2020-2021 ACADEMIC YEAR

FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

PREP CLASSES

DATE OF ASSIGNMENT: 29.11.2020 DUE DATE: PARENT SIGNATURE :

REVISING and EDITING YOUR ESSAY CLASS : NUMBER :

REVISING AND EDITING

When you revise your writing, you can:

a. add new ideas or more specific detail

b. eliminate irrelevant sentences
c. rearrange ideas to improve the organization

A. Practising Revision

Before you submit your essay, always revise and edit it. essay
Revising Checklist

1. Does your introduction create 11. Have irrelevant sentences been

interest for the reader?
2. Does the introduction state the
main idea?
3. Is your thesis statement clear?
4. Does the first body paragraph have
a topic sentence that states the first
main point?
5. Does every sentence in that
paragraph support the topic sentence?
6. Have irrelevant sentences been
eliminated?
7. Are the sentences arranged in a
logical order?
8. Are there transitions from one idea
to the next?
9. Does the second body paragraph
have a topic sentence that states the
second main point?
10. Does every sentence in that
paragraph support the topic sentence?
eliminated?
12. Are the sentences arranged in a
logical order?
13. Are there transitions from one
idea to the next?
14. Does the third body paragraph
have a topic sentence that states the
third main point?
15. Does every sentence in that
paragraph support the topic
sentence?
16. Have irrelevant sentences been
eliminated?
17. Are the sentences arranged in a
logical order?
18. Are there transitions from one
idea to the next?
19. Does the conclusion summarize
the main ideas of the essay?
20. Does the title of the essay give
the readers a good idea of what it
will be about?

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If the answer to any of these questions is ‘not yet’, go back and try to improve your essay.

B. Punctuation

a. Use a full stop at the end of a statement.

e.g. Feeding a pet has many advantages.

b. Use a full stop with abbreviations.

e.g. Mr., apt., assoc., M.A.

c. Use a question mark at the end of a direct question.

e.g. Have you ever thought about the benefits of feeding a pet?

d. Use a comma to separate words or phrases in a series.

e.g. The sea around the Antarctic is home to dolphins, whales, seals, and
other sea creatures.

e. Use a comma to separate independent clauses.

e.g. We left in time, but we still missed the bus.

f. Use a comma after introductory phrases.

e.g. Working late, I drank several cups of strong, black coffee.

g. Use a comma before a direct quote.

e.g. David said, ‘The train leaves in half an hour.’

h. Use a comma between the day of the month and the year.
e.g. January 3, 1988

i. Use a comma to separate cities from states or countries.

e.g. Tampa, Florida.

j. Use a colon to introduce a series.

e.g. Sports can be classified into two categories: individual sports and team
sports.

k. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes.

e.g. 3:15

l. Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quote.

e.g. Jorge said, ‘I’ve already finished my homework.’

m. Use quotation marks to identify titles.

e.g. My favourite song is ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon.

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Punctuate the following sentences.

1. He was born on September 19 1965 in London England

2. How many books have you read lately
3. We will have to leave by 530 pm
4. Dr Anderson has a busy schedule today
5. I just finished reading Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and The Sea
6. Most people like chocolate but I am allergic to it.
7. the restaurant has three specialties grilled steak marinated chicken and fried shrimp
8. In conclusion Mario Vargas is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century
9. Marion said I can’t go with you because I have too much homework to do
10. I think that Pablo Neruda’s poem If You Forget Me is the most beautiful poem I’ve ever
read

C. Capitalization

a. Capitalize the first word of a sentence.

e.g. Fishing is an important industry in Peru.

b. Capitalize all proper nouns and titles

e.g. Dr. Jackson, Professor Carter

c. Capitalize the names of racial and ethnic groups.

e.g. African-American, Caucasian

d. Capitalize geographical locations.

e.g. Paris, Mount Rushmore, River Thames

e. Capitalize the days of the week, months and holidays.

e.g. Monday, April, Christmas.

f. Capitalize the names of religions.

e.g. Buddhism, Christianity

g. Capitalize nationalities and languages.

e.g. English, Arabic

h. Capitalize all titles except articles, prepositions and conjunctions.

e.g. Gone with the Wind, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Capitalize the following sentences.

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1. my russian history teacher is very handsome.
2. have you read romeo and juliette in your english literature class yet?
3. I meet with my advisor every tuesday and thursday morning.
4. professor dickens is sick so his monday class will be cancelled.
5. I’ll meet you on Wednesday afternoon at 4.30 in front of the library on liberty street.
6. ninety-eight per cent of all turks are moslem.
7. my sister, ruth, has just returned from a trip to cairo and tel aviv.

D. Sentence Fragments

a. Lack of subject fragment

e.g. Did very well on her Math exam. (Must be (‘Somebody’ did well ……’ )

b. Lack of verb agreement

e.g. Both Alex and his younger sister Lisa. (Must be ‘ …….. sister Lisa enjoy tennis’)

c. Clause fragment
e.g. Before I went to college. (Must be ‘ Before I went to college, I worked part-time.’

Make the following fragments complete sentences.

1. Works out in the gym every day.

2. Because gardening is my hobby.
3. If you don’t have the right equipment.
4. Because I couldn’t understand it.
5. And ran out of petrol on the way back.
7. Whenever my next door neighbour has time.
8. That my friend told me was the best film I had ever seen.
9. Although she had a bad cold.

Now, write a sentence using each of the following words.

1. after
___________________________________________________________________________

2. although
___________________________________________________________________________

3. because
___________________________________________________________________________

4. before
____________________________________________________________________________

5. if

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____________________________________________________________________________

6. since
____________________________________________________________________________

7. unless
____________________________________________________________________________

8. when
____________________________________________________________________________

9. despite
____________________________________________________________________________

10. until
___________________________________________________________________________

E. Run-on Sentences

A run on sentence occurs when two complete sentences are written as one sentence.

e.g. Sue loves to cook she is always in the kitchen.

There are two ways to correct this problem.

a. Use punctuation, usually a full stop.

b. Use a conjunction (and, but, so, or, etc.).

Correcting Run-on Sentences:

1. I like my dentist he is very gentle.

2. My son bought two T-shirts he thought they were so cool.
3. It was too cold yesterday to ski we stayed in the lodge all day.
4. Jerry finishes work he’ll join us at the party.
5. All twenty-five of us agree it will be a miracle.
6. Dennis called to say his computer is making strange noises he thinks it is broken.
7. I have a very good memory my husband does not.
8. There are several ways to get from New York to Philadelphia the most convenient is by
train.
9. They wanted to play golf we thought it was too hot we all went swimming instead.
10. we first arrived in Bodrum we tried to find accommodation.

F. Subject-Verb Agreement

A subject must agree with the verb.

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e.g. My friend was late for class.
My friends were late for class.
Either my mum or my dad drives me to school.
Either my brother or my parents drive me to school.
Neither Tom nor Eric plays tennis.
This new book of poems is by Eric Hermann.
The poems in this book are by Eric Hermann.
Everybody wants to live in peace.
Twenty-five dollars seems like a reasonable price.
Twelve inches equals one foot.
Three-fourths is more than a half.

Circle the correct word.

1. One of my friends (has / have) a new car.

2. Everyone who works hard (do / does) well.
3. Many of my friends (like / likes) that professor.
4. One of the reasons that I chose to study French (is / are) that I like the way it sounds.
5. Fifty dollars (is / are) much to spend on dinner.
6. Both Jane and her cousins (go / goes) to university.
7. The book and the film (has / have) the same ending.
8. The koala (is / are) of Australian origin.
9. Each of the students (is / are) required to write an essay.
10. Neither Sam nor Bob (was / were) on time.

G. Agreement of Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun must agree with the word it refers to.

e.g. The little boy is holding his mother’s hand.

Each of the girls had her own bedroom in the house.
Both of our sons have their own cars.

Circle the correct answer.

1. Both of the students forgot (his / their) notebooks.

2. Neither of my sisters owns (her / their) own house.
3. Matthew likes (his / their) meat well done.
4. The Wexlers send (his / their) children to private school.
5. None of the women has retired from (her / their) job.