Writers Tricks of the Trade Volume 7, Issue 4 Winter 2018 | Page 18

Y OU D ON ’ T S AY (C ONT ’ D )
I couldn’t wait to complement Suzie for hiring the compliment of 15 researchers
we needed.
Okay, so you couldn’t wait to complete or fill Suzie for hiring the praise of 15 re-
searchers. A little bit of nonsense, if you ask me. It’s handy to remember that com-
plement (something that fills, completes or works well together) is spelled similar to
complete and compliment and praise both have an “i”.
The list goes on and on and on. Of course you won’t remember everything and
can’t be expected to check every word you write. But, here’s what you can do. Get
to know the real offenders like there and their, it’s and its, and commit those to
memory. You won’t have to flag them often. Pretty soon your brain will get the
message.
For everything else, make a mental note when someone catches your error. You
might even keep your own list or buy a wrong word dictionaries to keep handy.
One of the steps on the ladder to appearing professional is for your work to
mean what you actually intended. So, be careful of righting the wrong word. See
how easy it was for me to use the wrong write and not have it caught by Spell
Check?
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Did this article make you think about making sure the word is correct before you
hit print or submit? If you have some favorites, share them by emailing them to
WTT MAGAZINE. It’s hard to navigate the English language sometimes, and every
little hint helps.
W INTER 2018
P AGE 10
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE TRADE