Writing a Knowledge Sharing Article (Prepositions)

I read and edit many of the EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing articles.  They arrive from all over the world, in places as close as the good old USA, and as far away as APJ, EMEA and virtually every country on earth.  I can only imaging how difficult it must be to write an article in English; particularly for those whose first language is not English.  But every article has its particular challenges.  Today, I'd like to focus on prepositions.

Every once in a while, when editing an article, I'll come across a sentence that I just don't understand.   I'll read it, read it again, read it aloud and still.....I just don't get it.  Most of the time, if I just change the preposition it makes sense.

A Preposition indicates the relationship between one word and another. For example, “She paused at the gate”; “This tomato is ripe for picking.”   Common prepositions include at, by, for, from, in, into, on, to, and with.

Using the correct preposition can make your work more concise, more clear, and much easier to read.  Here are some examples of sentences that are good, and how they can be improved just by changing the preposition:

Good:     "They prefer to test every new solution on the test environment ....."

Better:    "They prefer to test every new solution in the test environment....."

Good:      "IT organizations should consider implementing a reference architecture that provides ....."

Better:      "IT organizations should consider implementing a reference architecture to provide......" 

Good:     "There is no flexibility on using the external memory......"

Better     "There is no flexibility when using the external memory...."

To make your writing even more effective, pay attention to your prepositions!  Often, reading your article a day or two after you have finished it provides you with a whole new perspective.