Common Errors in Writing

Very Serious Errors

1 Choose a specific topic; stay focused on that topic.

2 Be organized.

3 Stick to one sentence pattern.

4 Match the subject and verb.

5 Leave out unnecessary words and phrases.

6 Use Standard English, and not text- messaging, street talk, or Hillbilly talk.)

7 Be clear.

8 Write in the third person.
XX (Avoid words like you and I.)

9 Know the elementary homophones.(Don't confuse words like too, to, and two.)

10 Write in complete sentences,
XX not in sentence fragments.

11 Don't use unneeded apostrophes.

Serious Errors

12 Be consistent.

13 Build each sentence on a strong verb and a strong subject.

14 Use specific language.
XX (Avoid that got a lot of stuff writing.)

15 Limit the length of the sentence.
XX (Use a period once in a while.)

16 Do not split a sentence.
XX (Don't use a period when a comma is needed.)

17 Use the right word.

18 Use the correct verb tense.

19 Capitalize correctly.

20 Don't join sentences with just a comma (or worse, with no punctuation at all).

21 Choose the correct end-punctuation (whether period, question mark, exclamation mark, or elipses.)

Moderate Errors

22 Avoid unnecessary punctuation.

23 Use the correct pronoun at the end of a sentence.

24 Use apostrophes when needed.

25 Use commas when needed.
XX a) in pairs like parentheses
XX b) compound sentence
XX c) multiple adjectives or adverbs
XX d) after an introduction
XX e) a direct quote
XX f) in a list
XX g) at the end of the sentence

26 Write quotations correctly.

27 Write titles correctly.

28 Use correct spelling.
XX c) Do not split compound words.
XX d) Use hyphens when needed.

Picky Stuff

29 a) When parentheses are inside a sentence, end with a period.

29 b) When sentences are inside parentheses, end with parenthesis.

30 When describing a wish or an imaginary situation, use "were" instead of "was".

31 A pronoun before an ING verb should be possessive.

32 When a verb comes after the word "to", avoid placing words between them.

33 If a sentence introduces a list, use a colon.

34 Use semicolons when a list contains lists.

35 Leave out the conjunction when linking a compound sentence with semicolon.

36 A writer may need to use a long dash to join a long appositive to the end of a sentence.

37 When using numbers, know when to spell or use numerals.

38 Format papers correctly, including double spacing, margins, fonts, and alignments.


	Index


	Acronyms, capitalization 19f Agreement, other than subject-verb 12b Agreement, subject-verb 4 Alignment (centering, left-align, etc.) 38f Apostrophe in a contraction 24a Apostrophe in a possessive 24 Apostrophes, unneeded 11 Appositive, as a sentence fragment 10e Capitalization of sentence 19c Capitalization of proper nouns 19a Capitalization of titles 27c Clarity 7 Colon, unnecessary 22b Colon, clause and list 33 Comma between direct quote and tag 25e Comma splice 20 Comma with multiple modifiers 25c Comma, joining a compound sentence 25b Comma, parenthetical 25a Comma, with end-of-sentence appositive 25g Comma, with end-of-sentence participle phrase 25g Comma in a list 25f Commas, unnecessary 22


	Compound sentence, comma use 20a Compound sentence, repairing comma splice 20a Compound words, split 28c Contractions, apostrophe use 24a Direct quote and tag, comma use 25e End-punctuation, choice of 21 End punctuation, with direct quotes 26c End-punctuation and parentheses 29 Focus 1 Fonts 38c Gerund and possessive pronoun 31 Hanging Modifier 7a Homophones 9 Hyphenation 28d If-then compound, as a sentence fragment 10f Infinitive, split 32 List, comma use 25f Lists, with semicolons 34 Long dash 36 Margins 38b Modifier, Hanging 7a Modifier, intensifier with a weak word Modifier, misplaced Modifiers, commas with multiple Numbers - to spell or not to spell Numerals, Roman Omitted words Opening lines


	Paragraph structure in organizing 2 Paragraphing with dialogue 26d Parallelism 12 Parentheses and end-punctuation 29 Participle phrase, as a sentence fragment 10d Passive sentence 13 Plurals, misapplied apostrophe 11 Possessive pronoun and gerund 31 Possessive, apostrophe use 24 Predicate pronoun, case of 23 Prepositional phrase, as a sentence fragment Pronoun of deities, capitalization Pronoun, case as predicate noun, Pronoun, case after a preposition Pronoun, case in a comparison Pronoun, case when possessive before a gerund Pronouns, in comparisons Pronouns, unclear antecedent Pronouns, you and I Punctuation, unnecessary Quotation marks Redundancy Roman Numerals Run-on sentences Semicolon and conjunction with a compound sentence Semicolon, repairing comma splice


	Semicolons with lists Sentence fragments Sentence, broken Sentence, passive Spacing Spelling Split infinitive Standard English Subject, doubled Subject, omitted Subjunctive mood Third person verbs, adding S Titles, capitalization Titles, formatting Topic Transitions Vagueness Verb tense Verb, omitted Verb, weak Voice, inconsistent Voice, pronoun use Word order confusion Wordiness Words, commonly misused Words, omitted You