Positive tone

• Use positive and encouraging words.
• Words like avoid, don’t and never create a negative tone. Example:
  Instead of - Never raise your voice with your children. Use - Children react best when spoken to gently.

Some thorny words

• Its (Possessive) - The car and its engine go together.
• It’s (Contraction of It is) - It’s a nice day.
• There (Pointing out) - There is the new building.
• Their (Possessive) - Raj and Sunita left their car at home.
• They’re (Contraction of They are) - They’re planning to walk outside.
• Site - The site of the new mall is a mass of mud right now.
• Sight - The sight of a cat in the sun is pleasing.
• Cite - The driver was cited for speeding. If you cite an author’s work, you must give him or her credit.
• Compose - Our multicultural society is composed of many types of people.
• Comprise - We live in a multicultural society, comprising many types of people.

Keep related words together

• The position of words in a sentence shows their relationship.
• The subject should be near the verb.
• Words that modify or describe should be as close as possible to the word they refer to.
  Example:
  Confusing - “He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the centre.”
  Clear - “He noticed a large stain right in the centre of the rug.” (Strunk, White, 28)