Common Editing Symbols

The numbers in parentheses () refer to sections in Hacker’s Rules for Writers.

See also Purdue’s OWL (http://owl.english.purdue) for more help with your writing.

¶ = start a new paragraph dm = Dangling Modifier / Misplaced Modifier

(12e / 12a-d)
# = add a space
Working harder than ever, this job proved
A = make lower case to be too much for him to handle
Answering questions can be annoying in a
a = capitalize telephone conversation.
= delete frag* = Sentence Fragment (19)
Depending on the amount of snow we get
= join together / close space
this winter and whether the towns buy new
// = Faulty Parallel Structure trucks.
I like running, jumping, and to skip.
fs = Fused Sentence (20)
agr = Faulty Agreement of Subject/Verb or Air pollution poses risks to all humans it can
Pronoun/Antecedent (21,22, 27c) be deadly for asthma suffers.
A pen and pencil is required for class.
org** = Poorly Organized Paragraph
The student lost their book.
t = Error in Verb Tense (27f)
awk = Awkward
He comes into the room, and he pulled his
The storm had the effect of causing millions
gun.
of dollars in damage
trans = Transition Needed
cs = Comma splice (20)
Air pollution poses risks to all humans, it can w = Wordy/Unnecessary Repetition (16)
be deadly for asthma suffers. The car was blue in color.
dev = Inadequate Development of Idea wc/ww = Poor Word Choice/Wrong Word
diction = Poor Choice of Diction (i.e.
slang/inappropriate language)
* Two tips for avoiding sentence fragments:

1) NEVER start sentences with which

2) BEWARE of starting sentences with “-ing” words, “because”, “since”, & “whether”

** Remember: A well-organized paragraph will have a

(a) Topic Sentence (main idea) followed by

(b) Examples, and

(c) Explanations.

There should be only one main idea per paragraph.

Another way to create a well-organized paragraph is to follow the TRIAC pattern:

Topic sentence
Restatement or Restriction or Refinement of topic sentence
Illustration or example
Analysis
Conclusion and/or transition

Example of TRIAC paragraph:

(T) In today’s business world, it is increasingly difficult to keep the ethics of a neighborhood “mom and
pop” type of store and develop a multi-unit business. (R) In fact, it seems that as businesses grow, they
become less and less able to maintain small store ethics. (I) For example, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream company
faced such ethical challenges a problem during their period of rapid expansion. Neither of the founders could
possibly interact with every employee or distributor which led to problems such as [This section might go on
relating Ben and Jerry’s experiences.] (A) Ben and Jerry’s experience show that that growth demands more
than a simple person-to-person handshake and a cheerful, honest owner. An increase in employees, suppliers,
and customers requires superior management and more far-reaching and complex ethical techniques in order
to ensure that business ethics are understood and maintained. (C) [The conclusion would depend on what
came next in the report; try to write a sentence that concludes this paragraph’s idea while introducing your
next main idea. Alternatively, you may simply write a conclusion to the paragraph that offers the reader
something to do (a solution to the problem) or something to remember]