Fixing Common Copy Mistakes

Most copy mistakes share one root cause: a reference shifted when it should have stayed fixed, or stayed fixed when it should have shifted.

Because relative references move as you fill, a formula that points at a single shared cell, like a tax rate or a header, will drift away from that cell on every new row. The result is wrong numbers or errors.

This lesson shows the common breakages and how to repair each one.

Say E1 holds a tax rate of 0.08 and you write =C2*E1 in D2, then fill down. Watch what happens:

• D2 = =C2*E1 (correct)
• D3 = =C3*E2 (E2 is empty!)
• D4 = =C4*E3 (still empty)

The E reference drifted off the rate. Rows below row 2 multiply by zero, giving 0 everywhere.