Fixing Common Errors

1. Fixing Common Errors

2. Formatting Issues • Double space everything. • Do not put gaps between paragraphs. • Put a header with your last name and page number. • Heading should include: • Full Name • Teacher’s Name • Class Title • Date

3. Works Cited • Don’t number entries in your bibliography. • Check the examples in The Everyday Writer to ensure your entries are accurate.

4. Biased Sources • According to StopAbortionNow.com, three in five women who receive abortions are clinically depressed. • The article “Democrats are Communists” (author unknown) suggests that only 10% of Democrats are proud of their country.

5. Thesis Statements • Make sure thesis statement states a position and doesn’t just summarize your paper: • This paper will discuss the effect of global warming on duck migrations. • There are pros and cons to raising the tax on gasoline.

6. Which is a valid thesis statement? • Parents should protect their infants from secondhand smoke because it poses a significant, long-term risk to their health. • This paper will discuss the pros and cons of secondhand smoking on infants. • There are many reasons not to smoke around an infant.

7. “You” • Second person (“you”) is considered informal; don’t use it in formal assignments. • The study indicates that you should attend class regularly if you want to pass.

8. Apostrophes (not Apostrophe’s) • Don’t use apostrophes to make things plural: • The student’s will arrive at noon. • You can use apostrophes to make letters and numbers plural: • Please write five 3’s on your paper. • I had straight A’s all during college. • Don’t use apostrophes with plurals of abbreviations: • The VIPs will arrive tonight with their IOUs.

9. Which of these uses apostrophes correctly? • Parents should bring their children’s to camp at noon on Tuesday. • You’re backpack is open. • All of the child’s crayons were broken.

10. Modifier Issues • Assembled by robots, the quality of the cars was remarkable. • Without understanding the terminology, my score on the test was very low.

11. Comma Splices • If you combine two sentences, a comma by itself is not enough to separate them. • Depression is more than just a mood, it’s  a diagnosis. • The study indicates that students should proofread their papers, you clearly did not proofread.

12. Missing Comma with Intro Element • Put a comma after anything that comes before the main part of your sentence. • During the last election the candidates debated three times on national television. • However you slice it this vegetable is delicious.

13. Vague Pronouns • Make sure the reader can easily identify what a pronoun stands for: • I took chemistry, English, calculus, and physics. It was very instructive. • I noticed comma splices, sentence fragments, and apostrophe errors. This indicates you need to do more proofreading.

14. Pronoun Agreement • Make sure the pronoun matches the antecedent in number. • The student should always pay attention to their professors’ Power Point presentations. • I took my math class with Dr. Schulz. They were very effective. • Everybody remembered to bring their books to class that day.

15. Which is correct? • The students enjoyed their grammar quizzes. • The student must remember to always sharpen their pencils before class begins. • Everybody forgot to bring their protractors to geometry class.

16. Nitpicks • Avoid these phrases: • “due to the fact that” • “in order to” • “due to” • “go and” • “try and” • “in today’s society”

17. Nitpicks • Avoid starting sentences with “being” or “by”: • Being that he was a good student, Jim was always proud of his grades. • By having a good fitness routine, people can extend their lifetime expectancy by several years. • Being that I may have to leave early, be prepared to walk home.

18. As and Because • Don’t use “as” when you mean “because”: • Incorrect: • You did not receive an A as you did not do your homework. • Correct: • The movie started as you were buying your ticket.