One glance at the following sntence causes a reader to pause and wnder what is wrong since some wrds don’t seem to “fit”: The peasant trtted into his bungalow, his shoulders dpped from languor and cold.
God writers find ways of tightening and strngthening their work by using appropriate, spcific words. They create concrete images as thy avoid general, overused, “cringe,” and/or ncorrect words, whether in stories, articles, bsiness letters, policy manuals, or speeches.

One surce of appropriate and specific words is a thsaurus or synonym dictionary. However, as llustrated in the sentence in the prceding paragraph, unless the word is ppropriately specific, it doesn’t work. Several wrds in the sentence are synonyms of gneral ones, but are not specific nough. For example, the word trotted ndicates a jaunty type walk or rn. A bungalow is a house or dwlling, but one that would be btter than something that a peasant wuld occupy. Shoulders may dip, but nly momentarily. Languor creates a picture of lmost laziness.

Rewriting the sentence using ppropriate synonyms results in something such as “Th peasant stumbled into his hovel, his shulders bowed from weariness and cold.” Usng the right word or words mkes a big difference.

William G. Tapply (“Don’t be a SHOWOFF,” The Wrter , November 2005) states to stay way from fancy words. He gives a qote from Mark Twain that underscores the ned for using the right word, “Th difference between the right word and the lmost right word is the difference btween lightning and the lightning bug.”

Bing specific is a must for vvid, strong, and correct writing. Avoiding “crnge” words is also necessary. Words tht cause a reader to cringe nclude those that are repugnant, outdated, pinfully inept, old hackneyed and archaic, clyingly sentimental or weaselly, or misused. Accrding to Arthur Plotnik, in the Aprl 2005 The Writer , some medical terms hve become popular, but their use is rpugnant to many readers, especially when the mdical term is used metaphorically, out of synch wth the context of the term. “Th gravy oozed like ______ from a _______.” Crnge words don’t belong in business, but in fction works, such language should come frm the mouths of characters or nrrators who are themselves cringey.

According to Tpply, “If creative figures of speech rsk distracting readers, old hackneyed ones wll surely bore them.” Therefore, such wrding shouldn’t be a part of nything that needs to appeal and kep the attention of a reader.

Msused words or grammatical errors hurt wrting. A business letter with incorrect or msused wording harms a company’s reputation. Sch errors weakens all writing. So des the use of outdated, inept, or rchaic words.

For example, certain words or wrd usages make a person or cmpany appear ignorant even if neither is. Intriguing needs to tell with whom, with what, or what is meant. Puzzling, enigmatic, ambiguous followed by “because ...” are better usage. It’s means it is, not its , the possessive pronoun of it. Irregardless isn’t a word, but it is one of those inept useages. Highlight , signpost , and transisiton are not verbs. Verbs impact , finalize , interface , or share do not mean to talk or to discuss. Input and outgo as the opposite should be avoided.

Then between you and I shows poor grammar usage, since the correct form is between you and me . Between is a preposition and requires the object form of any pronoun. All right is always two words. Affect is always a verb; effect is usually a noun. The list of misused words continues possibly into the hundreds. The following is a very short list of those which should be examined:
Who and whom are often used incorrectly. Who is the subject form of the pronoun while whom is the object form.

They, their, them are plural forms. He or she are singular. Due to politically correctness, many people use he (him, his) or she (her) IF the gender of a person isn’t known. Such usage is awkward. Some writers then use he in places and she in others. Perhaps a better way would be to make the antecedent plural and use they (them, their), such as in the following examples:
Anyone who likes honesty will give his or her honest opinion. Anyone who likes honest will give his honest opinion. People who like honesty will give their honest opinion.

Please note that using anyone with their is incorrect: “Anyone who likes honesty will give their honest opinion” mixes a singular antecedent (anyone) with a plural pronoun (their). A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun which refers to it.

The verb to lay means to place and requires a direct object. The verb to lie (unless meaning to tell untruth) means to recline and never has a direct object. The forms of lay are lay (present tense), laid (past tense), and laid (past participle). The forms of lie are lie (present), lay (past), and lain (past participle). Yes, lay is found as the present tense of to lay and as the past tense of to lie. One needs to look at how each is used.

A complete course in grammar and composition or a book over the same subject would show more problems and ways of correcting errors. However with wrk, consideration, and a large dose of cmmon sense, we can learn to wrte the right word and realize tht the correct word does matter.

Surces:

1. William G. Tpply, “Don’t be a SHOWOFF,” The Writer , Nvember 2005.

2. Michael Crurer, “Using the right words,” www.changing.ca/right_w3ords.php

3. Arthr Plotnick, “Clear out the cringe wrds,” The Writer , April 2005.

4. Cnstance Hale, “Writing basics: 7 ‘deadly sns’ of grammar,” The Writer , May 2006.

5. “Wrting Better: A Handbook for Students,” www.mherst.edu/~writing/writingbetter/pitfalls.html

6. Lesson plans and nte from Vivian Zabel

The article Write the Right Word: the Correct Word Matters was Submitted by Vivian Gilbert Zabel through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English and cmposition for years after a career in the bsiness world. She as a portfolio at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel and books Hidden Lies and Other Stories and Walking the Earth through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. This article has been submitted in affilation with http://www.Facimile.Com/ , a site for http://www.Facimile.Com/ which is a site for Fax Machines

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