Using numbers in your writing isn’t as hard as you may thing…and there is actually a huge amount of flexibility when it comes to writing with numbers. Let’s go over some basic rules, though:

Spell out numbers less than 10.
Use digits for numbers over nine.
Be consistent if there are two or more numbers in a sentence and one is over ten.
Spell out fractions like one-half, using a hyphens.
Use digits for decimals like 0.19. Add a zero to the front unless the decimal starts with a zero.
Spell out large round numbers like one million or seven thousand.
Spell out the number if it …read more

By far, one of my biggest pet peeves is a writer who doesn’t understand how to use a semicolon correct. Or, rather, the writer fails to use a semicolon. Most commonly, this is in conjunction with the word however.
I think that most people know that a semicolon can be used in place of a period when the two sentences are highly related. For example:
I work as a freelance writer; most of my work is done from home.
Overusing semicolons doesn’t make you sound smart. My 7th grade English teacher told me that semicolons are like jalapeno peppers. One makes a dish …read more