If you are a learner in a language there is a great chance to make more mistakes. Mistakes are a common issue to all, but how we overcome the mistakes that make the difference. Here are some ways to avoid mistakes in English, and some methods to avoid it. There are many people who suggest “if you are not sure how to say something in a language, don’t say it”. But I am against it; if you are not opening your mouth and don’t say anything how could you improve your vocabulary and thoughts.
Draft sentences carefully
In the beginning, write very slowly to avoid mistakes. You should read your sentences to find mistakes and correct if any found. You can check the words in a dictionary. You can also use similar words to create new sentences. Before writing take a look over your sentences and structure. Build a habit of re-reading your sentences.
Use simple language
Try to write something in plain English. Keep your sentences short, use words that are only appropriate for the reader and prefer active verbs. Most experts suggest clear writing should have an average sentence length of 15 to 20 words.
Refer and Research
If you are not sure how to use a word or experience any difficulty in creating a sentence. You can check online for example sentences or similar usage. There are a number of online resources offering the proper usage of sentence examples. You can also see answers related to your questions in any answering engines like Quora.
Proper usage
Commas and semicolons are the most misused items in English grammar. Ensure that proper nouns like days of the week, names and places need capitalization (eg. Albert Einstein, Wednesday).
Online resources
Thanks to technology, there are a huge number of sites offering free basic courses and tips in English. There a number of online dictionaries available, dictionary.com, Cambridge dictionary, Macmillan dictionary, Merriam Webster, Collins dictionary, etc. You can use synonyms to improve your writing with helpful synonym suggestions using thesaurus.com. Wordweb is a nice tool that you can install on your computer, you can do a one-click lookup and it can also work offline. The sage is an English Dictionary and thesaurus that you can download install on your system.
In a normal conversation, if the person you were speaking can understand what you meant, then it doesn’t matter if your sentence didn’t use perfect grammar. You can use the help of a proofreading app like Grammarly, Whitesmoke, Ginger to correct your sentences. These are writing assistants, that provide clear and constructive writing suggestions based on your writings. You can read our workshop on improving Your English Writing with Grammarly to learn to use Grammarly.
You can use Microsoft Office Word or Google Docs or other any word processor that can format documents and can also proofread documents. Grammarly compiled a list of common grammar mistakes that every writer should avoid. Dialywritng tips offer a free basic English grammar rules ebook that you can download.
