Checklist for Self-Editing

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Check writing for the following common mechanical errors:

Student Teacher
Sentence Fragments – Sentences that do not contain a subject and a verb or that have clauses that are
_________ _________ improperly connected to the main sentence
Punctuation Errors – Sentences that don’t end with a period, question mark, or exclamation point; periods
_________ _________ missing after abbreviations; commas and apostrophes are not appropriately used

Capitalization Errors – Proper nouns and sentences that don’t begin with capital letters; capital letters used
_________ _________ where the letters should be lowercase

_________ _________ Sentence Sprawl – Connecting too many thoughts in one sentence even if grammatically it is correct

_________ _________ Tenses Not in Agreement - Sentences or paragraphs switching verb tense

_________ _________ Subject/Verb Not in Agreement – Mixing singulars and plurals

Misplaced Modifiers – Modifiers that are not placed properly in a sentence can change the meaning of the
_________ _________ sentence

_________ _________ Dangling Modifiers – Modifiers that are not followed by the noun that they describe

_________ _________ Improper Parallel Structure – Items in a series that do not have the same structure/tense

_________ _________ Improper or Unclear Pronoun Reference – Pronouns that do not refer to the preceding or anteceding noun

Improper Pronoun Agreement – Pronouns that do not agree with the singular or plural state of the nouns to
_________ _________ which they refer

_________ _________ Incorrect Pronoun Case – A pronoun that uses a form that is incorrect for its function within the sentence

Incorrect Comma Use – Necessary commas that are omitted, unnecessary commas that are added, or
_________ _________ commas used to connect 2 sentences without a conjunction
Possessive/Plural Errors – Omitting apostrophes with possessives (the exception being the possessive
pronouns its, yours, his, and hers, which never use apostrophes), adding apostrophes to plurals (the exception
_________ _________ being when letters as themselves are made plural: cross your t’s)

_________ _________ Incorrect Homophones – Using a sound-alike word in place of the correct word

_________ _________ Words Commonly Confused – accept/except, effect/affect, lie/lay, than/then, to/too/two, through/threw

Check writing for logical organization and proper citations:

Student Teacher General

You should have a topic/thesis and keep it in mind throughout the entire paper. The topic/thesis should match
_________ _________ the assignment.
Is your paper a compare/contrast paper, a personal narrative, a research paper, an argumentation/persuasion
_________ _________ paper, etc.? The writing should be appropriate for the type of paper.
Papers should generally contain an introductory paragraph where your topic/thesis is introduced, the needed
number of paragraphs to support your thesis, and a concluding paragraph to wrap up your ideas and strengthen
_________ _________ your thesis.

_________ _________ Avoid slang or inappropriate/offensive language.

_________ _________ Avoid “to be” verbs. Use active tense whenever possible.

Student Teacher Paragraphs

Paragraphs should have a topic sentence at the beginning to set the boundaries for the paragraph and a
_________ _________ transition sentence at the end to lead into the next paragraph.

_________ _________ Paragraphs should generally have 3-5 sentences and should never have only 1 sentence.

_________ _________ All sentences in a paragraph should support the topic sentence and relate to it.

_________ _________ If you list ideas in a certain order in the introductory paragraph, cover them in that same order in the paper.

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 Use no more and no fewer words than you need. Excessive wordiness detracts from the meaning of a
paragraph, and writing should be revised to include only the words needed to effectively communicate your
_________ _________ meaning.

Transitions

_________ _________ Thoughts throughout the paper should flow in an orderly way.

_________ _________ Transition words or phrases (connectors) should be appropriately used to move from one thought to another.

_________ _________ Reread the work. Does anything stick out as out of order, unnecessary, or not properly introduced?

Citations

_________ _________ All quotes should be in quotation marks.

_________ _________ All data included should be cited with reference to the specific source.

All quotes and ideas that are not your own should be sourced properly on a Works Cited, Sources, or
Bibliography page. For specific help with individual sourcing formats, see the handouts at
_________ _________ https://germanna.edu/academic-center-excellence/writing-center-writing-resources

Read your paper out loud before turning it in. Often errors that you do not catch otherwise will be obvious
_________ _________ when you read the paper aloud.

Sources

The Writing Center. “Twelve Common Errors: A Self-Editing Checklist for Students”. UW Madison. January 5, 2023.
https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/grammarpunct/commonerrors/

Sebranek, Patrick and Verne Meyer, and Dave Kemper. Writers Inc.: A Student Handbook for Writing & Learning. D.C. Heath and Company, a
Houghton Mifflin Company. 1996.

The Punctuator and Apostrophe Squid. “The Use of the Apostrophe in the English Language” Fourmilab.com. January 5, 2023.
https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/apostrophe/

“Commonly Confused Words”. University of Richmond Writing Center. University of Richmond. January 5, 2023.
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conford.html

Germanna Community College Tutoring Services. “Self-Editing Checklist for College Writers”. Germanna Community College. Revised July 24,
2012. January 5, 2023. https://germanna.edu/academic-center-excellence/writing-center-writing-resources/all-writing-handouts

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