Spelling and Grammar
When you’re texting a friend or family member, it probably doesn’t matter if you’re using proper spelling and grammar. However, in a professional setting you absolutely must follow those rules. Nobody wants to try to parse out what they’re reading when there are all kinds of spelling errors all over the place. Furthermore, if someone can’t spell correctly how can they be expected to do their work correctly? Before hitting that send button, check your draft over. Make sure the option to check spelling is on whether it be auto-correct or that neat little squiggly red line under misspelled words. Double check what your write!
Wording
Proper English is another factor in being professional. Using casual language might be fine in some environments, but typically one should be using more serious and professional wording. Words like “cool” or “ok” or shorthands phrases like “lol” or “brb” should completely be avoided! Be as concise as you can while getting to the point in a clear way and using proper English. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to check a thesaurus to be sure you aren’t reusing the same words over and over. Bland writing can also be a big con from the perspective of an employer or colleague.
Punctuation
If a piece of text has an elegant and efficient use of punctuation, it will read easier and be much more impressive. Learn what all the different punctuation marks are and how to use them! Colons are used for definitions, lists, and examples. Semi-colons are used to separate two full sentences that are closely related. A good rule of thumb with commas is that they are were a gap in speech is, but commas can be quite complicated: introductory words/phrases, parenthetical phrases, and separating dependent clauses, just to name a few. Dashes and parentheses can be used to add in some detailed commentary, so be sure to use them appropriately!
