My husband no longer watches as much football as he used to. One thing that turned him off was the endless celebrating – high-fives and dancing not just after a touchdown, but after every successful pass, catch, and tackle. My husband likes to quote football legend Vince Lombardi: “When you go into the end zone, act like you’ve been there before.”
The same principle applies to writing. Act like you’ve been there before! Adopt writing habits that make you look like a pro, even if you’re not.
Today I’m going to discuss some common writing practices that might label you as an amateur:
1. Using British writing practices even though you’re an American.
British writers use single quotation marks (often called ‘inverted commas’) for quoting someone’s exact words. But double quotation marks, “like this,” are standard practice in the US. American writers use single quotation marks only for quotes-within-quotes and for named plant varieties.
If you’re a British writer who’s publishing in the UK, go ahead and use single quotes. But if you’re an American publishing (or hoping to publish) in the US, use double quotation marks and other American practices.
And don’t fool yourself into thinking that British writing habits will make your writing sound elegant. You’ll just seem confused.
2. Using quotation marks for emphasis, cuteness, or an inexact word choice.
Quotation marks are properly used when you record someone’s exact words. They’re also used for titles of short works of art (songs, poems, short stories).
Many amateur writers have the unfortunate habit of using quotation marks to signify that a word or phrase doesn’t quite mean what it says:
My “job” pays me so little that after I buy gas and uniforms, almost nothing is left. [Message: It’s not much of a job.]
Why don’t you come over for a “cup of tea” this afternoon? [Message: I’ll be serving something else besides tea.]
Our “hostess” treated us like we were an unwelcome nuisance instead of cherished guests. [Message: She was a terrible hostess.]
Professional writers don’t use quotation marks this way, and you shouldn’t either. Your choices are to use the word without apology or to find the exact words you want.
3. Using slashes, which should be reserved for business writing.
You can have cake and/or ice cream.
You can have cake, ice cream, or both. BETTER
She’s a cook/housekeeper.
She works as a cook and a housekeeper. BETTER
He’s majoring in biology/chemistry.
He’s doing a double major in biology and chemistry. BETTER
4. Overusing would.
I’ve had many students who repeatedly used would for actions that happened in the past. Of course it’s correct to use would this way! But overdoing it looks amateurish. You’ll sound more professional if you use past-tense verbs most of the time.
Kay would get up early every morning to study a College Boards review book. She would work the sample problems over and over until she got each one right. Sometimes she would ask friends who were good at English or math to help her with difficult questions. Her hard work paid off: She was offered generous scholarships to three colleges. OVERUSE OF WOULD
Kay got up early every morning to study a College Boards review book. She worked the sample problems over and over until she got each one right. Sometimes she asked friends who were good at English or math to help her with difficult questions. Her hard work paid off: She was offered generous scholarships to three colleges. BETTER
Vince Lombardi
