Honors Literature II: Grammar Rules

1. Run-on Sentence, Comma Splice, or Fragmentary Sentence.

2. Subject / Verb Agreement.

3. Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement.

4. Spelling error.

5. Missing or improperly used end punctuation.

6. Place a comma before any coordinating conjunction that links two complete sentences.

7. Improper use of ellipsis.

8. Place question marks or exclamation points inside quotations when the entire quotation is a
question or is exclaimed. Place outside quotations if the sentence containing the quotation
is a question or is exclaimed.

9. Do not place a comma before a coordination conjunction if there is not a complete sentence
on each side of the conjunction.

10. A comma is needed.

11. A comma is not needed.

12. Use a comma after all introductory adverb clauses, participial phrases, gerund phrases, and
infinitive phrases. Use a comma after an introductory prepositional phrase of at least five
words.

13. Use a comma to set off expressions such as he said, she replied, and exclaimed Jennifer.

14. Use a colon after a complete sentence (but only if it is a complete sentence) that introduces
a formal list or after a statement that introduces an explanation of that statement.

15. Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation.

16. Use quotation marks to enclose the titles of short works and smaller units of books.
Underline titles of book length works and paintings.

17. Improper use of a coordinating conjunction.

18. Capitalization error.

19. Capitalize but do not underline titles of religious works and government documents.

20. In titles, capitalize all words except for articles, prepositions, or conjunctions. Capitalize
these if they are the first word of the title.
21. Possession error.

22. Compound numerals (e.g., twenty-three) are always hyphenated.

23. Compounds should be hyphenated if they contain the word “self,” contain a prepositional
phrase, or are compound modifiers located before the word it modifies.

24. Numbers that begin a sentence or that can be written in one or two words should be written
out, not enumerated.

25. It must always be clear what word a pronoun refers to within a sentence. A pronoun must
also refer to only one word, not a complete concept.

26. Do not use first or second person pronouns. Do not use words such as thing or a lot. Do
not use contractions or abbreviations. Do not use any other type of informal expression.

27. A modifier is misplaced. Relocate the modifier to clarify your meaning.

28. An adjective is needed in this case.

29. An adverb is needed in this case.

30. A transitional sentence is needed.

31. Do not use passive voice or weak verbiage in formal papers. Reword to be more active.

32. Faulty parallelism.

33. Noun is singular and should be plural, or noun is plural and should be singular.

34. Check verb tense.

35. Keep your verb tense constant throughout your paper.

36. Choose a word that more precisely fits your meaning.

37. A word is missing.

38. Always write about literature in the present tense.

39. Sentence is awkward. Rewrite.

40. Italicize non-English words.

41. Faulty syntax.