3. Avoid using the synonym selection in Word. Do not start sentences with “And.” Do not use “I” or “You” in ANY paper. Could of – NO!!!  Could’ve  Could have Avoid contractions Use simple language  But be formal Affect/effect Than/then Toward and Towards  Toward and towards are both correct and interchangeable.

4. Possessives  Singular names that end in –s: use an apostrophe and an s  Chris’s house is blue.  Other words that end in –s: use s’  The drinking glass’ crack is noticeable.

5. MISTAKES IN PAPERS Thesis  Should include the three major points of your paper  Example:  The setting of the novel affects the main character because of A, B, and C.  Goes at the end of the intro

6. Between and Among  Between  One-to-one relationships  Let's keep this between you and me.  Choose between green and blue.  More than two items, groups, or people  The differences between English, Chinese, and Arabic are significant.  Among  Things that aren't distinct items or individuals  Taylor and Morgan are among the students featured in this month’s magazine.  The scandal caused a division among the fans.  Indicates that someone is part of a group or left out of a group  He was glad to find a friend among enemies.

7. Clichés  They have no place in formal writing and do not adequately describe what you are trying to say.  Many students try to argue that clichés make the paper more interesting, that what they’re saying is “not really a cliché,” that the phrasing makes them sound witty, smart, etc.  They’re wrong.  They should be avoided in all writing, but especially in formal papers.  Starting off on the wrong foot  In the long run  Writing on the wall  Too much of a good thing  A huge fan of  Sweep under the rug  Tip of the iceberg

8. Semicolons  Semicolons are used to join independent clauses in a sentence.  If what comes after the semicolon is a fragment and cannot stand on its own as a sentence, YOU’RE USING IT INCORRECTLY!!!  Examples:  Working mothers nationally pay an average of $53 a week for child care; this means that many women pay nearly half of their weekly salary to day care centers or babysitters.

9. Colons  Colons are used after an independent clause that precedes a list.  The use of these punctuation marks often confuses students: comma, semicolon, colon, hyphen, and dash.  Colons are used to separate an explanation, rule, or example from a preceding independent clause.  After a sleepless night, the senator made her decision: she would not seek re-election.  This is a way to remember which direction to move the hands of the clock when changing to or from Daylight Savings Time: spring forward, fall back.

10. Dialogue within a quote  “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children today?’ she inquired” (Smith 67).  “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children today?’” (Smith 67). The use of double quotation marks is only necessary for a quote within a quote. Not all dialogue receives the double quotation marks.  “What are you doing with the children today?” (Smith 67).

11. MISTAKES IN PAPERS Even if you use a quote in the middle of a sentence, put the citation at the end. Do not cite the same author more than three times in a row. Indent quotes that are longer than three lines.  Refer to MLA format in packet for proper citations.

12. Agreement  If a person has a big decision to make, they have a lot to consider.  NO!  If a person has a big decision to make, he has a lot to consider.  If a person has a big decision to make, she has a lot to consider.

13. Comma splice  A comma splice is the incorrect use of a comma to connect two independent clauses. (Recall that an independent clause is a phrase that is grammatically and conceptually complete; that is, it can stand on its own as a sentence.)  To correct the comma splice, you can:  replace the comma with a period, forming two sentences  replace the comma with a semicolon  join the two clauses with a conjunction such as "and," "because," "but," etc. Examples:  I like Jamie, she is very pretty. INCORRECT  I like Jamie. She is very pretty. CORRECT  I like Jamie; she is very pretty. CORRECT  I like Jamie because she is very pretty. CORRECT

14. Dangling participles  A participle is a verb-form that ends in -ing.  It is called "dangling" when it doesn't agree with its subject.  Incorrect example: While walking down the road, a tree caught Kelly's attention.  The subject of the sentence is "a tree," but it is not the tree that is doing the walking, therefore the participle "walking" is dangling.  Correct examples:  While walking down the road, Kelly noticed a tree.  A tree caught Kelly's attention as she walked down the road. Remember that not all words that end in -ing are participles (e.g. thing).

15. Ending a Sentence with a Preposition  Prepositions are little words that indicate position: with, at, by, from, etc.  In general, a preposition should come before the noun it modifies.  Hence the name “Pre"-position  Incorrect example: “That's the person I must talk to.”  Correct example: “That's the person to whom I must talk.”  Winston Churchill: "This is the kind of thing up with which I will not put!"

16.  About  Behind  From  On  Toward  Above  Below  In  On top of  Under  Across  Beneath  In front of  Onto  Underneath  After  Beside  Inside  Out  Of  Until  Against  Between  Instead of  Outside  Up  Along  By  Into  Over  Upon  Among  Down  Through  Without  Before  For  Off  To  Of  With  Around  During  Near  Since  Within  At  Except  Like  Past

17. “Who” and “whoever” are subjective pronouns; “whom” and “whomever” are in the objective case. Examples:  Who is that masked man? (“Who”/subject)  The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted for fraud. (“whom”/object) Rule: Substitute “he/him” or “she/her”  If it's either “he” or “she,” then it's “who;” if it's “him” or “her,” then it's “whom.”

18. 5 standard areas  spelling  punctuation  sentence structure  paragraph structure  syntax errors Transition use connections between paragraphs and within paragraphs Use of quotes and cites 2 successes/2 areas of improvement Must be signed!

19. PROBLEMS Thesis statements  They should not be hard to find  Your three main points should be listed in your thesis.  Body paragraphs should follow the format/order of your thesis.  Point A of your thesis should be the topic of your first body paragraph, etc.  Heading must be correct

20. PROBLEMS Delete space between paragraphs. Remember rules for quotes.  Only use the double quotation marks when there’s a break in dialogue.  Not all dialogue gets the double quotation marks. Do not start a paragraph with a quote.  You need to include some explanation and set up the quote. Follow with explanation. Indent quotes longer than three lines 10 spaces.  INDENT THE WHOLE QUOTE, not just the first line.

21. PROBLEMS Long quotes do not get quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote.  UNLESS it’s a quote within a quote, then you follow the same rules: single marks on the dialogue within the quote. Example:  I went into the stairwell and was surprised at what I saw. ‘What are you doing here?’ Mrs. Callar asked. ‘I’m searching for Mr. Barnes. Is he still on the grounds?’ I had hoped he was gone (Sanders 27).

22. PROBLEMS NO CONTRACTIONS! Too much summary  Need to include some kind of commentary (critique) and your own analysis instead of just retelling what happened. Possessives  If you are using a proper name, such as “Miles,” it would be expressed as “Miles’s.”  Also, notice where the comma and period are placed above when using quotation marks without a citation.  The character is suspicious of her newfound “friends.”  The girl referred to the woman as “Aunt Rita,” despite the fact they were not truly related.

23. PROBLEMS Exaggerations  The governess was losing her mind.  The governess’ mental stability was questionable.