EAP 0090-02 Fall 2008
Symbol
VT
(verb tense)
VF
(verb form)
AGR
(agreement)
WF
(word form)
ART
(article)
PASS
(passive voice)
PREP
(preposition)
CONJ
(conjunction)
INF
(informal usage)
PRO
(pronoun)
POSS
(possessive)
#
(number)
CAP
(capitalization)
SP
(spelling)
WC
(word choice)
WO
(word order)
MW
(missing word or words)
REDUN
(redundant/omit)
AWK
(awkward)
FRAG
(fragment)
CS
(comma splice)
ROS
(run-on sentence)
PUNC
(punctuation)
Error Symbols – Dr. Jernigan
Explanation and Example
Incorrect verb tense or incorrect form of the tense is used.
Ex: Yesterday, I drink my coffee.
Incorrect verb form (often an ending) is used.
Ex: John was ask a question.
Error in agreement between subject and verb or pronoun and antecedent.
Ex: He have taken the test three times.
Incorrect word form (often a word ending or part of speech marker) is used.
Ex: Mrs. Jones is a political. (should be politician).
An incorrect article(a/an, the) is used, or an article is needed.
Exs: One of my hobbies is listening to the music. Seoul is capital of South Korea.
Passive voice is called for, or passive voice should be avoided.
Ex: The puppy took out of the box.
A preposition is used incorrectly, is missing, or a different preposition is needed.
Ex: Her sister is living at Chicago.
A conjunction or linking word is used incorrectly or is needed.
Exs: We spoke to Jeff, Maria, Claire. Neither Bob or Sara knew the answer.
An informal word or phrase is used and should be replaced with a more academic term.
Ex: Many students enjoy hanging out with their friends.
A pronoun is used incorrectly, or a noun needs to be replaced with a pronoun.
Ex: When I asked Dr. Jones that question, Dr. Jones’ answer was strange.
A possessive form is misused, or a possessive is needed.
Ex: John mother is living in Chicago.
A noun or pronoun needs to be changed to reflect singular or plural number.
Ex: Many person knew the answer.
A word needs to be capitalized, or a capital letter is used incorrectly.
Ex: My friend ernesto is from mexico.
There is an error in spelling.
Ex: We need to develope this idea more fully.
A non-idiomatic word is used and should be replaced with a more appropriate word. Ex: I
appreciate your comprehension of my problem. (should be understanding)
There is an error in word order.
Ex: She is a tall very woman.
A word or words are missing or needed.
Ex: Is a good chance we can win.
One or more words are redundant and should be omitted.
Ex: I want to take out away this mark.
A phrase or sentence is awkward and should be reworded.
Ex: Sometimes we having too hard to try something.
An incomplete sentence or phrase is marked as a sentence, and needs to be completed.
Ex: I am happy. About the results of the test.
Two complete sentences are joined with a comma, rather than being marked as sentences.
Ex: John is a good friend, he always helps those who are in need.
Two (or more) sentences are run together without proper punctuation or conjunction.
Ex: This camera doesn’t make sense to me it came without a manual.
There is an error in punctuation.
Ex: Sally went to the bakery and bought a loaf of rye; a baguette; and a cinnamon roll.
Some general symbols: V ( verb), N (noun), ADJ (adjective), ADV (adverb), SUBJ (subject), OBJ (object) may be used
when words or phrases of that type are missing or incorrectly used.