Lesson 6

Common Writing Mistakes

#1
Writer’s Prompt

 Listen to the following selection of music

 While listening, write your reaction to the
music – describe what you see in your mind’s
eye, how it makes you feel, what if any
meaning it has for you
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
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
28.1 Punctuating Linked Main
Clauses
 How did you do?
John Keats (1795 – 1821)

 Romantic poet
 Natural not cynical
 Studied medicine
 Death at age 26
“Ode to Autumn”

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

#3
COMMON WRITING MISTAKES
Top Ten Grammar Myths
Writing Mistakes to Avoid
Writing Mistakes to Avoid

 Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.

 Never use no double negatives.
 Use the semicolon properly, always where it
is appropriate; and never where it is not.
 Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use
and omit it where it is not needed.
Writing Mistakes to Avoid

 Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

 No sentence fragments.
 Proofread carefully to see if you any words
out.
Writing Mistakes to Avoid

 Avoid commas, that are not necessary.

 When you reread your work, you will find on
rereading that a great deal of repetition can
be avoided by rereading and editing.
 A writer must not shift your point of view.
Using the comma with introductory elements
 It is highly important to put (commas) in place
as you go along. If you try to come back after
doing a paragraph and stick them in the various
spots that tempt you you will discover that they
tend to swarm like minnows into all sorts of
crevices whose existence you hadn’t realized and
before you know it the whole long sentence
becomes 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”
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.

Principal uses of the comma

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.
Principal uses of the comma

 Separate coordinate adjectives

,
 A tall sleek skyscraper is not needed.
Using the comma after the
introductory element
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 between
the introductory element and the main part
of the sentence, a pause most often signaled
by a comma.
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.
Using the comma with an
introductory element
Examples

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

2. ,
Determined to get the job done we worked all
weekend.

3. Because of its isolation in a rural area

surrounded by mountains, Tyler Pass doesn’t
get many visitors.
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 on

this planet?

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

cheese and mushrooms, I want it delivered hot
and fresh.
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.
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 of
my ears as I entered the arena to hear the
rock concert.
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.
Handout 1 – Commas:
Introductory phrases
And now, time for something
completely different…
Examine the following:

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way

of overcoming the problem of scarce airways and
limiting how they are used. This task is one of
the promises of the Obama administration.
Examine the following:

Before Mary Grace physically and verbally

assaulted Mrs. Turpin, she was a judgmental
woman who created her own ranking system of
people and used it to justify her self proclaimed
superiority. It was common knowledge that she
had no clue as to the truth.
Examine the following:

The troopers burned a refugee camp as a

result of the earlier attack. This was the cause of
the war.
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 don’t have in
common?
Answer 1

 In the first slide, what is being limited? The

signals or the waves? What task?
Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of
overcoming the problem of scarce airways and
limiting how they are used. This task is one of
the promises of the Obama administration.
Rewrite

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of

overcoming the problem of scarce airways and
limiting how the airwaves are used. This task of
limiting how airwaves are used is one of the
promises of the Obama administration.
Answer 2

 In the second slide, whom does she refer to—

Mary Grace or Mrs. Turpin?
Before Mary Grace physically and verbally
assaulted Mrs. Turpin, she was a judgmental
woman who created her own ranking system of
people and used it to justify her self proclaimed
superiority. It was common knowledge that she
had no clue as to the truth.
Rewrite

Before Mary Grace physically and verbally

assaulted Mrs. Turpin, the latter was a
judgmental woman who created her own
ranking system of people and used it to justify
her self proclaimed superiority. It was common
knowledge that she had no clue as to the truth.
Answer 3

 What does this refer to?

The troopers burned a refugee camp as a result

of the earlier attack. This was the cause of the
war.
Rewrite

The troopers burned a refugee camp as a

result of the earlier attack. This destruction of
the camp was the cause of the war.
Vague Pronoun
References
 Vague Pronoun References
 Every pronoun you write should refer clearly and
unmistakably to ONE PARTICULAR noun. We call this
noun the antecedent.
 There are two common kinds of vague pronoun references:
 The first occurs when there is more than one word that the
pronoun might refer to.
 After putting the disk in the cabinet, Mary sold it.
 What did Mary sell, the cabinet or the disk?
Vague Pronoun References

 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 Jim’s
paper, he became very upset.
 Who is upset? John or Jim?
Vague Pronoun References

 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.
What about this?
 Company policy prohibited smoking, which
many employees resented.
 What does which refer to—the policy or
smoking?
 Company policy prohibited smoking, a policy
which many employees resented.
 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 they
congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they
congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon."
(H. L. Mencken)
IN CLASS EXERCISE
Exercise 1