Day 34: Don’t use apostrophes to make plurals.

As time passes, I see more and more writers using an apostrophe-S to make a plural. This is wrong. Apostrophes are not used for that purpose. I’m not sure why this error is becoming so common. Perhaps people see it so often that it looks right, even though it isn’t.

Incorrect: “Editor’s get upset when writer’s use apostrophe’s to make plural’s.”
Correct: “Editors get upset when writers use apostrophes to make plurals.”

Incorrect: “Shopper’s in the 1990’s bought many CD’s as gift’s.”
Correct: “Shoppers in the 1990s bought many CDs as gifts.”

Day 35: Know your primary audience.

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Many people may read what you write. These are your audience. Your primary audience is the person or group of people who will directly receive, or buy, what you write. For example, if you write a book, your primary audience is the person who buys the book. If you are writing a financial report, the primary audience is the person to whom you deliver the report. If you are writing text for your website, the primary audience is the website visitor you are trying to attract.

Once you have figured out who your primary audience is, think about what that person wants or needs. This is one of the most important issues to consider when you are writing and editing. Related questions are “Why is this person reading my document?” “What will this person do with the information in this document?” and “What need will this address?”

Whether you are writing fiction, nonfiction, technical documents, or poetry, you have to determine what to include in your document and how to deliver that information. When you write, you are trying to communicate information, ideas, impressions, emotions, etc. Understanding your primary audience will help you determine how to communicate effectively and accomplish your purpose.

Day 36: Avoid splitting infinitives.

Infinitives are the root form of a verb, the to form. The following are examples of infinitives: to run, to dream, to fly. Writers often interject words between to and the action. Consider this sentence.

“The committee members wished to quickly and without further delay adjourn the meeting.”

Splitting infinitives leads to sloppy and potentially confusing sentences. When you keep the infinitive un-split, your writing will generally be stronger. Using this tip, the sample sentence reads as follows.

“The committee members wished to adjourn the meeting quickly and without further delay.”

In many cases, writers split an infinitive with only one or two words, as in

“He tried to quickly glance over his shoulder.”

Revising the sentence to move the interjected words will usually result in stronger writing, as in

“He tried to glance over his shoulder quickly,” and

“He tried to glance quickly over his shoulder.”