Fresh Eyes

If the proofreading fairy hasn’t visited your office lately, you might be blissfully unaware of grammar gremlins or spelling slip-ups in your sales writing.  Not only do you risk confusing your audience … but you also risk your business reputation.

In short, poor grammar or spelling errors portray an unprofessional image. To avoid unnecessary copy blunders, open your eyes to the following.

What are homophones?

If you snoozed during English lessons, you might have forgotten what homophones are.  These are words which sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings.  No wonder people have problems with them!

Common spelling mix-ups include:

• Affect and Effect

Affect is a verb – to change or influence something. Business is affected by…

Effect is a noun – or a result of something. Marketing can have a huge effect on…

• Its and it’s

This is a biggie!  It’s is a contraction or a shortened word for it is.  The apostrophe always goes between the t and the s.

Its belongs to or relates to something. ‘The company increased its profits.’

• Principal and principle

Principal can refer to the first of something.  ‘The principal reason for…’  You can also have a college principal.

A principle is a matter of honour or relating to an idea.  You might have business principles or agree in principle with something.

• Stationary and stationery

When you’re not moving, you are stationary.

Your desk, on the other hand, might be littered with stationery. (Writing materials)

• Too and to

Too is an adverb for ‘more’ and is placed before an adjective to emphasise something positive or negative.  ‘It’s too expensive.’

To is a preposition used before and after verbs. ‘A copywriter can help you to…’

• Compliment and complement

You might give someone a compliment.  ‘I’d like to compliment you on your…’

Complement is used when you want to show that something goes with something else. ‘Strawberries and cream complement each other…’

• License and licence

License is a verb when something is allowed or permitted.  So, you can be licensed to fly a plane.

A licence is noun for a permit or permission to do what you want.  You might have poetic licence, for example. Or if James Bond, ‘Licence to Kill.’  Confusion often arises if you are writing for an American audience. Americans often spell licence with an s! Aargh!

• Precede and Proceed

Precede means to come before something.  You might precede the report with a short introduction.

When you proceed, you continue as planned or go forwards. ‘Proceed to the exit…’

• Weather and whether

Brits are obsessed with it!  The weather is all about the climate.

Whether is a conjunction used when asking questions or expressing doubt.  It’s another word for ‘if’ … whether you like it or not.

• Right and write

When you are right, you are correct.  Right is also a direction and reference to a political persuasion. And of course, you should know what your rights are!

To write is all about writing words or recording something.  Something we at The Word Well spend our days doing!

Copy clarity

Has that cleared up some confusion for you?  The trick is to read your copy several times,  ask someone else to read your copy for you or if in doubt, organise a professional proofreader to give it the once over instead!  Another pair of eyes can make all the difference.

Can you think of any other confusing words?

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