Language use

The easiest way to check your language use is to use a GOOD dictionary (Macmillan, Oxford, Cambridge, Longman). A good grammar reference book is also extremely useful. In general, uncommon words are much harder to use appropriately. A quick and easy way to check if your usage is commonly understood is to check a corpus, such as the British National Corpus.

Uncommon words may also be stylistically undesirable. It's best to aim for a more elegant and direct style, and pare down overblown imagery, unnecessary similes/analogies/metaphors, hyperboles, clichés and redundant words. Reconsider the use of '$10 words'; edit ruthlessly and 'murder your darlings'.

See also:

• Word choice (UNC)

• Language use (nool)

• What to avoid in formal writing (CDU)

• Conciseness (Purdue OWL)

• Academic phrasebank (The University of Manchester)

Dangling modifiers

Dangling modifiers make your sentences ambiguous (and often unintentionally hilarious) and your readers confused.

Dangling Modifiers (Dr Wheeler)

Modifier Placement (CCC)

Sentence fragments

Run-on sentences

Articles

Using Articles (OWL Purdue)

Uncountable nouns

Nouns: countable and uncountable

Examples:

chatter (n)

evidence (n)

Agreement

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