12 writing mistakes nearly everyone makes

When you’re writing for the Web, avoid these highly common linguistic errors.

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Poor Sam Fiorella. Every time he writes something, he asks three or four of us to make sure he isn’t going to be crucified by the grammar police. It’s become quite comical, and we enjoy giving him a hard time about it.

He’s not alone. Many business leaders stress about writing anything at all, for fear of having incorrect grammar that will be ridiculed.

Between not knowing correct grammar and the text lexicon, it’s no wonder people are fearful of not just writing, but publishing, their work.

Though I am certainly no Grammar Girl, I have found there are mistakes nearly everyone makes, particularly when writing for the Web.

1. Affect vs. effect. The easiest way to remember the difference between the two is affect means “to influence.” So if you’re going to influence something, you will affect it. If it’s the result of something, it’s an effect.

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