>> Choosing the right word…
Don’t forget the importance of vocabulary: getting exactly the right word can transform your entire argument, making do with a rough approximation may wreck it.
Keep a dictionary and a thesaurus beside you as you write – and use them!
Accurate spelling and punctuation are an crucial part of the complex process of trying to express one’s thoughts on paper. If you know your spelling is poor, always use your dictionary. Don’t rely too much on the spell check on your word processor – many packages use American spellings, or can’t tell the difference between different grammatical features such as ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ or ‘who’s’ and ‘whose’.
And whatever you do, make sure that you spell the titles of the books and poems that you’re writing about correctly! For example, T.S.Eliot’s famous poem is ‘The Waste Land’, not ‘The Wasteland’, or ‘The Waist Land’ or (as it once appeared in a magazine) ‘The Washstand’. Try to avoid misspelling the names of characters and of authors too.
