A common rookie mistake in writing is formulating statements that are presented together in non-compatible ways. You see this often done when the writer decides to use lists, bullet points or enumeration to present the details of the subject.
To give you a better idea, let’s say we want to talk about the features of a new product. Presenting it in list form, you can go like this:
- attribute 1
- attribute 2
- attribute 3
While that’s usually a simple enough process to follow, many still commit the mistake of writing out each item in a way that is not compatible with other items in the list. Take this example, for instance:
The new cell phone features a touchscreen LCD, QWERTY keys and comes with a ton of applications.
Three attributes of the new cell phone were presented in the sentence, namely:
- features a touchscreen LCD
- QWERTY keys
- comes with a ton of applications
Can you spot what’s wrong? The first and third statements all start with a verb while the second one just states the feature directly. It makes for bad reading that is not only grammatically incorrect, but can destroy your writing’s overall flow.
If you use a good grammar software, you’ll find that it easily catches these types of errors and will provide you with a more appropriate suggestion. You can do two things in this case to correct the sentence, either starting with a verb for the whole deal or dispensing with verbs for each statement. Either one of these two adjustments would be correct:
The new cell phone features a touchscreen LCD, QWERTY keys and a ton of applications.
or
The new cell phone features a touchscreen LCD, sports QWERTY keys and comes with a ton of applications.
It’s such a simple guideline that many tend to overlook it when writing. If I were you, I’d invest in a writing software now to catch these and other similarly-preventable mistakes.
