TIPS ON WRITING

August 22, 2007

Tips on Writing

Misuse of the word “several” in the sentence.

“Several” is a grammatical word indicating a small number.

One of the examples of “several” used in a sentence is:

v Several of the apples were bruised.

Example:

Instead of: Boddy in the initial part of the article stated the existence of several hundreds of organizations in the field of market research.

Consider removing the word “several”: Boddy in the initial part of the article stated the existence of hundreds of organizations in the field of market research.

Do not consider words like “its” if not necessary.

“Its” is used to indicate that something belongs or relates to something. One of the examples of “its” used in a sentence is:

v The park changed its policy.

Example:

Instead of: Even though the author has established that there is indeed a considerable success in the said field, he goes further by analyzing the reasons for its success of the industry, particularly in the UK setting.

Consider removing the word “its” in the sentence and insert “the”: Even though the author has established that there is indeed a considerable success in the said field, he goes further by analyzing the reasons for the success of the industry, particularly in the UK setting.

In the subject-verb agreement, it is stated that the verb of the sentence must agree with the subject in number and in person.

Example:

Instead of: Specifically, the structure, theme, and theoretical framework is going to be presented and analyzed in this part.

Consider: Specifically, the structure, theme, and theoretical framework are going to be presented and analyzed in this part.

The misconception on “law” and “low”.

“Law” is a rule of conduct or procedure recognized by a community as a binding or enforceable by authority, a piece of legislation and a legal system. On the other hand, “low” means below average, without great height, or close to the ground.

Example:

Instead of: Due to law capital, the company could not have the assurance of product continuity to the market place due to the existence of other tough competitors.

Consider: Due to low capital, the company could not have the assurance of product continuity to the market place due to the existence of other tough competitors.