Improving the Standard of Your Work for Top Results

Improving the Standard of Your Work for Top Results

There are two main things involved when you want to improve the standard of your work. The first thing is to have the knowledge of what makes work of a high standard, and the second is to make good on your knowledge and take action. The points below will improve your knowledge, but remember that only you can act to improve the work!

Revise for Errors and Inconsistencies

This is the most obvious point – check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors with proofreading. Spell-checkers will help you, but you should never rely on them for improving grammar and punctuation. They are not always perfect at spotting certain types of mistake either, such as using similar sounding words that have different meanings (homophones).

Revise for Conciseness and Clarity

In most cases (academic work, marketing materials and business communications) the clearer and more concise your work is, the better. It is usually better to explain something eloquently in fewer words than to give a long, drawn-out description. This is not always the case however, such as in creative writing, and it depends on the purpose of your writing.

Knowing Your Audience

This point is all about formal and informal communication, and knowing the difference between the two. You might think that formal writing automatically means a better standard of work, but this is wrong. The standard of your work is dictated by the intended audience and the intended purpose of your work.

Formal communication needs to follow the rules of language. With informal communication there is much more room to be unique and creative, but is usually still best here to ensure that your spelling, punctuation and grammar is correct, unless you have specific reasons for not doing so.

Quick Pieces of Advice

Here are some small and important pieces of advice for improving the standard of your work. Advice such as this is important to learn and remember. They are only small points but they can all add up to drastically improve the standard of your work:

• Citations: Citations are not just important for academic work; they are crucial in all areas of professional writing. You should know when you are supposed to cite, and stick with a consistent citation style.

• Gender neutrality: Be careful with your use of gendered language, especially with formal and professional writing.

• Use of apostrophes: You should have a clear understanding of the different uses for apostrophes, and exactly when you need to use them. No matter how good your writing is, if you cannot use apostrophes correctly then this will hold you back.

• Hyphens: Hyphens are less obvious then apostrophes, and in some cases there is no strictly correct answer. Here a quick internet search can help you understand the right way to go.

• Word usage: There are many complicated word usages in the English language. Keep yourself alert so you know when to research the proper use of a certain phrase or word.