The Top 10 Most Difficult-to-Spot Writing Mistakes

Even the most experienced writers can fall into the trap of sneaky writing errors. These mistakes often fly under the radar of spellcheckers and proofreading tools, but they can affect the clarity, tone, or professionalism of your writing.

Here are the top 10 most difficult-to-spot writing mistakes—and how to avoid them.

1. Misused Homophones

Words like their/there/they’re or your/you’re are commonly confused. Spellcheck won’t always catch them because they’re spelled correctly—even if they’re wrong in context.

Fix: Always read for meaning, not just spelling.

2. Subject-Verb Agreement

Mistakes like “The list of items are on the desk” should be “is on the desk.” Complex sentence structures often hide subject-verb mismatches.

Fix: Identify the true subject and ensure the verb agrees in number.

3. Dangling Modifiers

These create unclear or humorous meanings: “Walking through the park, the flowers smelled lovely.” (Were the flowers walking?)

Fix: Make sure modifiers are placed next to the word they describe.

4. Overusing Passive Voice

While not grammatically incorrect, passive voice can weaken your writing: “The report was written by the team” vs. “The team wrote the report.”

Fix: Use active voice when clarity and engagement are key.

5. Unintentional Repetition

Writers often repeat ideas or use the same word multiple times without realizing: “This solution solves the problem with a solution.”

Fix: Read aloud or use word frequency tools to identify repeats.

6. Comma Splices

Connecting two independent clauses with a comma is a common error: “I love writing, it helps me focus.”

Fix: Use a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.

7. Ambiguous Pronoun References

“When Sarah met Emily, she was very excited.” Who was excited?

Fix: Rephrase for clarity and avoid vague pronouns.

8. Inconsistent Tense

Switching from past to present tense without reason confuses readers: “She walked to the store and buys milk.”

Fix: Keep your verb tense consistent unless the timeline changes.

9. Incorrect Apostrophe Use

Mistakes like “its” vs. “it’s” or “students’ vs. student’s” can be easy to miss but change meaning.

Fix: Double-check apostrophes, especially in contractions and possessives.

10. Incorrect Word Choice

Using words that look or sound similar but have different meanings: affect/effect, accept/except, definitely/defiantly.

Fix: Use a dictionary or thesaurus to confirm you’ve chosen the right word.

✍️ Final Thoughts

These mistakes are tricky because they often don’t trigger red lines in your text editor. But catching them can make a huge difference in clarity, credibility, and impact. Always revise carefully—and when in doubt, tools like FastWordCount.com can help with deeper text analysis.