Common Writing Mistakes Lesson #1

8/9/2019 Common Writing Mistakes Lesson #1

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Lesson 6

Common Writing Mistakes

#1


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Writers Prompt

Listen to the following selection of music

While listening, write your reaction to the

music describe what you see in your mindseye, how it makes you feel, what if anymeaning it has for you


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Assignment

Read Chapter 31 Quotation Marks in Little,

Brown Handbook

Do Handout Exercise 31.2 Quoting Titles Read Snow Toward Evening, page 54 in GW

Answer Language, Form, Structure #1 and #2


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Assignment Review

Chapter 28, The Comma in Little, Brown

Handbook

Handout 28.1 Punctuating linked main clauses GW

, page 52, Ode to Autumn by John Keats

Meaning and Idea #3 and Language, Form,Structure #3


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28.1 Punctuating Linked Main

Clauses How did you do?


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John Keats (1795 1821)

Romantic poet

Natural not cynical

Studied medicine Death at age 26


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Ode to Autumn

Meaning and Idea #3 and Language, Form, Structure#3


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COMMON WRITING MISTAKESCOMMON WRITING MISTAKES


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Top Ten Grammar Myths


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Writing Mistakes to Avoid


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Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.

Never use no double negatives.

Use the semicolon properly, always where itis appropriate; and never where it is not.

Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use

and omit it where it is not needed.


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Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

No sentence fragments.

Proofread carefully to see if you any wordsout.


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COMMON WRITING MISTAKE #1

Using the comma with introductory elements


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It is highly important to put (commas) in place

as you go along. If you try to come back afterdoing a paragraph and stick them in the variousspots that tempt you you will discover that they

tend to swarm like minnows into all sorts of

crevices whose existence you hadnt realized andbefore you know it the whole long sentencebecomes immobilized and lashed up squirming in

commas. Better to use them sparingly, and with

affection, precisely when the need for one arises,

nicely, by itself. Lewis Thomas, Notes on Punctuation


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Principal uses of the comma

Separate main clauses linked by a

coordinating conjunction

The building is finished, but it has no tenants.

l Set off most introductory elements

l Unfortunately,the only tenant pulled out.


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l Set off nonessential elements

l The empty building symbolizes a weak local

economy, which hurts everyone.

l Separate items in a series

l The city needs healthier businesses, new schools,

and improved housing.


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Separate coordinate adjectives

A tall,sleek skyscraper is not needed.


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Using the comma after the

introductory element


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Missing comma, after an

introductory element Check your sentences to see which ones open

with an introductory word, phrase, or clause.

Readers usually need a small pause betweenthe introductory element and the main partof the sentence, a pause most often signaled

by a comma.


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Missing comma, after an

introductory element Try to get into the habit of using a comma

after every introductory element, be it a

word, a phrase, or a clause. When the introductory element is very short,

you don't always need a comma after it. But

you're never wrong if you do use a comma.


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Using the comma with an

introductory element


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EXAMPLES


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Examples

1. To tell the truth, I have never liked the Mets.

2. Determined to get the job done, we worked allweekend.

3. Because of its isolation in a rural area

surrounded by mountains,Tyler Pass doesntget many visitors.


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Examples

4. Riding the Metro Link to the Cardinals baseball

game, is a great way to go to see them.

5. How many men must die,before we end war onthis planet?

6. When I order a pizza with all the meats, extra

cheese and mushrooms, I want it delivered hotand fresh.


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You try it

o I took time to clean my glasses very carefully

and then I made my way through the door.

o I took time to clean my glasses very carefully,and then I made my way through the door.


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You try it

o The music was so loud it rattled the inside of

my ears as I entered the arena to hear the

rock concert.

The music was so loud, it rattled the inside ofmy ears as I entered the arena to hear the

rock concert.


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You try it

Writing is a lot like thinking on paper

although there are no erasers for brain waves.

Writing is a lot like thinking on paper,although there are no erasers for brain waves.


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IN CLASS EXERCISES


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Handout 1 Commas: Introductory

phrases


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And now, time for something

completely different


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Examine the following:

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a wayof overcoming the problem of scarce airways andlimiting how they are used. This task is one ofthe promises of the Obama administration.


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Before Mary Grace physically and verbally

assaulted Mrs. Turpin, she was a judgmentalwoman who created her own ranking system ofpeople and used it to justify her self proclaimedsuperiority. It was common knowledge that shehad no clue as to the truth.


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The troopers burned a refugee camp as a

result of the earlier attack. This was the cause ofthe war.


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Questions

What is right or wrong with these sentences?

What pattern, if any do you see taking place?

What are some things they have in common? What are some things they dont have in

common?


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Answer 1

In the first slide, what is being limited? Thesignals or the waves? What task?

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way ofovercoming the problem of scarce airways andlimiting how they are used. This task is one ofthe promises of the Obama administration.


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Rewrite

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way ofovercoming the problem of scarce airways andlimiting how the airwaves are used. This task oflimiting how airwaves are used is one of thepromises of the Obama administration.


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Answer 2

In the second slide, whom does she refer toMary Grace or Mrs. Turpin?

Before Mary Grace physically and verballyassaulted Mrs. Turpin, she was a judgmentalwoman who created her own ranking system ofpeople and used it to justify her self proclaimed

superiority. It was common knowledge that shehad no clue as to the truth.


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Rewrite

Before Mary Grace physically and verbally

assaulted Mrs. Turpin, the latter was ajudgmental woman who created her ownranking system of people and used it to justifyher self proclaimed superiority. It was common

knowledge that she had no clue as to the truth.


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Answer 3

What does this refer to?

The troopers burned a refugee camp as a resultof the earlier attack. This was the cause of thewar.


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Rewrite

The troopers burned a refugee camp as aresult of the earlier attack. This destruction ofthe camp was the cause of the war.


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Vague Pronoun ReferencesVague Pronoun References


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Vague Pronoun References

Every pronoun you write should refer clearly andunmistakably to ONE PARTICULAR noun. We callthis noun the antecedent.

There are two common kinds of vague pronounreferences:

The first occurs when there is more than one wordthat the pronoun might refer to.

After putting the disk in the cabinet, Mary sold it.

What did Mary sell, the cabinet or the disk?


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The second, when the reference is to a word

that is implied but not explicitly stated.

After John cheated on the test by peeking at Jimspaper, he became very upset.

Who is upset? John or Jim?


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Check your draft for clear backward reference

of pronouns, words such as he, she, it, they,

this, that, which, and who that replaceanother 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 previoussentence, so that readers can be sure whom

or what the pronoun refers to.


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Watch this

Pronoun/Antecedent agreement

Antecedent = The noun or noun phrase that a

pronoun refers to.

Example:

Most people are unable to write because they are unable

to think, and they are unable to think because theycongenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as theycongenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon."(H. L. Mencken)


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IN CLASS EXERCISEIN CLASS EXERCISE


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Exercise 1

Documents

Common Writing Mistakes Lesson #1