Editor’s Symbols
agr
subject/verb or pronoun/antecedent (referent) agreement is faulty
Subject and verb must agree in number (singular or plural)
faulty:
One of the puppies are lost.
correct:
One of the puppies is lost.
Pronoun and antecedent must agree in person and number
faulty:
Each teacher should collect their own books.
correct:
Each teacher should collect his/her own books.
awk
awkward construction
C
capital letter not needed
c
capital letter needed
delete
d
faulty diction suggests poor word choice or a malapropism; reconsider word choice
faulty: The Joad family was excavated from the land and moved to California.
correct: The Joad family was evicted from the land and moved to California.
doc
documentation needed or source incorrectly cited
dm
dangling modifier does not describe what was intended
faulty: The piano was sold by the woman with carved legs.
correct: The piano with carved legs was sold by the woman.
faulty: After standing in line for hours, the manager announced the tickets were
sold out.
correct: After standing in line for hours, he heard the manager announce that the
tickets were sold out.
expletive construction occurs when a word like it, here, or there signals that the subject
follow the verb; usually creates an awkward or wordy sentence
faulty: There are few antiquities that are as important as the Rosetta Stone.
correct: Few antiquities are as important as the Rosetta Stone.
expl
will
frag
sentence fragment is written as a sentence, but lacks either a subject, verb or both.
faulty: The beautiful sandy beaches in the Bahamas.
correct: Beautiful sandy beaches are in the Bahamas.
p
punctuation error
pv
passive voice: usually avoided, but does exist for certain applications
faulty: Passive voice is usually avoided.
correct: Good writers avoid the passive voice.
red
redundant
ref
referent (antecedent) is unclear; to what does “it” or “they” refer?
ro
run-on sentence: two or more clauses are joined in the same sentence without proper
conjunctions and/or punctuation
sp
spelling error
tense
unnecessary switch in tense
top. s
consider topic sentence (or lack of)
trans
poor or missing transitions do not clearly connect the ideas; a smooth transition uses
specific words to show relationships (e.g., but, moreover, therefore)
wo
write out the word for this symbol or abbreviation
//
construction lacks parallel structure
Parallel structure expresses coordinate ideas in similar form
faulty:
Celia enjoys dancing, singing, and to go to the movies.
correct:
Celia enjoys dancing, singing, and going to the movies.
^
insert
¶
new paragraphing needed
¶
new paragraph not needed
-->
indent
?
meaning is unclear
Written Presentation Rubric
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Paper is neatly handwritten in blue or black ink or is typed and printed in black in a
standard font and size.
Correct heading (name, period, and date) is in upper right corner; if paper is typed,
heading is typed.
Paper is double spaced and appropriately formatted to fit the page(s).
Single spaces follow commas; double spaces follow end-of-sentence punctuation.
Title is centered at top of the assignment.
Writing is on only one side of the paper.
Paper is clean and not torn.