Importance of Correctness

After reading from the book, Rules of Thumb, I have come to answer many questions I have had about correctness. Right away I found a quote to be very interesting, "don't let the fear of errors dominate the experience of writing...(yet) basic errors in writing will distract and turn off even the most determined reader". I found this statement to be of interest because I have let the fear of making errors in grammar, punctuation, etc. take over when I am writing and then I get so stuck I can't move on. I eventually get so frustrated I don't even know where to begin. However, some new tips and tricks on how to remember correct use of punctuation, grammar, and spelling has already reduced some of my anxiety. The most puzzling question I have had, and even discussed with peers with no help in finding an answer, is when you stop writing the number in written form and when you begin to just write it in numeric. I finally found an answer from this book; although, the rule for this changes from professor to professor, the idea of switching to numeric form once you have three or more words is a big help to me. Another issue of correctness that I have over came thanks to this new book is the spelling of some "tricky words". I am world's worst speller and in this book it has a list of "tricky words" and the word "definitely" is on that list. I was almost relieved to see this, because I always misspell that word, I always write "definately" and my spell check always picks it up and I end up feeling like a dumb little kid who never learned how to spell correctly; however, after seeing it classified as a "tricky word" I felt a bit relieved. On a different note, when I was reading over how to use "me or I" I felt a lot better. I always remember the trick, "if you can take away the other name and it sounds correct then you have used to right one" and I always do that and so far have had no problem with that. A final interesting comment about correctness I have is about when to use commas. I think I have been taught the proper way to use a comma about a million times, yet I never can remember; however, having this very handy book will greatly relieve some stress on that topic. Overall, I truly found this book, Rules of Thumb, to be a huge help. I am definitely keeping this a great tool for writing!