Common Mistakes in Writing

Top 20 Grammar mistakes made

in Writing

Does Grammar

really matter?

Punctuation saves lives…

• Let’s eat Grandma!

• Let’s eat, Grandma!

Top 20 Grammar mistakes made in

Writing 1. Missing comma after an introductory element

2. Missing comma in a compound sentence

3. Missing comma(s) with a nonrestrictive element

4. Unnecessary comma(s) with a restrictive element

5. Missing comma in a series

6. Comma splice

7. Fused sentence (also know as a run-on sentence)

8. Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe

9. Wrong or missing verb ending

10. Wrong or missing preposition

11. Unnecessary shift in tense

12. Wrong tense or verb form

13. Sentence fragment

14. Lack of subject-verb agreement

15. Unnecessary shift in pronoun

16. Vague pronoun reference

17. Lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent

18. Misplaced or dangling modifier

19. Wrong word

20. Its/It’s confusion [and other commonly misused/confusing words]

1. Missing comma after an

Introductory element

• Use a comma after an introductory clause

or phrase. A comma tells readers that the

introductory word group has come to a

close and that the main part of the

sentence is about to begin. The most

common introductory word groups are

adverb clauses, prepositional phrases,

and participial phrases.

,

1. Missing comma after an

Introductory element cont’d.

• Introductory adverb clause:

– When Strom Thurmond ran for president in 1948, he was a staunch segregationist.

• Introductory prepositional phrase:

– Near a small stream at the bottom of the canyon, we discovered an abandoned shelter.

• Introductory participial phrase:

– Buried under layers of younger rocks, the earth’s oldest rocks contain no fossils.

,

2. Missing comma in a compound

sentence

• When a coordinating conjunction connects two or more independent clauses—word groups that could stand alone as separate sentences—a comma must precede it. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

• A comma tells readers that one independent clause has come to a close and that another is about to begin.

• Ex: Nearly everyone has heard of love at first sight, but I fell in love at first dance.

,

3. Missing comma(s) with a

nonrestrictive element • A restrictive element restricts the meaning of the

word it modifies and is therefore essential to the meaning of the sentence. It is not set off with commas. A nonrestrictive element describes a word whose meaning already is clear. It is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and is set off with commas.

• Restrictive (a.k.a. Essential) – For camp the children needed clothes that were washable.

• Nonrestrictive (a.k.a. Nonessential) – For camp the children needed sturdy shoes, which were expensive.

,

3. Missing comma(s) with a

nonrestrictive element cont’d. • If you remove a restrictive element from a sentence, the

meaning changes significantly, becoming more general than intended. The writer of the first sample sentence [For camp the children needed clothes that were washable.] does not mean that the children needed clothes in general. The meaning is more restricted: The children needed washable clothes.

• If you remove a nonrestrictive element from a sentence, the meaning does not change significantly. Some meaning is lost, to be sure, but the defining characteristics of the person or thing described remain the same as before. [For camp the children needed sturdy shoes,

which were expensive.] The children needed sturdy shoes, and these happened to be expensive.

,

4. Unnecessary comma(s) with a

restrictive element • Adjective clauses: Adjective clauses, which usually follow the noun

or pronoun they describe, begin with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) or a relative adverb (when, where). When an adjective clause is nonrestrictive, set it off with commas; when it is restrictive, omit the commas.

• Nonrestrictive clause: – A 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, which killed 146

sweatshop workers, led to reforms in working conditions.

• Restrictive clause: – A corporation that has government contracts must maintain careful

personnel records.

*Note: Use that only with restrictive clauses. Many writers use which only with nonrestrictive clauses, but usage varies.

,

5. Missing comma in a series

• Use a comma between all items in a

series, including the last two.

• Ex: Bubbles of air, leaves, ferns, bits of

wood, and insects are often found trapped

in amber.

,

6. Comma splice

• One type of run-on sentence occurs when

two or more independent clauses joined

by a comma without a coordinating

conjunction. In some comma splices, the

comma appears alone.

• Comma splice: Gestures are a means of

communication for everyone, they are

essential for the hearing-impaired.

,

6. Comma splice cont’d.

• In other comma splices, the comma is accompanied by a joining word that is not a coordinating conjunction. [Remember: there are only seven coordinating conjunctions in English: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.]

• Comma splice: Gestures are a means of communication for everyone, however, they are essential for the hearing-impaired.

• The word however is a conjunctive adverb, not a coordinating conjunction. When a conjunctive adverb joins independent clauses, the clauses must be separated with a semicolon.

,

6. Comma splice cont’d.

• To correct a run-on sentence, you have four choices: – 1. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

• Gestures are a means of communication for everyone, and they are essential for the hearing-impaired.

– 2. Use a semicolon (or, if appropriate, a colon or a dash).

• Gestures are a means of communication for everyone; they are essential for the hearing-impaired.

– 3. Make the clauses into separate sentences.

• Gestures are a means of communication for everyone. They are essential for the hearing-impaired.

– 4. Restructure the sentence, perhaps by subordinating one of the clauses.

• Although gestures are a means of communication for everyone, they are essential for the hearing-impaired.

,

7. Fused sentence (also know as a

run-on sentence)

• When a writer puts no mark of punctuation and no coordinating conjunction between independent clauses, the result is a fused sentence.

• Fused: Gestures are a means of communication for everyone they are essential for the hearing-impaired.

• Correction: Gestures are a means of communication for everyone. They are essential for the hearing-impaired.

8. Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe

• The apostrophe is used to indicate that a noun is possessive. Possessive

nouns usually indicate ownership, as in Tim’s hat or the editor’s desk.

Frequently, however, ownership is only loosely implied: the tree’s roots, a

day’s work. If you are not sure whether a noun is possessive, try turning it

into an of phrase: the roots of the tree, the work of a day.

• When to add –’s. – Add –’s if the noun does not end in –s or if the noun is singular and ends in –s.

• Luck often propels a rock musician’s career.

• Lois’s sister spent last year in India.

– Indefinite pronouns such as someone. • This diet will improve almost anyone’s health.

• When to add only an apostrophe. – If the noun is plural and ends in –s, add only an apostrophe.

• Both diplomats’ briefcases were stolen.

• Joint possession. – To show joint possession, use –’s (or –s’) with the last noun only; to show individual

possession, make all nouns possessive. • Have you seen Joyce and Greg’s new camper?

• Herando’s and Maria’s expectations were quite different.

• Compound nouns. – If a noun is a compound, use –’s (or –s’) with the last element.

• Her father-in-law’s sculpture won first place.

9. Wrong or missing verb ending

• Check all of your verbs to make sure you have placed

the proper endings on them. It's easy to forget the verb

endings -s (or -es) and -ed (or -d) because they are not

always pronounced clearly when spoken. In addition,

some varieties of English use these endings in ways that

are different from uses in standard academic English.

– Incorrect: Eliot use feline imagery throughout the

poem.

– Incorrect: The United States drop two atomic bombs

on Japan in 1945.

10. Wrong or missing preposition

• Check your draft by circling all the prepositions and making certain they are

the ones you meant to use, because specific prepositions express specific

relationships. Many words in English are regularly used with a particular

preposition to express a particular meaning. Because many prepositions are

short and are not stressed or pronounced clearly in speech, they are often

left out accidentally in writing. Proofread carefully, and check a dictionary

when you're not sure about the preposition to use.

– Incorrect: We met in Union Street at San Francisco.

– Incorrect: Nixon compared the United States with a “pitiful, helpless,

giant.”

– Incorrect: Who called the game yesterday? When will it be

rescheduled?

11. Unnecessary shift in tense

• Check to make sure all the verb tenses in each of your sentences work

together appropriately. Verb tenses tell readers when actions take place:

saying "Willie went to school" indicates a past action whereas saying "he

will go" indicates a future action. When you shift from one tense to another

with no clear reason, you can confuse readers. – Incorrect: Joy laughs until she cried at the final episode of Seinfeld.

– Incorrect: Lucy was watching the great blue heron take off. Then she slips and falls into the

swamp.

– Incorrect: Kathy is in charge of finance; she will always keep her office locked.

12. Wrong tense or verb form

• Errors of wrong tense or wrong verb form include using a verb that does not

indicate clearly when an action or condition is, was, or will be completed—

for example, using walked instead of had walked, or will go instead of will

have gone. Some varieties of English use the verbs be and have in ways

that differ significantly from their use in standard academic or professional

English. Errors may occur when a writer confuses the forms of irregular

verbs (like begin, began, begun or break, broke, broken) or treats these

verbs as if they followed the regular pattern—for example, using beginned

instead of began, or have broke instead of have broken. – Incorrect: By the time Jack arrived, Jill died. [The verb died does not clearly indicate that the

death occurred before Jack arrived.]

– Incorrect: The Greeks builded a wooden horse that the Trojans taked into the city. [The

verbs build and take have irregular past-tense forms.]

– Incorrect: The poet be looking at a tree when she has a sudden inspiration.

13. Sentence fragment

• A sentence fragment is part of a sentence that is written as if it were a whole

sentence, with a capital letter at the beginning and a period, question mark, or an

exclamation point at the end. A fragment may lack a subject, a complete verb, or

both, a fragment may depend for its meaning on the sentence before it. Check your

draft for sentence fragments by reading it out loud, backwards, sentence by

sentence. Out of normal order, sentence fragments stand out clearly. – No subject: Marie Antoinette spent huge amounts of money on herself and her favorite people. Helped bring

on the French Revolution.

– No complete verb: The old aluminum boat sitting on its trailer. [Sitting cannot function alone as the verb of

the sentence. Adding the auxiliary verb was turns it into a complete verb, was sitting, indicating continuing

action. Now this is a sentence.]

– Beginning with a subordinating word: We returned to the drugstore. Where we waited for our parents.

14. Lack of subject-verb agreement • Check your draft for subject-verb agreement problems by circling each sentence's

subject and drawing a line with an arrow to that subject's verb. You should be able to

do this for each sentence. A verb must agree with its subject in number and in

person. In many cases, the verb must take a form depending on whether the subject

is singular or plural: The old man is angry and stamps into the house, but The old

men are angry and stamp into the house. Lack of subject-verb agreement is often just

a matter of leaving the -s ending off the verb out of carelessness, or of using a form

of English that does not have this ending. Sometimes, however, this error results

from particular sentence constructions. – Incorrect: A central part of my life goals have been to go to law school. [The subject is the singular noun

part, not goals.]

– Incorrect: The two main goals of my life is to be generous and to have no regrets. [Here, the subject is the

plural noun goals, not life.

• If a subject has two or more parts connected by and, the subject is almost always

plural.] – Incorrect: The senator and her husband commutes every day from Maryland.

• If a subject has two or more parts joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the

part nearest to the verb. – Incorrect: My brothers or my sister come every day to see Dad.

– Here, the noun closest to the verb is a singular noun. If this construction sounds awkward, consider the next

correct edit: My sister or my brothers come every day to see Dad. [Now the noun closest to the verb is a

plural noun, and the verb agrees with it.]

14. Lack of subject-verb

agreement cont’d. • Collective nouns such as committee and jury can be treated as singular or

plural, depending on whether they refer to a single unit or multiple

individuals. – Incorrect: The committee was taking all the responsibility themselves.

– Incorrect: The committee were honored for its fundraising.

• Most indefinite pronouns such as each, either, neither or one are always

singular and take a singular verb. The indefinite pronouns both, few, many,

others and several are always plural and take plural verb forms. Several

indefinite pronouns (all, any, enough, more, most, none, some) can be

singular or plural depending on the context in which they are used. – Incorrect: Each of these designs coordinate with the others.

– Incorrect: Many of these designs coordinates with the others.

• The relative pronouns who, which or that take verbs that agree with the

word the pronoun refers to. – Incorrect: Johnson was one of the athletes who was disqualified.

14. Subject and verb agreement

excercise

1. There (is / are) several themes that have been

suggested.

2. If one of them (is / are) chosen today, we can

start making plans.

3. The members of the committee (has / have)

chosen this idea.

4. Lloyd and Ted (is / are) making costumes.

5. Either Pilar or Rona (want / wants) to go as

Dorothy.

15. Unnecessary shift in pronoun

• Check each pronoun in your draft for unnecessary pronoun shifts, which

occur when a writer who has been using one kind of pronoun to refer to

someone or something shifts to another pronoun for no apparent reason.

The most common shift in pronoun is from one to you or I. – Incorrect: When one first sees a painting by Martha Walter, you are impressed by a sense of

power and stillness.

– Incorrect: If we had known about the ozone layer, you could have banned aerosol sprays

long ago.

16. Vague pronoun reference

• Check your draft for clear backward reference of pronouns, words such as he, she, it,

they, this, that, which, and who that replace another word so that it does not have to

be repeated. Pronouns should refer clearly to a specific word or words (called the

antecedent) elsewhere in the sentence or in a previous sentence, so that readers can

be sure whom or what the pronoun refers to.

• There are two common kinds of vague pronoun reference. The first occurs when

there is more than one word that the pronoun might refer to: – Incorrect: Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of overcoming the problem of scarce airwaves and

limiting how they are used. [What is being limited—the signals or the airwaves?]

– Incorrect: Before Mary assaulted Jane, she was a very judgmental woman who made it difficult to work with

others. [Whom does she refer to—Mary or Jane?]

• The second occurs when the reference is to a word that is implied but not explicitly

stated. – Incorrect: The troopers burned a refugee camp as a result of the earlier attack. This was the cause of the

war. [What does this refer to? The burning of the camp or the earlier attack?]

– Incorrect: Company policy prohibited smoking, which many employees resented. [What does which refer

to—the policy or smoking? ]

17. Lack of agreement between

pronoun and antecedent • Check your draft for all uses of pronouns, words such as I, it, you, her, this, themselves, someone, and who that

replace another word (the antecedent) so that it does not have to be repeated. Pronouns must agree with their

antecedents in gender (for example, using he or him to replace Abraham Lincoln and she or her to replace Queen

Elizabeth) and in number (for example, using it to replace a book, and they or them to replace fifteen books).

• Some pronoun problems occur with such words as each, either, neither, and one, which are singular and take

singular pronouns. – Incorrect: Each of the puppies thrived in their new home.

• Problems can also occur with antecedents that are joined by or or nor. – Incorrect: Neither Jane nor Susan felt that they had been treated fairly.

• Some problems involve words like audience and team, which can be either singular or plural depending on

whether they are considered a single unit or multiple individuals. – Incorrect: The team frequently changed its positions to get varied experience.

• Because team refers to the multiple members of the team rather than to the team as a single unit, its needs to be

changed to their.

The other kind of antecedent that causes problems is an antecedent such as each or employee, which can refer to

either man or women. Use he or she, him or her, and so on, or rewrite the sentence to make the antecedent and

pronoun plural or to eliminate the pronoun altogether.

17. Pronoun and Antecedent

excercise 1. She or Sally will lend you (her, their) books.

2. Nan and Aretha bought (her, their) own tickets.

3. One of the men forgot to bring (his, their) tools.

4. Anybody can pass this course if (he, they) will work.

5. Only a brave person would risk (his, their) life in such a heavy sea.

6. After the long hike through the woods, all of the scouts complained that ___ feet hurt.

7. Either Camille or Kelsey will bring ____ volleyball.

8. Everyone at the campground will need to bring ____ own tent and sleeping bag.

9. Some of the women wrote to ___ local newspapers about the pollution problem.’

10.Every driver checked ___ car before the race.

18. Misplaced or dangling modifier

• Check every modifier (whether a word, phrase, or clause) to make sure that

it is as close as possible to the word it describes or relates to. Be on the

lookout for misplaced modifiers that may confuse your readers by seeming

to modify some other word, phrase, or clause.

• Check your draft for dangling modifiers: phrases hanging precariously from

the beginning or end of a sentence, attached to no other word in the

sentence. The word that the phrase modifies may exist in your mind but not

on paper. Proofread carefully to ensure that each modifier refers to some

other word in the sentence.

• Examples of misplaced/dangling modifiers:

They could see the eagles swooping and diving with the binoculars. [Who was

wearing the binoculars—the eagles?]

He had decided he wanted to be a doctor when he was 10 years old. [What kind

of a doctor could he be at age ten?]

The architecture only considered using pine paneling. [Did the architect only

consider but then reject pine paneling?]

19. Wrong word

• "Wrong word" errors come in many varieties. They can be among the

hardest errors to check for, because you may not be able to see what's

wrong. They can involve mixing up words that sound somewhat alike, using

a word with the wrong shade of meaning, or using a word with a completely

wrong meaning. Many "wrong word" errors are due to the improper use of

homonyms—words that are pronounced alike but spelled differently, such

as their or there. If wrong words are a problem for you, ask classmates or a

teacher to help you scan your draft for them.

• What’s wrong with these sentences? – The Magic played there best, but it was not good enough.

– Dante’s Inferno contains many illusions to classical mythology.

– He noticed the stench of roses as he entered the room. • [Wrong shade of meaning: a stench is a disagreeable smell; a fragrance is a pleasing odor.]

– Working at a computer all day often means being sedate for long periods of time. • [Wrong meaning: sedate means "composed, dignified" and sedentary means "requiring much sitting."]

20. COMMON USAGE

PROBLEMS • Accept: verb meaning to receive

• Except: verb meaning “to leave out” or preposition meaning “excluding”

• Advice: noun meaning “suggestion about what to do”

• Advise: verb meaning “to offer a suggestion, to recommend.”

• Affect: verb meaning “to influence” (think feeling) Ex: I was affected by his comments.

• Effect: verb meaning “to accomplish” or noun means “the result” (of an action)

• All ready: all prepared Already: by a certain time, “now”

• Anyways: take off the “s”!

20. COMMON USAGE

PROBLEMS cont’d. • Coarse: adj. meaning “rough”

• Course: noun meaning “a path of action,” “a unit of study,” or “one part of a meal” With of, course means “naturally” or “certainly”

• Desert: as a noun, means “ a dry region”; as a verb means “to leave or abandon”

• Dessert: noun for final course of meal

• Don’t: contraction of do not (use with plural nouns) Ex: They don’t.

• Doesn’t: contraction of does not (use with singular nouns) Ex: She doesn’t.

• Its: possessive form of it. Ex: The cat licked its paws. It’s: contraction for “it is” or “it has”

• Quiet: adj. meaning silent

• Quit: v. meaning “to stop”

• Quite: adv. meaning “completely; rather; very”

20. COMMON USAGE

PROBLEMS cont’d. • Than: conjunction used in comparisons. Ex: I’d rather watch CSI

than Survivor.

• Then: adv. meaning “at that time” or “next”

• There: adv. meaning “at that place”; expletive used to begin sentence

• Their: possessive form of pronoun “they” Ex: They took their bags to the room.

• They’re: contraction for “they are”

• Theirs: possessive form for they. Ex: Those keys are theirs.

• There’s: contraction for “there is”

• Weather: noun for climate conditions outdoors

• Whether: conjunction used with or to introduce alternatives ; indirect questions or expressions of doubt. Ex: I don’t know whether Karen will be here or not.

• Who’s: contraction for who is or who has Whose: possessive form of who. Ex: Whose keys are these?

20. COMMON USAGE

PROBLEMS cont’d.

• Your: possessive form of you (Ex: your

books) You’re: contraction for “you are”

• To: preposition; too: adv. meaning

overly or also

• Loose: adj. meaning not contained;

restrained Lose: v. meaning to

misplace

20. Common Usage Exercises 1. (Don’t/Doesn’t) anyone know when the game will

start?

2. (It’s, Its) the (weather, whether) that is giving me a headache.

3. Betty has (all ready, already) turned in the paper.

4. His (coarse, course) manners offended my mother, and my father (too, to).

5. I don’t want to (loose, lose) my best friend over this silly game.

6. My brother rode his bike (to, too) the beach.

7. (Who’s, Whose) bat is this?

8. (Who’s, Whose) going to the barbeque?

9. The students couldn’t believe (their, there) eyes when they saw the exam.

10. (Theirs, there’s) way too much food on this plate.

20. Common Usage Exercise

cont’d. 11. Jan had some (loose, lose) change in her pocket.

12. I can’t believe (your, you’re) going to do that.

13. The sparrow flew back to (its, it’s) nest.

14. I don’t (quite, quiet) get the new math lesson.

15. The insects are busy, but (quite, quiet).

16. How could any mother (desert, dessert) her own child?

17. I really don’t want to do that (anyway, anyways).

18. The (affects, effects) of lasers on surgical procedures have been incredible.

19. Ms. Yates (accepted, excepted) my excuse for being late.

20. Can you give me some (advice, advise) on what to wear the to interview?

20. Common Usage Exercise

cont’d. 21. The house is completed (except, accept) for the painting.

22. A lawyer can (advice, advise) you of your rights.

23. Everyone seemed greatly (affected, effected) by her speech on capital punishment.

24. Do you know (whether, weather) or not it will rain?

25. His works were more popular (then, than) mine.

26. I told him to do his chores first and (than, then) he could go to the parade.

27. (Doesn’t, Don’t) the twins play on the same team?

28. I’d rather take the humidity in Florida (than, then) the (desert, dessert) heat in Nevada.

29. What (courses, coarses) are you planning on taking in college?

30. The food was prepared and (all ready, already) for the guests.

Bibliography

• http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everyday_

writer3e/20errors/

• http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/Pocket5e/

player/pages/Main.aspx

Addendum…to Common Usage

Errors • Other misused words like “Lie vs. Lay” …

The Lie and Lay Dilemma

• The forms of lie and lay are listed below.

Refer to them as you do the following

exercises.

Present Present Participle Past Past Participle

Lie (to recline/rest) (is) lying lay (have) lain [No D.O.]

Lay (to put something) (is) laying laid (have) laid [Has a D.O.]

1. A heavy mist (lay, laid) in the valley.

2. The saucepan (lies, lays) under the stove.

3. Someone had (lain, laid) the dishes on the chair.

4. His work has (lain, laid) untouched for days.

5. The old tractor is (lying, laying) behind the barn.

Set vs. Sit

• Like lay, the verb set requires an object.

You set something, the object, down. For

example, I set the book on the desk. Or if

you want to get more abstract, you can set

a date. There is some object that receives

the action of the verb. In my examples, it is

the book and the date.

• On the other hand, like lie, sit doesn't

require a direct object; it's something you

do. I sit on the sofa.

Amount vs. Number

• Amount refers to quantities that are

measured in bulk or mass — considered

as a whole — while Number pertains to

things that can be counted individually:

– “The amount of square footage in the

attached shed is enough for a push lawn

mower or a small barbecue,” but “The total

number of square feet includes the attached

shed’s square footage.”

More misused words

• Conscience: (n.) one’s sense of right and

wrong Conscious: (adj.) aware or

intentional

• Loose: (adj.) meaning not contained;

restrained Lose: (v.) meaning to

misplace

• Real: (adj.) Really (adv.)

REAL • Real is an adjective and should be used to

modify or describe only a noun or a

pronoun. Real is usually interchangeable

with genuine.

– Example:

• That is a real diamond.

• That is a genuine diamond.

REALLY • Really is an adverb and should be used

only to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Remember, however, that really is an overused equivalent of very, unusually, and other such modifiers.

– Examples: • Incorrect:

– That is a real difficult concept.

• Correct: – That is a really difficult concept.

– That is a very difficult concept.

Any Q’s???

Addendum

• Parallelism

• Wordiness

Faulty Parallelism • If two or more ideas are parallel, they should be expressed in parallel

grammatical form. Examples:

– “A kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point.” –

Mistinguett

– “This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside but to be hurled with great

force.” – Dorothy Parker

• Balance all items in a series by presenting them in parallel grammatical

form. – Incorrect: Cross-training involves a variety of exercises, such as running, swimming, and

weights.

– Correct: Cross-training involves a variety of exercises, such as running, swimming, and

lifting weights. [all gerunds]

– Incorrect: Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the following symptoms:

withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and they are depressed.

– Correct: Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the following symptoms:

withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and depression.

– Incorrect: The winner of the gluttony contest swallowed six pancakes, slurped down a cream

pie, gobbled six waffles, and four pastries.

– Correct: The winner of the gluttony contest swallowed six pancakes, slurped down a cream

pie, gobbled six waffles, and devoured four pastries.

Faulty Parallelism

• Paired Ideas – When pairing ideas, underscore their connection by

expressing them in similar grammatical form. Paired ideas are

usually connected in one of three ways:

– With a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or or • Incorrect: Many states are reducing property taxes for home owners and extend

financial aid in the form of tax credits to renters.

• Correct: Many states are reducing property taxes for home owners and extending

financial aid in the form of tax credits to renters.

– With a pair of correlative conjunctions such as either…or, neither…nor,

not only…but also, or whether…or • Incorrect: Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also was a successful

entrepreneur. [The correlative conjunctions not only…but also connect two noun

phrases: a prolific inventor and a successful entrepreneur.]

• Correct: Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also was a successful

entrepreneur.

– With a word introducing a comparison, usually than or as • Incorrect: It is easier to speak in abstractions than grounding one’s thoughts in reality.

[The comparative term than links two infinitive phrases: to speak…to ground. Correct: It

is easier to speak in abstractions than to ground one’s thoughts in reality. ]

More on parallelism

• Repeat function words such as prepositions (by, to) and

subordinating conjunctions (that, because) to make

parallel ideas easier to grasp.

• Incorrect: Many hooked smokers try switching to a brand

they find distasteful or a low tar and nicotine cigarette.

• Correct: Many hooked smokers try switching to a brand

they find distasteful or to a low tar and nicotine cigarette.

Faulty Parallelism: [The following sentences

contain an error in parallel structure. Show how

this error can be corrected.]

1. My sister and I thought our souvenirs were better than our friends.

2. This weekend I’m going camping, hiking, and to swim.

3. It took me less time doing the research than to write the report.

4. Convincing my mother is more difficult than my father.

5. He neither has the background nor the skills required for the job.

6. Being timid in public and because he has little self confidence, he is not a good clerk.

7. Field trips not only are required for biology but also for geology.

8. Listening to records and attendance at live concerts are both enjoyable.

9. A commercial should be of interest and informative.

10.Learning to swim is easier in a pool than the ocean.

Weeding Out Wordiness

• Have you ever written things in your paper just to fill in space?

• Have you ever heard someone speak and use words that just didn’t make sense? OR What they said was overly wordy, verbose, garrulous, loquacious, effusive, and long-winded?

• Have you ever heard someone repeat themselves over and over again? You know, say the same thing but in a different way? What I mean is someone being overly repetitious?

• You get the point! Right?

• Anyway, the above scenarios are examples of wordiness.

• The purpose of today’s exercise is to help you reduce wordiness in your writing.

• Here are some guidelines to keep in mind…

Rules for eliminating

wordiness… Rule 1: Avoid the use of double negatives.

Wrong: Joe does not never do no work.

Better: Joe does no work.

Rule 2: Eliminate superfluous words (extra

or nonessential words).

Wrong: In my opinion, I think he’s right.

Better: I think he’s right.

Rules for eliminating

wordiness… Rule 3: Avoid unnecessary repetition of ideas.

Wrong: Last summer, I went camping during the

summer.

Better: Last summer I went camping.

Rule 4: Some clauses and phrases may be reduced to

a single word.

Wordy: We met a girl who is a native of Mexico.

Better: We met a Mexican girl.

Rules for eliminating

wordiness… Rule 5: Avoid writing an unnatural, overwritten style.

Too many big words, foreign words, flowery phrases, etc. make writing awkward, cumbersome, and hard to understand.

Representative Maury Maverick of Texas coined the term gobbledygook after reading this sentence in the United States government manual:

“Illumination is required to be extinguished upon vacating these premises.”

Better: “Turn off the light when you leave.”