Avoid using the synonym selection in Word.
Do not start sentences with “And.”
Do not use “I” or “You” in ANY paper.
Could of – NO!!!
 Could’ve
 Could have
Avoid contractions
Use simple language
 But be formal
Affect/effect
Than/then
Toward and Towards
 Toward and towards are both correct and
interchangeable.
Possessives
Singular names that end in –s: use an
apostrophe and an s
Chris’s house is blue.
Other words that end in –s: use s’
The drinking glass’ crack is noticeable.
MISTAKES IN PAPERS
Thesis
Should include the three major points of
your paper
Example:
The setting of the novel affects the main
character because of A, B, and C.
Goes at the end of the intro
Between and Among
 Between
 One-to-one relationships
 Let's keep this between you and me.
 Choose between green and blue.
 More than two items, groups, or people
 The differences between English, Chinese, and
Arabic are significant.
 Among
 Things that aren't distinct items or individuals
 Taylor and Morgan are among the students featured
in this month’s magazine.
 The scandal caused a division among the fans.
 Indicates that someone is part of a group or left out
of a group
 He was glad to find a friend among enemies.
Clichés
 They have no place in formal writing and do
not adequately describe what you are trying to
say.
 Many students try to argue that clichés make
the paper more interesting, that what they’re
saying is “not really a cliché,” that the phrasing
makes them sound witty, smart, etc.
 They’re wrong.
 They should be avoided in all writing, but
especially in formal papers.
 Starting off on the wrong foot
 In the long run
 Writing on the wall
 Too much of a good thing
 A huge fan of
 Sweep under the rug
 Tip of the iceberg
Semicolons
 Semicolons are used to join independent
clauses in a sentence.
 If what comes after the semicolon is a
fragment and cannot stand on its own as a
sentence, YOU’RE USING IT
INCORRECTLY!!!
 Examples:
Working mothers nationally pay an
average of $53 a week for child care; this
means that many women pay nearly half
of their weekly salary to day care centers
or babysitters.
Colons
 Colons are used after an independent clause that
precedes a list.
 The use of these punctuation marks often
confuses students: comma, semicolon, colon,
hyphen, and dash.
 Colons are used to separate an explanation, rule,
or example from a preceding independent clause.
 After a sleepless night, the senator made her
decision: she would not seek re-election.
 This is a way to remember which direction to
move the hands of the clock when changing to
or from Daylight Savings Time: spring forward,
fall back.
Dialogue within a quote
 “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered
Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children
today?’ she inquired” (Smith 67).
 “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered
Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children
today?’” (Smith 67).
The use of double quotation marks is only necessary
for a quote within a quote. Not all dialogue receives
the double quotation marks.
 “What are you doing with the children today?”
(Smith 67).
MISTAKES IN PAPERS
Even if you use a quote in the middle of a sentence,
put the citation at the end.
Do not cite the same author more than three times
in a row.
Indent quotes that are longer than three lines.
 Refer to MLA format in packet for proper citations.
Agreement
 If a person has a big decision to make,
they have a lot to consider.
NO!
 If a person has a big decision to make,
he has a lot to consider.
 If a person has a big decision to make,
she has a lot to consider.
Comma splice
 A comma splice is the incorrect use of a comma to
connect two independent clauses. (Recall that an
independent clause is a phrase that is
grammatically and conceptually complete; that is,
it can stand on its own as a sentence.)
 To correct the comma splice, you can:
 replace the comma with a period, forming two sentences
 replace the comma with a semicolon
 join the two clauses with a conjunction such as "and,"
"because," "but," etc.
Examples:




I like Jamie, she is very pretty. INCORRECT
I like Jamie. She is very pretty. CORRECT
I like Jamie; she is very pretty. CORRECT
I like Jamie because she is very pretty.
CORRECT
Dangling participles
 A participle is a verb-form that ends in -ing.
 It is called "dangling" when it doesn't agree
with its subject.
 Incorrect example: While walking down the
road, a tree caught Kelly's attention.
 The subject of the sentence is "a tree," but it is not the
tree that is doing the walking, therefore the participle
"walking" is dangling.
 Correct examples:
 While walking down the road, Kelly noticed a tree.
 A tree caught Kelly's attention as she walked down the
road.
Remember that not all words that end in -ing are participles
(e.g. thing).
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
 Prepositions are little words that indicate
position: with, at, by, from, etc.
 In general, a preposition should come before
the noun it modifies.
Hence the name “Pre"-position
 Incorrect example: “That's the person I must
talk to.”
 Correct example: “That's the person to whom
I must talk.”
 Winston Churchill: "This is the kind of thing
up with which I will not put!"
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About
Behind
From
On
Toward
Above
Below
In
On top of
Under
Across
Beneath
In front of
Onto
Underneath
After
Beside
Inside
Out
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Of
Until
Against
Between
Instead of
Outside
Up
Along
By
Into
Over
Upon
Among
Down
Through
Without
Before
For
Off
To
Of
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

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With
Around
During
Near
Since
Within
At
Except
Like
Past
“Who” and “whoever” are subjective
pronouns; “whom” and “whomever” are in the
objective case.
Examples:
 Who is that masked man? (“Who”/subject)
 The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted
for fraud. (“whom”/object)
Rule: Substitute “he/him” or “she/her”
 If it's either “he” or “she,” then it's “who;” if
it's “him” or “her,” then it's “whom.”
5 standard areas
 spelling
 punctuation
 sentence structure
 paragraph structure
 syntax errors
Transition use connections between
paragraphs and within paragraphs
Use of quotes and cites
2 successes/2 areas of improvement
Must be signed!
PROBLEMS
Thesis statements
They should not be hard to find
Your three main points should be listed
in your thesis.
Body paragraphs should follow the
format/order of your thesis.
Point A of your thesis should be the topic
of your first body paragraph, etc.
Heading must be correct
PROBLEMS
Delete space between paragraphs.
Remember rules for quotes.
Only use the double quotation marks when
there’s a break in dialogue.
Not all dialogue gets the double quotation
marks.
Do not start a paragraph with a quote.
You need to include some explanation and set
up the quote. Follow with explanation.
Indent quotes longer than three lines 10 spaces.
INDENT THE WHOLE QUOTE, not just the
first line.
PROBLEMS
Long quotes do not get quotation marks at the beginning
and end of the quote.
 UNLESS it’s a quote within a quote, then you follow the
same rules: single marks on the dialogue within the
quote.
Example:
 I went into the stairwell and was surprised at what I
saw. ‘What are you doing here?’ Mrs. Callar asked. ‘I’m
searching for Mr. Barnes. Is he still on the grounds?’ I
had hoped he was gone (Sanders 27).
PROBLEMS
NO CONTRACTIONS!
Too much summary
Need to include some kind of commentary
(critique) and your own analysis instead of just
retelling what happened.
Possessives
If you are using a proper name, such as “Miles,” it
would be expressed as “Miles’s.”
Also, notice where the comma and period are
placed above when using quotation marks
without a citation.
The character is suspicious of her newfound
“friends.”
The girl referred to the woman as “Aunt Rita,”
despite the fact they were not truly related.
PROBLEMS
Exaggerations
The governess was losing her mind.
The governess’ mental stability was
questionable.