INTRODUCTION
his book is for writers who want to avoid the most common errors of written
English without spending a
lot of time looking things up.
The list of 100 spelling, usage, and punctuation errors does not
include every possible mistake, but it covers a
great many "howlers" that can put off potential customers and clients.
A few entries feature a spelling or usage that differs in
British and American English, or an expression or rule
on which thoughtful people disagree. These entries are marked with an asterisk (*).
Grammar terms and grammatical explanations
have been kept to a minimum, but it is expected that the
reader will be familiar with the English parts of speech
and such basic terms as
subject
,
object
,
clause
, and
phrase
.
The most essential pair of tools for every writer is a good dictionary and a respected style guide. To avoid the
most commonly-encountered
writing errors, however, the writer in a hurry can save time by looking here first.
