<strong>Grammar matters</strong>

This is a lawn sign that has appeared around my neighborhood:

[caption id="attachment_3272" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160612_115648.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3272" src="http://deborahbrody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160612_115648-300x225.jpg" alt="Lawn sign " width="300" height="225" /></a> Lawn sign[/caption]

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I believe what they meant to say was "No Townhouses on Historic Chestnut Lodge." Or maybe they meant to say "Not More Townhouses on Historic Chestnut Lodge," which would still be awkward.  I am not sure. Perhaps the people behind this campaign were not sure either. But what I do know is that this sign is wrong.

<strong>It's spelled A-L-A-N</strong>

U.K's Vision Express had a one major typo, which was quite insulting to one customer in particular.  You have to read this<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3651973/Customer-shocked-rude-spelling-mistake-letter-Vision-Express.html" target="_blank"> Daily Mail story </a>to see what I mean, but suffice it to say, a proofreader would have saved the day. (Thanks to Leslie O'Flavahan for sharing this on her company's Facebook page.)

<strong>Copy edit your work, or at least, do some proofreading</strong>

Poor grammar, or a typo (or two or three), is poor communication. Your message will be muddled or the mistakes will distract from what you are trying to say.

Typos and grammatical mistakes are fixable, but if you don't catch them in time, they can be costly. There is a solution and that is to copy edit <em>and</em> proofread your written materials. If you don't hire a professional to do it, you should have someone else review your work.