Common Errors List

Common Errors List:

1.              Run-on Sentences

·      Ex. “Nobody said a word until Mrs. McGuire – my strict, high school-preparatory English teacher – was the first to break the silence.”

·      Unneeded titles (high school-preparatory English teacher)

·      Connected clauses between two sentences (can be separated by a semicolon)

2.              Prepositions

·      Ex. “…you will be writing a personal narrative on a past experience in your life.”

·      Use prepositions that make sense (of, about, etc.)

3.              Clarity/Confusion

·      Ex. “Making false judgements about someone can lead to doubt in that person’s motives, and therefore ignorance in their own attitude.”

·      Separate into two sentences or phrases

·      Be specific: say something like, “by judging someone, it will make others doubt what they do,” etc.

4.              Article Error/Substitution

·      Ex. “Mo Ranch, my planned topic, is such as reserved place that I would be lucky to find one reviewing article about it.”

·      Replace or substitute the article “as” with one that makes sense, like “a” reserved place.

5.              Tired language

·      Ex. “Only the most frustrating of impediments will cause her to fall through the cracks.”

6.              Word Choice

·      Ex. “She puts her children’s aid before doing anything else in the day.”

·      Replace misused word with one that is clearer (like desires or wants and needs)

7.              Sentence Structure

·      Wordiness

·      Ex. “Many assumed questions are brought about…”

8.              Subject/Verb Agreement

·      Ex. “As the story unfolds, it seems as if the town doubts Appleseed based on his unrealistic intentions, but still fear…”

·      Make both verbs plural or singular based on the subject (Ex. The town doubts … fears).

9.              Misplaced Modifiers

·      Ex. “Much of the labor demand has come across many regions in Asia, and has even affected Russia, which is brought on by the Russian states…”

·      Shorten the sentence to the main subject (Ex. The labor demand, which is brought on by the Russian states…)

10.           Tense

·      Ex. “Appleseed has remained certain of himself as he takes on the unexpected task…”

·      Keep both tenses in either present or past tense.