8 Common Writing Mistakes (and How to Correct Them)
I’ve been a professional writer for more than 10 years now, and I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes.
Luckily, I’ve learned a thing or two from those mistakes along the way. Here are the top 8 common writing mistakes I see (with examples)—and how to correct them.
Here are the common writing mistakes at a glance:
Not using a comma before a coordinating conjunction when joining independent clauses
Introducing a comma splice
Using a semicolon when it’s not needed
Not using a possessive before a gerund
Always using a colon before introducing a list
Omitting commas in compound sentences.
Incorrectly placing modifiers
Using a period instead of a question mark (and vice versa)
Let’s dive in!
1. Not using a comma before a coordinating conjunction when joining independent clauses
Holy jargon, Batman! Let’s break down what this even means.
A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins clauses, words, phrases, and even full sentences together. You can remember the coordinating conjunctions with the acronym FANBOYS:
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
And independent clause is just fancy talk for a full sentence.
In short, this grammatical faux pas occurs when there are two or more complete sentences joined by a FANBOYS word without a comma.
(Incorrect) Example:
Charlotte enjoys watching television and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
Corrected:
Charlotte enjoys watching television, and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
That’s all it takes to fix it! Just add that comma before your coordinating conjunction, and you’ll be good to go.
2. Introducing a comma splice
While we’re on the topic of joining independent clauses, let’s talk about comma splices.
A comma splice is present when independent clauses are joined by just a comma. In reality, independent clauses can be joined by a comma—but only if the comma is followed by a coordinating conjunction.
(Incorrect) Example:
Charlotte enjoys watching television, she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
Corrected:
Charlotte enjoys watching television, and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
- OR -
Charlotte enjoys watching television; she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
- OR -
Charlotte enjoys watching television. She’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
There are several ways to fix comma splices, and it’s largely up to personal preference when it comes to fixing these errors.
3. Using a semicolon when it’s not needed
Now that we’ve talked about independent clauses, we can move on to a related topic: semicolons.
Semicolons are used to join independent clauses. The caveat? If you use a coordinating conjunction, you shouldn’t use a semicolon.
(Incorrect) Example:
Charlotte enjoys watching television; and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
Corrected:
Charlotte enjoys watching television. She’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
You can join independent clauses in a few different ways, including using a comma and a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon. But don’t combine these approaches.
4. Not using a possessive before a gerund
Again, holy jargon, Batman!
In a grammatical sense, a possessive word is a word that—well—shows possession (e.g., your, my, etc.).
A gerund (pronounced JER-und) is a verb that acts as a noun. Grammarly has a great article breaking down the technical definition of a gerund, and I love their simple example:
Fazal turned off his phone and shut the door so he could focus on studying.
See how studying—typically a verb—functions as a noun? It’s a thing versus an action. The action here is focus. On what? Studying—a gerund.
Grammatically speaking, you should use a possessive form of a word before a gerund. Take this (incorrect) example.
(Incorrect) Example:
I appreciate you reading my blog.
Corrected:
I appreciate your reading my blog.
Here’s the difference: In the incorrect example, it’s being said that I appreciate you (which, of course, I do!). But what I’m trying to say is I appreciate the action you’re taking of reading my blog. That’s conveyed by using the possessive form of you. I appreciate your reading my blog.
5. Always using a colon before introducing a list
That’s right: It’s not always correct to use a colon before introducing a list.
Strictly speaking, you should only use a colon to introduce a list whenever what precedes the colon forms a full sentence.
(Incorrect) Example:
Things I enjoy are:
Reading
Going to the beach
Playing board games
Corrected:
The things I enjoy are the following:
Reading
Going to the beach
Playing board games
In the incorrect example, “things I enjoy are” doesn’t form a complete thought. In the corrected version, what precedes the colon (the things I enjoy are the following) forms a complete thought.
6. Omitting commas in compound sentences.
Ah, more jargon. What even is a compound sentence?
A compound sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses (or sentences/complete thoughts). Take this example from earlier:
Charlotte enjoys watching television, and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
This is a compound sentence because two independent clauses exist within it.
Oftentimes, writers will omit a comma in a compound sentence as such:
(Incorrect) Example:
Charlotte enjoys watching television and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
Corrected:
Charlotte enjoys watching television, and she’ll never turn down a true crime documentary.
Commas are kinda tricky, eh?
7. Incorrectly placing modifiers
This error shows itself in two ways: dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers.
A dangling modifier is when a group of modifying words isn’t placed near the word(s) it modifies. The words are just kind of dangling off to the side, like in this example:
(Incorrect) Example:
After putting the kids to bed, the sun went down.
The construction of this sentence makes it sound like the sun put its kids to bed. Let’s fix that.
Corrected:
After putting the kids to bed, Gerald watched the sun go down.
The other common modifier mistake is simply misplacing it. Your modifiers should always be placed close to the word or words they modify. No need to shove them over to the next zip code.
(Incorrect) Example:
She grew tomatoes from seedlings that were juicy.
Juicy…seedlings? Nah, juicy tomatoes. Let’s move this modifier to the right zip code.
Corrected:
She grew tomatoes that were juicy from seedlings.
8. Using a period instead of a question mark (and vice versa)
This one might come across as something you’d never do, but hear me out!
Would you end these sentences with a question mark or a period?
I guess he’s not being serious
He wondered why earning money is so hard
She wants to know if you can call her
He asked why the sky is blue
The right answer? A period.
Technically, all of the above statements are just that: statements, not questions. There are indirect questions, but those never warrant a question mark unless they’re asked directly.
Those are 8 common writing mistakes I tend to see as a content writer. Happy writing!