Red Pen Work

Learning from Mistakes

Mistakes are good.

• “A man’s mistakes are his portals of discovery.” James Joyce

• Every mistake in your essay offers you a gateway to knowledge.

• Mistakes show that you are trying something new and challenging.

Mistakes are bad.

• Mistakes in writing are like pests in your kitchen.

• They distract from the feast you have prepared for your guests.

• They tend to multiply unless you can control them.

Directions for Red Pen Work

• Follow up on all marked items on your essay.• Correct circled items.• Look up and write out rules when noted.• Add sentences to build up essay.• Subtract empty words.• Separate run-on sentences.

Circled Items

• Something is wrong, perhaps a misspelled word.

• Write correct word above the wrong one with red pen.

• Then write word ten times correctly on back of page.

beautifulThe beach was beutiful. We lay down on thewarm fellwarme sand and felt half an asleep for ½ and hour.

Rule Notations

• Look up rule in A Writer’s Reference.

• With red pen, write rule on page and change wording or punctuation.

• Copy rule and apply as often as noted.

Plb: Place a comma after an introductory element. P1b

When I was in a play I was responsible for learning my lines, rehearsing with the rest of the cast, and S1a Balance parallel ideas in a series.

to show up early to get ready. showing

Additions

• Look for “Tell more” or “add details.”

• With red pen, write more phrases and sentences right there on the page.

• Add special facts, proper nouns, and/or sensory details.

My math teacher taught us many things. Tell more

For example, he showed us

how to figure out the

circumference of a circle, how

to find the area of a triangle,

and how to calculate the

volume of a cylinder.

Subtractions

• All W2 rules.• Cross out unnecessary

words with red pen.• Or write a concise

version of the sentence in red.

W2c Cut empty or inflated phrases.

One of the reasons that I

enjoyed that class was

because the teacher let us

work together. Group work made that class fun.

Homophones

• Highlight circled word in your essay and on homophones page.

• Make correction in red on essay.

staring

She was starring at the haunted wondering

hunted house, wandering would

if she wood ever have the through

courage to walk threw those doors.

Run-on’s and Comma Splices

• Highlight box.• Note rule G6c yourself.• Write out the rule.• Then change

punctuation and capitalization to fix the problem.

• Or use an alternative sentence structure.

G6c: Consider making the clauses in two sentences.

I have attend EPCC for two

semester and I am

learning so much, it is the

best place to start.G6c: Consider making the clauses in two sentences.

The Box

G6c: Consider making the clauses into separate sentences.

I am learning so much, it is the best place to start.

I am learning so much. It is the best place to start.

Alternatives for Run-on Sentence

• I have attended EPCC for two semesters, and I am learning so much. It is the best place to start.

• Having attended EPCC for two semesters, I am learning so much. It is definitely the best place to start.

• I have learned so much during my first two semesters at EPCC, the best place to start.