailed recently.
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February 4, 2010
As of today date your being asked to return all property issued to you by the ____ Fire District (any PPE, Radio’s, Tools, etc.). This property must be returned within 30 days or further action will be taken.
Sincerely,
Chief Ignoramous
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The receivers of this letter literally burst out laughing at the illiteracy and ignorance of the chief being displayed. First, he sent it to VOLUNTEERS who OWN their own equipment; there’s nothing for them to return. Second, there are several individuals the chief could have turned to for help proofing it. The chief LOST credibility within our very small community and among the Fire Board members when the letter made the rounds of the local watering holes.