Know what to look for

I've commented recently on reading over your copy carefully before sending it, which improves your chances of catching errors. Of course I say this knowing there are those out there who couldn't care less whether their communications are cluttered with misspellings, comma splices, punctuation goofs and other flaws.

Trying to change that way of thinking may be about as successful as persuading college football to scrap the Bowl Championship Series and institute a play-off. So, for those who don't care what their copy reads like (I guess that also means that you don't care if you communicate), this post isn't for you.

For those who do care, let me get to the point. Yes, careful rereading will catch most if not all errors. And once you've made that technique a habit, the next step is to know what to look for when you're scrutinizing your copy for mistakes.

That can be a long list. But one of the chief errors that creeps into copy has to do with everyday words that sound like other words.

I'm talking about writing your when what you meant to say was you're, or their, when what you intended was they're or there. Other commonly confused pairs are its and it's, and who's and whose.

As I said the list of common errors can be lengthy and it can be different for every writer. Pay attention to the inadvertent mistakes that end up on your copy and make a point of looking for them when you inspect your text for flaws. It's hard to catch all your mistakes, I know I can't, but if you can spot and fix most of them, you're doing well.