The thing about writing is that pretty much anyone can do it. Or, at least, anyone in the developed world can. But can they do it well? That, surely, is the question.

While most of us can write, comparatively few of us can write well. But the good news is that those of us who do write for a living tend to make fewer mistakes when we write than those who work in other professions.

According to research by automated proofreader Grammarly (grammarly.com/grammar-check), writers make around 10.1 errors for every 100 words that they write. In contrast, finance and management professionals make 19.2 errors per 100 words on average.

The research was based on a review of 448 freelance professionals’ profiles in eight categories on online staffing platform Elance.

Unsurprisingly, the very best writers (those who make the fewest errors, according to Grammarly) tend to earn the most, particularly in the fields of engineering and manufacturing, finance and management, legal, and sales and marketing.

Well, who would have guessed?

Click on the infographic (below right) for more…