Writing an email, business proposal or even an in-house memo in English? Know your writing rules!! As we all know, once something has been “put out there” in written form, it’s impossible to take it back, so it’s crucial to check and double-check your writing for errors of vocab, grammar, syntax (sentence structure) and content.

Grammar

Never rely solely on spellcheckers – here are some examples of mistakes that were not picked up by Word:

• I need to CITE (when you mean “sight”) the document.

• The AFFECT (should be the noun “effect”) of this policy is disastrous.

Content

ALWAYS check the connotations of the person, place or thing you are writing about, so that your references are valid and suited to the content. For example:

• Is the company policy you’re referring to still valid, or has it been scrapped?

• Is the CFO of the company you’re referring to, still the CFO?

It’s worth taking the time to do a little research here!

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To make the right impression with your written English, ensure that you educate (and sometimes “re-educate”) yourself in these all-important areas.