7 Common Mistakes Online Writers Make

There you are, basking in the glory of your published piece (albeit on the Internet). You lovingly re-read every carefully chosen word, every carefully crafted turn of phrase, when it jumps out and slaps you in the face: a typo or some grammatical error. It must have been a ninja because it managed to slip by despite your vigilance.  

It’s become an all-too-familiar experience with bloggers and online writers of all kinds – finding mistakes after it’s too late to do anything about it. Not only does it affect your credibility as a writer, it also damages the reliability of the site it was published on. You may have the best of intentions in spreading important and useful information on the Internet, but people will not read what you have to say if your piece is riddle with errors.

Here are some of the most common:

1.    Your vs You’re

They sound the same, but they don’t mean the same thing.

“Your” shows possession while “you’re” is “you are” in a shorter form.

“Your grammar is good.You’re the best!

2.    Their vs They’re

Yet another common mistake just because they sound the same. Take a second look every time you use these words.

Similar to the first example, while “their” means that a third person owns something, while “they’re” is a contraction of “they are”.

“They’rethe experts.Listen to them because their opinions matter.”

3.    Loose vs Lose

These words are often mixed up in writing. Many writers, for some reason, use loose when they really mean lose. Don’t lose your mind on this – it’s just an extra o.

“Loose” is the opposite of “tight”, while “lose” means “to fail” or stop having possession of something.

“Your pocket is too loose, you might loseyour wallet.”

4.    Its vs It’s

A glaring mistake that writers commonly miss out because of simple carelessness. There’s no reason to get confused on this common mistake. It’s easy!

“Its”, again, shows possession, but “it’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has”.

“It’s (It has) been a long day of work. I think it’s (it is) time to take a break. I want to go to that restaurant, which is famous for its delicious steak.”

5.    i.e. vs e.g.

Ooh la Latin! These two abbreviations are commonly misused by so many because they don’t know what either of them stands for – or may have just forgotten the difference.

i.e. is “id est” in Latin which means “that is”, while e.g. is “exempli gratia” which means “for the sake of example”. To keep it short, use the former to define further and use the latter to give an example. Here’s a memory trick to help you remember the difference:

i.e. = in essence
e.g. = example given

“The office is doing some cost cutting efforts (i.e., reducing office expenses). We are running out of office supplies (e.g., paper, pen, marker).”

6.    Further vs Farther

Distance is what’s common between these two, but they mean far different things.

“Farther” is used for physical distance; it means “at a greater distance”. “Further’” on the other hand, is used for metaphorical, or figurative, distance; it means “to a greater extent or degree”.

“He’s a hard-headed athlete. He kept on running farther which triggered further damage to his injury.”

7.    Affect vs Effect

Perhaps because their meanings are so similar, most writers often misuse this pair of confusing words.
“Affect” is a verb that means to “produce an effect, to influence”, while “effect’ is a noun that means “the result of a cause”.
“The quality of your grammar affects the credibility of your content. That’s a simple cause and effect thought that you have to remember.”
These are just some of the most common mistakes that you have to avoid if you want to produce quality content for your blog or for your clients. You can even get more freelance job opportunities if you continue to please every client you meet, and likely get referrals as a result.