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7a. Misplacing only is a very common error. Mary only thought about
asking
for help after she earned a “D” on her first paper. [Implied:
Unfortunately, she never actually did anything about it.] Consider this
revision: Mary thought about asking for help only after she earned a
“D” on her first paper. Only modifies and underscores the word it
precedes: only after she earned a “D”, and not before.
Another common error is misplacing not: All high school teachers are
not good writers. Of course, the intended meaning is very different:
Not all high school teachers are good writers. Although seldom used,
the word some might be appropriate here: Some high school
teachers are not good writers. [Not all = Some]
7e. Add Scharf’s RULE OF FLOW: Avoid unnecessary interruptions
between the subject and the predicate. The sentence, on the
other hand, flows more smoothly without interruptions. Compare: On
the other hand, the sentence flows more smoothly without
interruptions. On rare occasions, rhetorical interruptions can be used
for emphasis. For example, see my parsimony comment (1b, above).
8a. Overcome choppy sentences by creating a compound sentence or by
adding a subordinate clause to the main clause.
8b. Instead of beginning a sentence with its subject, try placing a
subordinate
clause, an extended phrase, or a conjunctive adverb before the main
clause. This is a good way to recognize the RULE OF FLOW (7e). But
remember that the purpose is also variety: don’t simply substitute one
repetitive syntax for another.
9a. individuals people persons people
the human people we as we or omit
Avoid we as. For example, we as Americans. If your purpose is to
contrast Americans with Norwegians, simply write we Americans.
But if there is no explicit contrast, simply write Americans. If the
context already specifies that your discussion applies only to
Americans, simply write we.
EXAMPLE:Just because you graduated from high school, it doesn’t mean that
you know how to write well. Your graduating from high school
doesn’t meant that you know how to write well.
12c. Mature writers know how to use possessive pronouns with gerunds.
I appreciate you coming to my party. I appreciate your coming
to my party. I recall him promising to be here. I recall his
promising to be here. Them leaving nearly broke his heart. Their
leaving nearly broke his heart.
12d. Please remember that the pronoun that refers to things and the
pronoun who refers to people. Using that to refer to people tells the
reader that you
haven’t mastered the simple distinction between who and whom.
14c. In certain literary forms, fragments are acceptable for emphasis. But
there are no acceptable fragments in formal social science writing.
15a. Please give special attention to these uses of the comma and the
15 b. semi-colon as ways to overcome run-on sentences.
17a. Commas are sometimes used to join two independent clauses. Be
sure that your second clause has a subject. See 17j.
17b. This is a common punctuation oversight. Please use a comma to
separate an introductory subordinate clause or extended phrase from
the main clause.
17e. Please note the use of commas for nonrestrictive clauses and phrases
and
for appositives. Equally important, remember that to “set off” such
elements always requires a PAIR of commas.
17f. Conjunctive adverbs are always preceded by a period or a semi-colon
and always followed by a comma. For example, “As a matter of fact,
…” and “language; moreover, …”
17i. Some students make comma usage in dates a bit too complicated.
Please note the many exceptions in this section.
17j. A very common student error is the use of a comma following a
coordinating conjunction: and, but, yet. See p. 222 for the difference
between a coordinating conjunction (not followed by a comma) and a
conjunctive adverb (always followed by a comma). Some students
mistakenly equate but and yet with however and therefore. Mixing
these two parts of speech produces many comma errors.
18a. If you can learn to use the semi-colon properly, everyone will think you
are
a skilled writer.
Despite its name, the semi-colon is NOT related to the colon. The
semi-colon is stronger than a comma and weaker than a period. The
words that precede a semi-colon must be the grammatical equivalent of
the words that follow it. (A) Use a semi-colon to connect two closely
related complete sentences. (B) Use a semi-colon to separate a series
of phrases that contain commas.
18b. Please note that a colon is always preceded by a complete main
clause,
commonly including the object of the predicate.. But many students
ignore this rule and make the mistakes that Hacker notes here.
WRONG: “Rawls’ theory of justice incorporates: the Veil of Ignorance
and the Difference Principle.”
19d. It is wrong to use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his’, her’s,
their’s, it’s. Nevertheless, many people misspell it’s.
21b. When you write a question, do you sometimes forget to end with a
question mark.
21d. Some students use dashes simply to avoid learning proper
punctuation. This ploy won’t work in my classes.
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