CORRECTION SYMBOLS
EXAMPLES
The correction symbols are placed before the word or phrase.
sentence boundaries
(Create a new sentence or
clause.)
//
new paragraph
P//
Each sentence should begin with a capital letter and end
with a period. If more than one S+V+O group is used, they
must be added using: punctuation (:) (;), or a connector (and, or,
but, so, for, yet, ), or a relative clause pronoun (who, that, which,
whose, where, when)
ERROR: Jane went to work and helped her boss finish a project
//and it had a lot of problems but came out
well.
CORRECTION: Jane went to work and helped her boss
finish a project, which had a lot of problems but came out
well. CORRECTION: Jane went to work and helped her boss
finish a project. It had a lot of problems but came out well.
fragment sentence
FRAG
Each sentence must have an implied subject and verb to be a
complete sentence. (complete thoughts)
ERROR: My friend, who is a priest who works in the rural areas
of my country. FRAGOften in the city as well.
CORRECTION: My friend, who is a priest and who works in the
rural areas of my country, often works in the city as well.
Each verb must agree with the time frame or time word in the
sentence: (present tense summary) (present perfect
summary)
ERROR: I Tlived here since 1992 .
CORRECTION: I have
lived here since 1992.
verb tense
T
Each verb must agree with the general time frame in the
context the whole writing. Tense Unity:
ERROR: Scientists at MIT discovered a new life form last year.
They published their research in "The Journal of Biology ".
Others Tare questioning the validity of their work.
CORRECTION: Others have been questioning the validity of
their work.
Active Voice
AV
Passive Voice
PV
subjectverb
agreement
SVAGR
number (singular-
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An active verbs is used when the subject is the "agent" doing the
action.
EXAMPLE: The pilot AVwas caused the
accident.
CORRECTION: The pilot caused the accident.
In the passive, the object of an active verb becomes the subject
of a passive verb; the subject is the "receiver" of the action.
(passive summary)
ERROR: The accident PVcaused by the pilot.
CORRECTION:
The accident was caused by the pilot.
The verb must agree in number with the subject noun:
(agreement summary)
ERROR: The number of students in community colleges SVAGRare increasing.
CORRECTION: The number of students in
community colleges is increasing.
The nouns and pronouns must agree within each sentence.
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plural)
agreement
NAGR
article use
ART
preposition use PREP
spelling use SP
delete this [....]
instructor suggests or
rephrase this way
(....)
word-use error
<error>
Word forms:
WF – word form
N – noun
ADJ – adjective
ADV – adverb
GER – gerund
INF – infinitive
CAP – capitalization error
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(agreement summary)
ERROR: Every one of the students N-AGRhave to carry NAGRtheir books in N-AGRtheir backpacks.
CORRECTION:
Every one of the students has to carry his books in his backpack.
or
CORRECTION: All of the students have to carry their books
in their backpacks.
Every noun needs to be considered for article use. Ask your self
if the noun is count or noncount.
Is the noun definite (already
identified-by earlier mention, later mention, shared knowledge, or
uniqueness), or is the noun indefinite.
Does the noun follow a
more specific rule: See article summary.
ERROR: We saw the White House and ARTthe Buckingham
Palace on our two trips last year.
CORRECTION: We saw the
White House and Buckingham Palace on our two trips last year.
Some rules cover preposition; however, most preposition use has
to be learned as individual expressions: Preposition Summary.
ERROR: I parked my car PREPon the parking lot and couldn't
find it later. CORRECTION: I parked my car In the parking
lot and couldn't find it later.
(When in doubt, look it up in your dictionary.) Right-clicking
(Control or command + click) will bring up a dictionary feature on
most operating systems.
ERROR: The hotel SPaccomodations were very luxurious.
CORRECTION: The hotel accommodations were very
luxurious.
ERROR: My friend also attends [to] Stanford
University.
CORRECTION: My friend also attends Stanford
University.
Avoid wordiness. Stating things simply improves readability.
shortening clauses
My friend [who was] born in Turkey was traveling with me.
My
friend born in Turkey was traveling with me.
ERROR: My friend is taking (choosing/considering ) a Business
major.
CORRECTION: My friend is considering a Business major.
ERROR: <Their>, you can see ducks.
CORRECTION: There, you can see ducks. (correct)
ERROR: The WF?fly-about kite was beautiful.
CORRECTION:
The flying kite was beautiful.
ERROR: I love Nmysterious movies.
CORRECTION: I love
mystery movies. (noun modifiers )
ERROR:It was a ADJbeauty day.
CORRECTION: It was a
beautiful day. (adjective summary)
ERROR:He ran ADVslow to his home.
CORRECTION: He ran
slowly to his home. (adverb summary)
ERROR: GERRace horses was his career.
CORRECTION:
Racing horses was his career. (gerund summary )
ERROR: I expect INFto seeing him today. CORRECTION: I
expect to see him today. (infinitive summary )
ERROR: Mr.CAPjanowksi is coming at four o'clock. - should
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P – punctuation error
AWK - awkward phrase or
word use
WO - word order error
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be:
CORRECTION: Mr. Janowski ....
ERROR: I will study there during the CAPFall
semester.
CORRECTION: the fall semester.
ERROR: I am attending college P , because I want to improve
my English.
CORRECTION: I am attending college because I
want to improve my English. (Punctuation summary)
ERROR: He was trying AWKlooking important to everyone.
CORRECTION: He was trying to look important to everyone.
(gerund objects - try )
ERROR: She gave WO to me the paper. CORRECTION: She
gave the paper to me. / She gave me the paper. (dative verbs)
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