Top 10 writing mistakes
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The top 10 most common writing mistakes and how to correct them. For more English tutorials, please visit: https://www.thelecturette.com
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Top 10 writing mistakes
- 2. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 1 Spelling mistakes 2 No comma after an introductory phrase 3 Comma splicing 4 Run-ons 5 No commas around interruptions 6 Comma misuse 7 Sentence fragments 8 Squinting modifiers 9 Wordiness 10 Subject-verb agreement Contents
- 3. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 1Spelling Mistakes Spelling. mistakes are often caused by words that sound the same (homophones). Incorrect No further research was conducted because their was no reason to doubt the initial outcome. Correct No further research was conducted because there was no reason to doubt the initial outcome.
- 4. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 2 No comma after an introductory phrase Sometimes an introductory phrase is use to provide background information. This phrase should be followed by a comma, unless it is very short. Incorrect While the market research was still being done the company was already looking for new location for their factory. Correct While the market research was still being done, the company was already looking for new location for their factory.
- 5. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 3 Comma splicing A comma splice occurs when two sentences that could be sentences on their own are linked by a comma. Solution: Add a coordinating conjunction after the comma, or change the comma to a period, a semicolon, or a colon. Incorrect His assistant gathered the necessary data, he was responsible for the analysis. Correct His assistant gathered the necessary data, and he was responsible for the analysis. OR His assistant gathered the necessary data; he was responsible for the analysis
- 6. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 4 Run-on sentences A run-on sentence occurs when two sentences that could be sentences on their own are linked using a coordinating conjunction without using a comma. The most common coordination conjunctions are: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So. (FANBOYS) Incorrect The job interview started at nine but the applicant was late. Correct The job interview started at nine, but the applicant was late.
- 7. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 5 No commas around interruptions Interruptions are phrases that break the ‘flow’ of a sentence, usually to supply additional information. Incorrect It was however the start of a fruitful business relationship. Correct It was, however, the start of a fruitful business relationship.
- 8. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 6 Comma misuse Comma misuse often occurs when a compound subject uses a conjunction to connect more than one noun phrase. Incorrect The intern, and his boss, attended the conference. Correct The intern and his boss attended the conference.
- 9. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 7 Sentence fragments A sentence fragment is missing a subject (the thing doing the action) or a verb (the action). Incorrect A great business opportunity! Correct It was a great business opportunity
- 10. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 8 Squinting modifers A squinting modifier occurs when it is not clear whether a word, phrase, or clause , modifies the word before of after it. Solution: Put the modifier next to the word that you want to modify. Incorrect Students who study rarely get bad grades. Correct Students who rarely study get bad grades.
- 11. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 9 Wordiness A sentence is wordy when it uses more words than necessary to convey meaning. Solution: Try to identify long phrases that can be replaced by one word and eliminate words that have similar meanings. Also, eliminate words with ‘weak’ meaning, such as ‘basically’, ‘as a matter of fact’, and other nonessential information. Incorrect It turned out that having to postpone the meeting due to the fact that the chairman was not yet present, basically was more or less the only viable option. Correct Postponing the meeting was the only option because the chairman was late.
- 12. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ •Top 10 Writing Mistakes 10Subject-verb agreement Subject-verb agreement mistakes occur when a subject and a verb don’t go together. A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Incorrect James and his friend spends a lot of time in the library. Correct James and his friend spend a lot of time in the library.