Of course not everyone is going to be the next Mark Twain, but career success does depend on not looking stupid. Sure, some clients, coworkers, or resume readers might make some of these mistakes themselves. But it takes just one person to see just one mistake for you to be discounted.
Avoid these 11 mistakes to get the job, perform better on the job and write better!
1. Constipated Clauses
Reporting on the feats and foibles of the Red Sox, a writer for South Coast Today notes: “It goes without saying that these exploits take a tremendous amount of skill.”
If it “goes without saying” then don’t say it. If it doesn’t, in fact, go without saying, then don’t say it does.
“Obviously, the sky is blue.” Putting the “obviously” doesn’t suddenly make the statement insightful.
2. Comma Vomit
True or false: a comma must precede any use of the word “and”? FALSE. Commas should only precede and, but, for, or, nor, so, or yet when they introduce an independent clause. For example, “We laid out our music and snacks, and began to study.” Placing a comma after “snacks” is incorrect. The subject of the sentence has not changed, “we” still “began to study.”
An example of correct comma use: “The game was over, and the crowd began to leave.” The game and the crowd are different subjects and the clauses are independent. The crowd could still be leaving regardless of what is happening with the game.
A comma can also precede “and” when it is used in a list of three or more items. However, in a list it is entirely optional and called an “oxford comma”.
While that is probably the most common overuse, others are prevalent. Just because you think you would pause at a certain point when speaking, it does not mean you need a comma. For a complete guide to using and misusing commas, check out this guide!
3. The Death of Adverbs
Once upon a time, the English language had a way to modify both nouns and verbs. Adjectives did the trick on the former and adverbs on the latter. You didn’t just have to walk, you could walk quickly!
Adverbs modify verbs. For example, you accomplish a task with ease. What do you say?
WRONG: I can do that easy!
RIGHT: I can do that
easily!
You accomplish a task with more ease than your colleagues. What do you say?
WRONG: I can do that easier than
they can.
RIGHT: I can do that more
easily than they can.
4. Less vs. Fewer
A salesperson’s skills are not on par with yours. How would you describe that: “He has less skill than I” or “He has fewer skills than I do”? You could use both! Less describes something that is not finite, like a trait. In the first case, “skill” does not refer to any particular skill, it denotes skill like “talent” or “intelligence.”
Fewer describes finite, listable items. In the second case, you have a larger skill set than the other salesperson. You could list those skills that you have and the ones he doesn’t.
Too often, people over- and mis-use “less.” They’ll say something like, “He has less skills than I do.” Say that and you’ve shown you have less intelligence and fewer brains than your competitors.
5. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Et cetera: a useful Latin-derived tool for shortening lists. However, unless you are a lawyer, using it (and especially overusing it) can make you sound unprofessional.
If you must, use it once. A second or third occurrence in the same document essentially says, “I really don’t know what I’m talking about, so I’ll just jam etc. on the end and try to pretend I do!”
Another et cetera mistake is using it when you should use “et al.” Listing a set of objects? Use etc. Listing a group of people? Use et al. It also is derived from Latin and means “and others.”
