Misspelling, Bad Punctuation, and Poor Grammar on HubPages

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   JSParkerposted 12 years ago

   I think HubPages is just a terrific opportunity for writers to write and make connections within the HubPages community.  However, I am concerned about the quality of some of the hubs I see.  Even if the writing is fresh and lively, if the spelling, punctuation, or grammar are poor, then that gives a bad impression. I'd like to see HubPages be at a higher standard. 
   
     Both hubs I read within the past hour had problems.  For example, one had this phrase: "Ofcourse [sic], discipline dosen't [sic] always"....  The other hub had this: "What have you got to loose [sic]?" Okay, the first two "Ofcourse" and "dosen't" instead of "Of course" and "doesn't" are probably just typos.  The third "loose" instead of "lose" might even be a typo, too.  Nonetheless, I see errors on almost every hub I read, and some are worse than these examples.  I know it's a challenge.  In fact, I have to print out my hubs before I publish, and I catch a lot of errors.  I'm sure someone could find an error on my hubs. Probably more than one.  So, I include myself in this:  Can't we do better?

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      qwarkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm with ya!
      
      I was a "proof reader" working for the gov't for many years.
      
      Before I "publish," I read, re-read, re-read and re-read b4 I publish.
      
      I've had readers, respectfully point out minor mistakes I didn't pickup in a few of my hubs.
      
      I, of course, go back and correct those mistakes and republish.
      
      I try to learn from every mistake, regardless of how minor or simple.
      
      I would be embarrassed to publish some the "stuff" I've read.
      
      I won't follow or read  anything someone writes, if I feel they have not taken due care in offering a well written hub.
      
      There are a couple of writers I've made aware of agregious mistakes in spelling and syntax. It hasn't affected their writing. They go right on writing and making the same mistakes.
      
      I've stopped trying to read their "stuff."
      
      I, no doubt, have made a mistake (maybe 2 : ) in this post.
      
      Qwark

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      WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The confusion between "lose" and "loose" is extremely common. I've even noticed it in the writings of highly educated and intelligent people, who otherwise do not tend to make grammatical/spelling errors.

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         DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         My pet peeve is using "your" for "you're".  Two completely different things!

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            Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Your not serious! That's just in you're state of SC.

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               DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               

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                  DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Or people who say "I had this ideal"  instead of "idea"...grrr...

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                     Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     In Georgia, it's pronounced "idear"!

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                        DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        As in "I have no idear!" ???

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                           Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           Shoot I reckon!

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         Michael Willisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Wellll, down heer in da sowth, it wood be "louuse." You will louuse dis baddle." lol

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            DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Aaaackk...it's a wood louuse!

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         mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         The 'lose v loose' one always amazes me. It just doesn't happen in the UK. As you know, you 'lose' your temper, or you 'lose' your purse, but you let a horse 'loose' into the pasture or you have a 'loose' tooth as a child. Never could see why this one seemed to be such a common mistake here on Hubpages when I had never seen the mistake made elsewhere beforehand.

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            Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            What Absolute BS....
            
            I have had Many English friends and as far as I have Witnessed Firsthand....
            
            Every single one of them has twied despewately to Use Loose Women, in far more than Verbal Intercourse, irrespective of its correct grammatical grunting!

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               DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                

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               mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

               ROFLMAO

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            WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I'm in the UK and I see this error all the time!

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               DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, I think it's universal.  It makes me want to "loose" it!

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      munirahmadmughalposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Misspelling, bad punctuation or any other mistake in writing should be automatically corrected by a mechanism to be thought and provided by the administration of hubpages.It would be very useful for those who are poor in English or weak in grammar. oftern the Huber write directly on the hubpages and to remove all such inadvertances time is required.
      
      May God bless all.

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         wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Would you suggest the mechanism use "they're", "there" or "their" as the default?
         
         My own machine will pick up such things as "oftern", "inadvertances" and "Huber" even in the forums, but if yours won't it is up to you to do so.
         
         It will not pick up such things as "hubpages.it" or "grammar. oftern" or "Huber write directly" though.  That is entirely up to me to catch, and it worth my time to do so.
         
         We all make errors and no one catches them all, but it is worth the time to make a strong effort.

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   The standard is, in my opinion, already higher than that.  But it is based on hubs that fall below the standard being reported by 'flagging'.

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   Cardisaposted 12 years ago

   I think we could do a lot better by having a friend or family member read our articles before we publish them.
   
   There is a particular Hubber who I follow that I dread reading his work. Most of his hubs are illegible. The grammar and spelling are out of this world. The truth is I followed him because I thought he might have something interesting to offer, I was wrong. The few hubs he has that can be read I don't think he wrote them himself.

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      Terri Meredithposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I always write my hubs using my Office software.  I do spelling and grammar checks, before copying and pasting.  That helps with most errors, and I read over it again after posting.  I've discovered it's better to wait an hour or two, to reread it because I tend to totally miss the one or two errors that may be present.  I think it's because I'm so familiar with the piece that I see what I expect to see, and miss what's actually there.  Even so, occasionally I'll still find a minor error.

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      PaulaHenry1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      then why are you following ????? You can stop and flag the profie?....

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   DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years ago

   This is so funny.  I've been thinking about writing a hub about why proofing your own writing doesn't work and I ran up on an article about an author criticizing blog writers for mispellings and guess what...I counted about three or four in their article!  I do think it's very difficult to proof your own stuff.  I've come back days later and found errors in mine.

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      wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      My proofing skills are so pathetic that I proof each hub twice before publishing, and then come back in one month and do it one more time.  It is not unusual to find a minor error or two.
      
      After a month, the automatic memory thing of seeing what I expect instead of what's there is gone and I think that helps.  I also often tweak them a tad at that point, checking out the keywords and tags and maybe adjusting the layout or something. 
      
      Just SOP any more; in the next couple of days I'll check anything published in April.

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   Dolores Monetposted 12 years ago

   Oh, me too. And I feel like such a jerk. All that research and work, then I see these old mistakes. And reading an article with some obvious errors makes the whole thing inadequate. The reader loses confidence.

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   Muldanianmanposted 12 years ago

   I think the problem is that we read what we expect to see.  I have written pieces, which I have read many times to make sure everything is correct.  Then, after publishing it, I suddenly notice an obvious error, and cannot understand how I managed to miss it.  It is much easier to notice mistakes in the work of others than in our own.  But if a work is interesting, the fact that it contains some typing errors does not greatly annoy me.  Unless I see some common errors, about which I think people should know better.  For instance, the confusion many people have over 'their' and 'there.'  Or the common misspelling  amongst English writers of 'carnt' rather than 'can't.'

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      DIYweddingplannerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That happens to me all the time.  And I feel like a dork, thinking, "How many people read that and saw it made no sense?"  Maybe we should start a proofers' section where we can go in and proof each other's work???

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         deblippposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You're right. Every good professional writer appreciates being edited. It's hard to see the problems in one's own work.

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      mistyhorizon2003posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Re- carnt versus can't, I have to say I am English, and have never ever in my life seen anyone type 'carnt' although that is not to say it never happens, I just don't know where!

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         Muldanianmanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I have two friends, who in emails, always use 'carnt.'  I have also read it many times online.

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   Aka Professor Mposted 12 years ago

   Having created a blog dedicated to helping new, young and want to be writers improve their skills in the areas in question, has opened my eyes to the reasons for a lot of these problems. Too often we tend to develop these bad habits from the use of "Texting".
   
   The short forming and substitution of characters for the longer correct words used in proper English. The texting language used in the social media networks, has made it's presence felt in ever increasing numbers.
   
   On my site there are many fine writers, who have written pieces which point out those areas, that potential writers need to be aware of. The other thing that I have done, is provide links to programs and other sites, that aid these writers in helping themselves.
   
   The use of quality free software programs, like OpenOffice.org by Oracle, a great word processor,is something, that I really recommend . Use of such a program will help with finding those grammar and spelling inaccuracies.
   
   Use of good text to speech programs, like Halreader by Zabaware, can let you hear the way that the piece you've typed on the screen, actually sounds. This program reads exactly what is written, back to you, allowing you to hear those errors, which proofreading your own pieces yourself, will always miss.
   
   Why do we miss those obvious errors, on our own work, you ask?
   
   It is really very simple to explain, my friends. When anyone writes a piece themselves, they don't read every word.
   
   But why not?
   
   We don't because we know what we want to say and our eyes see what we believe we have written, not what is actually on the screen. we skim over the sentences because we already know it's content!
   
   Why?
   
   Basic human nature, we see it in works by others because we didn't write theirs. We  miss it in ours, because we are the ones who just wrote it! That is why!
   
   People, we all are human and as humans we will make mistakes! By using all these aids we will improve and that is the goal to improve and do the best that we can. The One thing to "Always Remember" is, while programs can help, "Nothing replaces a good editor as the writers Real Best Friend!"
   
   Regards Mike!(Aka Professor M!)

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      JSParkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Dear Aka Professor M,  I think you have a valid idea to convey in your comments.  Since this is a discussion about grammatical and other errors in our writing, may I, with all due respect, point out that "it's" is only used when  meant to shorten "it is".  If you mean the possessive pronoun, the word never has an apostrophe, but is spelled "its".  Best wishes, JSP

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         Aka Professor Mposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That is absolutely correct  JSParker ! You get the GOTCHA  award for catching that DELIBERATE error! It is one of the most commonly made mistakes that is found all too often in even the top flight articles and hubs.
         
         Your pointing out of that  glaring error is what I had hoped would happened, as it illustrates the correct way to approach someone with errors in their posts. Thanks for being brave enough to address the situation, in so diplomatic a fashion JSParker.
         Regards Mike (Aka Professor M!)

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            JSParkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            LOL.  Great!  I had a little hunch you might have planted that error to see what, if any, response it generated. 
            
            I have struggled with whether to comment on errors in hubs.  It was easier here because of the nature of this discussion.

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               Aka Professor Mposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for being my assistant in this exercise and being willing to help when indeed, it is necessary! Too often we are afraid of getting involved and miss out on the possibility, of aiding someone who with a little encouraging, could become the next Bestselling author, or that Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.
               You went with your instincts, to help and look at the results ,JSParker. You have become an example, of what  to do, when presented with this type of dilemma and have earned my admiration and respect, as well!  Thank You JSParker!
               Regards Mike (Aka Professor M!) ;D
               
               
               Some may think that is being judgmental or nit picking, but if done respectfully and with the right intention in mind, then the results can and will surprise you!

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                  JSParkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  It was my privilege.  Thanks for the interaction.  ~JSP

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   Astra Nomikposted 12 years ago

   When I finally type my poems, I put a ruler or card under each line and read the sentence three times just to make sure I make no mistakes. By blotting out other words, it helps to magnify the errors if they appear. A Thesaurus-cum-dictionary is a treat and every Hubber should have one.
   
   Some writers should be flagged if they persistently make mistakes and I wish there was some way the hub editing mode could capture some of the errors. I don't know why they are not moderated or commented on. Perhaps we should comment more on the problems when we see them at the time. Every little can help. And the corrections don't have to be nasty. Just advice on spelling it better. It also draws attention to possible education issues, and I feel reluctant to blame people for having poor English if it is not their first language/

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   recommend1posted 12 years ago

   The poor spelling and grammar are because every and anyone is writing stuff. 
   
   My degree is in English and I am a final Editor for translated texts.   I see errors in everything written in hubpages - it is a small price to pay for opening up communication to more people.  This is  one reason I think the HP postion on second language writers sucks.  The more we know and the wider the information base the better, and even extensive grammar and spelling errors are a small price to pay.  This is especially relevant when looking at many of the badly written native speaker hubs with nothing to say or repeating the same old same old same old - while interesting new stuff is turned away because the phraseology is a little strange in the opinion of people who can barely write an interesting legible sentence themselves.

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    Lissieposted 12 years ago

    So I'm not being nit-picking to point out that the OP has an annoying habit of indenting the first paragraph about 5 spaces - a style which went out of style with the typewriter? Not everyone here is looking to be a published author - most of us are just trying to make some money.
    
    Also you should be aware that this is, and always has been an International site. Americans, Canadians, English and Indians - we have different rules for English grammar (and no, I am not missing a comma in this sentence).

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