This document contains a list of sentences with various grammatical and stylistic errors. The task is to find and correct the mistakes in each sentence. An answer key is provided with corrections to all of the sentences. Some common issues addressed include incorrect verb forms, subject-verb agreement errors, preposition errors, punctuation mistakes and stylistic improvements.

1. WRITING MISTAKES 1
ADVANCED LEVEL. EOI REUS 2008/09
WRITING MISTAKES 1
TRY TO FIND THE MISTAKES IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES AND
CORRECT THEM.
 If someone wonders why to play the guitar was my secret ambition I think that it
will be easy to be explained.
 … during those gatherings we were chatting and singing.
 … which factor or factors cause people develop the Alzheimer’s symptoms.
 … have to go abroad to continuous their studies.
 In the future I realize that will be a big problem when we will have to make the
will.
 We are elated because in each season of the year you have something
different and special to do.
 We wouldn’t want that they could quarrel for the hereditary, so …
 … but there is a thing I would like a lot and it’s to become to dominate two
foreign languages.
 People sometimes think that to learn English is easy, perhaps if I study
engineering they respected more.
 I don’t have time enough to understand.
 …, but so is a target more easy for me because is similar to the Catalan.
 I want to tell us my secret ambition because I think is quite interesting.
 Because of it I want to learn to pilot a plane, because I want to fly around the
world with my own plane.
 I need a lot of money to pay the degree, that costs thousands of Euros.
 … now there are a lot of pilots, so whereas you can have finished the degree,
you will find it difficult to find a job.
 Half the adults in Spain suffer from overweight.
 … and a way of life more and more sedentary.
 since I was finished my career as an athlete …
 It would be a good challenge to me.
 Nowadays, I am training myself so hard; I go to the gym, …
 … about write techniques of my favorite novelists.
 As I am aware that achieve an overnight success is very difficult, …
 Meanwhile the success don’t arrive I am patient and I work hard.
 Although, becoming a singer star wasn’t easy.
 Even, I made my family listen to me.
 At the beginning this haven’t to be a secret ambition, but …

2. WRITING MISTAKES 1
ADVANCED LEVEL. EOI REUS 2008/09
 Although it could be possible past one or two of those exams, …
 Despite of the difficulty, this days I feel thrilled …
 … difficult ways to do by bicycle.
 … you need to be quiet to recover yourself and get stronger for next season.
 Please, let me know your decision as soon as possible …
 … climbing these mountains is a mountaineer’s dream.
 Extreme ascents are as famous for climbers who died trying to conquer the
summit as for those who …
 I would love experiencing contrasting living ways.
 I would pass some time …
 I could understand easier life around me.
 They say that with effort and perseverance all can be done, but no one explains
something about work contacts,…
 I think lucky really exist, but I usually added on this tense this phrase …
 The surprise came up when I realized that I wasn’t going to …
 That is what I think it has influenced in my decision to …
ANSWERS
 If someone wonders why playing the guitar was my secret ambition I think that it
is easy to explain.
 … in those gatherings we would/used to chat and sing.
 … which factor or factors may/might cause people to develop the Alzheimer’s
symptoms.
 … have to go abroad to continue/carry their studies.
 In the future I realize there will be a big problem when we have to sign/draw up
our will.
 We are elated because there is something different and special to do every
season of the year/all year round.
 We wouldn’t want them to quarrel about their inheritance, so …
 … but there is a thing I would like a lot and it is to be able to speak fluently/
master two foreign languages.
 People sometimes think that learning English is easy, perhaps if I studied
Engineering, they would respect me more.
 I don’t have enough time to understand.
 …, but it is an easier target for me because it is similar to Catalan.
 I want to tell you about my secret ambition because I think it is quite interesting.

3. WRITING MISTAKES 1
ADVANCED LEVEL. EOI REUS 2008/09
 Because of this, I want to learn to pilot a plane, because I’d like to fly around the
world with my own plane.
 I need a lot of money to pay for the degree, which costs thousands of euros.
 … now there are a lot of pilots, so even though/although/despite the fact that
you may have finished the degree, you will find it difficult to find a job.
 Half the adults in Spain are overweight/suffer from obesity.
 … and a more and more sedentary way of life.
 since I finished my career as an athlete …
 It would be a daunting/enormous/exciting/huge challenge to me.
 Nowadays, I am training really/extremely/rather hard; I go to the gym, …
 … about writing techniques my favourite novelists used.
 As I am aware that achieving an overnight success in the literary world is
incredibly/extremely/rather difficult, …
 While I keep waiting for success to be at my reach, I will continue to be patient
and work hard.
 However/Nevertheless, becoming a star wasn’t easy.
 I even made my family listen to me whenever I could/at certain times.
 At the beginning this does not have to be a secret ambition, but …
 Although it could be possible that I passed one or two of those exams, …
 Despite the difficulty, these days I feel thrilled …
 … difficult paths to follow/cross/run/ride by bicycle.
 … you need to rest to recover and get stronger for the next season.
 Please, let me know about your decision as soon as possible …
 … climbing these mountains is every/any mountaineer’s dream.
 Extreme ascents are as famous for climbers who died trying to conquer their
summit as for those who …
 I would love to experience contrasting ways of life.
 I would spend some time …
 I could understand life around me more easily.
 They say that everything can be achieved with effort and perseverance, but no
one refers to/centres on/focuses on work contacts,…
 I think lucky people really exist/luck really exists, but I usually add the following
phrase …
 It took me by surprise/It came as a surprise when I realized that I wasn’t going
to …
 That is what I think has influenced my decision to …