Spelling
Spelling is something that we take for granted since we have been writing since we were 6 or 7 years old. So if you make a mistake in spelling, it will look like you are not paying attention and that you might not capable of writing business documents. With computers there should not be any spelling errors, if you are using word, excel, etc these programs correct miss spelled words. Also many e-mail sites also have this function.
If you want to take extra precaution, you can download Firefox, it will check for check you’re spelling in any web page.
Here are a few websites to help you with spelling: www.spellingtips.net
www.askoxford.com
www.infoplease.com
Grammar
Grammar is one of the hardest parts in the writing process. It includes syntax, variation, words formation of a language, adverbs, verbs, verb tenses, adjectives, determiners, nouns, and many more. Since this category is very wide, it is much more difficult to avoid mistakes. Most computers do not have a grammar check program, unless it is installed. Most grammar mistakes are found in the words formation and syntax. The reason for this is because; often people have trouble explaining their thought leading to malformation of sentences. In business writing, the usage of each words is significant because the information has to be simple and understandable for everyone by avoiding fancy words.
Here are a few websites for Free Grammar check:
www.eslincanada.comPunctuation
Punctuation is often considered as one of the easiest steps in the proof read process; however, it isn’t the case. Comas, colons, semi-colons, quotation marks, apostrophe, hyphen and dash are often misused in sentences creating punctuation mistakes. Microsoft programs have the ability to correct those mistakes. Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate structure, organization, intonation and pauses of a written language.
Here are a few websites for tips on punctuation:
Names and Numbers
Incorrect numbers and miss spelling names will negatively affect any business writer. Double check the spelling of all the names used, miss spelled names will discredit you immediately, because the reader may think that you are not paying attention to what you are doing or interested. For these same reasons you should double check all numbers used; dates, financial information, etc.
Format
The way your work is important too. People will judge your work if it looks sloppy on the page or looks inconsistent.
- -Be sure that your page is consistent. If you indent paragraphs then all paragraphs should look the same. The same goes for the alignment and the order of pages; documents must look balanced
- -References and citations are ways to avoid plagiarism, proper citations are to follow either the MLA or APA format
- -To verify consistency in format, re-read document a third time
