Grammar, punctuation and spelling matter in everything you write, believe me. It fills me with dismay, every time I read an item that says (a), “The odd spelling error here and there will be forgiven”, or (b), “Don’t worry too much about punctuation – as long as people can understand what you mean, that’s all that matters.” The writers of these comments will be people who (a) can’t be bothered to learn to spell correctly, or (b) don’t understand punctuation.
It really isn’t that difficult a task for the average person to improve their writing ability in the three areas mentioned. The fact is, most of us stop learning as soon as we’re no longer forced to do so. How often does someone ask you the meaning of a word and you maybe recognize it, but don’t know what it means? How often do you read an article, or a book and skip over words whose meaning you’re not quite sure of? You may have a rough idea, but you think it doesn’t affect the overall meaning too much, so you let it go.
The best way to improve your reading comprehension is by having a dictionary at hand and every time you meet a word you don’t understand, look it up. Needless to say, the item you’re reading needs to be well-written, from a source with a good reputation. Glossy magazines, quality newspapers and books from national publishers should all be reliably and carefully proof-read, so you can trust the grammar, punctuation and spelling to be spot-on.
You’ll be surprised at the difference between what you thought certain words meant and how the dictionary defines them. You may find the item takes on a whole new meaning!
What I’ve just mentioned applies to vocabulary, of course. In the case of grammar, punctuation and spelling, you just have to keep on reading and analyzing why certain punctuation marks are where they are and why the grammar is used in the way it is. If you have problems in these areas, do this each day for thirty days, you’ll find your writing will improve beyond recognition. If you can find a writing coach to proof-read your work and give you advice, so much the better.
Whatever you do, don’t simply carry on without trying to improve things. Most of the people you come into contact with, particularly those who commission work from you at the higher-paying end of the scale, will find it irritating at best and insulting at worst and any hopes of future work will vanish.
Keep on writing.
Terry