Despite the ready availability of free spelling and grammar checkers, 60% of all business correspondence STILL gets sent containing one or more grammar or spelling errors, according to the results of a study released today by WhiteSmoke, developer of the worldís leading English writing software solutions. Many of the errors can be traced to free word processing checkers that do not perform context-based text modifications, a field in which WhiteSmoke is a forerunner.
The findings are based on WhiteSmokeís survey of 5,000 pages of business writing texts. ìThe most prevalent error type has turned out to be ëmissing words,í with 32% of writers failing to use all the words needed for a grammatically correct sentence. Words most likely to be missed are verb auxiliaries (be, have, do), prepositions (in, on, at) and determiners (a, an, the, this), and missing nouns. For example, ëI would happy to meet youí instead of ëI would be happy to meet you,íî says Liran Brenner, the Vice President of R&D.
Further data from WhiteSmoke shows that 28% of mistakes relate to punctuation, that is, knowing when to use a full stop, comma or question mark. Agreement between sentence elements comes up next in 8% of the data, for instance, ìOne of the guy turned aroundî instead of ìOne of the guys turned around.î More problem areas are spelling, using the wrong word, repeating words and misusing verb tenses.
Brenner explains, ìThe types of errors people typically make when they write business documents help guide our Natural Language Processing experts in directing their efforts to improve our grammar engine. This allows us to develop solutions that meet the specific needs of our customers.î WhiteSmoke endeavors to constantly improve the softwareís features and context-based error detection abilities in order to eliminate commonócorporate image tarnishing ñ mistakes from e-mails, letters, memos and even PowerPoint presentations.
Vice President of Marketing & Sales Amit Greener adds, ìThe tremendous effort we put into R&D results in improvements targeted at our customersí needs, showing that WhiteSmoke provides real solutions to real problems.î He also maintains, ìAs part of raising the writing standards in organizations, every e-mail or memo sent by a staff member should be proofed beforehand. Correct language shows customers and colleagues that you value them.î
New study reveals: More People Need to Mind Their Language at Work
60% of business letters and e-mails go out with grammar, spelling and punctuation errors, latest study shows
