Entering our competition? Louise Holdenhas some tips for good grammar

There's nothing nerdier than wincing at bad grammar, but that's what we do at the School Mag judging table. Everyone makes mistakes, and often they're just down to haste. The trouble is that basic spelling and grammar mistakes make people wince, and wincing gets in the way of enjoying your otherwise brilliant writing. Fortunately, everyone seems to draw from a small pool of mistakes. It's not too difficult to eradicate them from your work. The following checklist will help. Read the rules, learn the rules, eat the rules, be the rules . . . and start wincing at other people's writing.

Abuse of capitals

Look at the following sentence and pick out the capital letters that belong:

"Throughout last Spring's General Election coverage the Media maintained its focus on the crisis in the Health Service."

The crisis in the health service may be very serious, but capital letters won't help. Capital letters are designed to be used for proper nouns, such as names, places, events and organisations. Resist the temptation to use them for emphasis. Always think before using a capital letter. The only correct capital letter in that sentence is the first one.

Overindulgent punctuation

The exclamation mark is like bad language: if you use it too much, it loses its punch and makes you sound like a halfwit. If you use it rarely and in the right context, it's unbeatable. Think twice about using it, and never use it more than one at a time!!! Never.

The apostrophe is another punctuation mark that is criminally overused. The worst crime against the apostrophe usually occurs in the neighbourhood of "it". Wherever you see the word "it's", it's probably incorrect. "It's" means "it is" and nothing else.

Their, there, they're

Misuse of their, there and they're, as well as your and you're, is extremely common, even in the hands of skilled writers, so don't be complacent: check these words in your piece. Practise by putting the following examples back in their rightful places: There clothes are so outrageous that their unlikely to be allowed in they're at all.

Lies, damned lies and cliches

Try not to use cliches. It can be tricky to catch them, as they are so widely used that they just tumble out of the pen. But if you can smash those smug little cliques of words that huddle in the corners of your work, it will be much fresher for it.

Before you write your article, limber up with the following test of some subeditor's favourites. Spot the clangers in the following sentences: That dog looks like it's owner.

•Provisional-licence holders need to pass they're tests before June.

•I spent the Summer working in my uncles Surgery.

•Your not leaving you're shoes in my locker.

•If I see one more exclamation mark I'll loose my reason!!

For more about the competition, see www.irishtimesschoolmag.ie