Common and Annoying Writing Errors Content Writer VAs Make
These days, content writing is a lucrative career in and out of the remote staffing world. There are plenty of career opportunities for content writers these days, so this particular career path has been attracting more and more people lately.
However, working in the content writing industry isn’t for everyone. If you want to make a career out of writing, you have to be able to construct sentences well, and you definitely need to have impeccable grammar and spelling.
Are you a content writer virtual assistant or trying to become one? Here are some common but annoying writing errors that plague many content writer VAs — plus tips on how to avoid them.
Similar sounding words
Affect vs effect, than vs then, complement vs compliment — these are just some of the most commonly confused homophones according to Scholastic. The thing about homophones is that people have a difficult time catching them because they’re indistinguishable in conversations. The good news is that they’re much easier to avoid when you’re writing because the differences in spelling gives them away. All you need to do is study their use cases and you’re all set. Follow the link above for an excellent article discussing the uses of homophones that are commonly mistaken for each other.
Incorrect verb forms
With incorrect verb forms becoming so much more widely accepted in day-to-day conversations, a lot of content writers find it easy for the habit to slip into their written work. Make sure you exert extra effort to avoid this. Saying “I done my duty” instead of “I did my duty” is not acceptable in an article or piece of web content unless it’s deliberately used to enhance branding. More often, however, using incorrect verb forms will definitely make you come off as a poor writer.
Subject-verb agreement
Incorrect subject-verb agreement happens more often than you might think, even for articles that were written by professional writers. This usually occurs when writers use long and complex sentences because the subjects in these types of sentences tend to get lost along the way. To avoid this, it’s better to stick to simpler sentences. Shorter, more concise sentences read a lot better anyway. Plus, you have to remember that online readers don’t want to spend a lot of effort trying to comprehend what you wrote.
Repetition
This can pertain to constant use of ellipses, exclamation points, or other punctuation marks. It can also refer to the use of the same word over and over. The point is, repeating certain words or symbols, or even styles, in your article can be grating for readers. Take note of what you’ve already used and try to avoid repeating them within the same paragraph or at least in the same article.
The good thing about being a content writer VA is that you always have time to correct your mistakes. Be wary of the common errors listed above and try to polish your grammar by taking some free grammar lessons online every now and then. The most important tip of all? Proofread your work before submitting or uploading them!
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