We have been reviewing much of Lunsford's The Everyday Writer. Here is a reality check -- do we have enough writing skills to write without some of the most common errors? Without checking the book, see if you can spot and correct the error in each sentence (retype each without Track Changes). The more you miss, the more you might want to take a closer look in the future at this valuable reference. Note that the corrections are not a matter of reworking for better style, but a matter of correcting basic grammar and usage.
A. He had decided he wanted to be a doctor when he was ten years old.
B. The United States drop two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.
C. Marie Antoinette spent huge sums of money on herself and her favorites. Helped bring on the French Revolution.
D. Paradise Lost contains many illusions to classical mythology.
E. When one first sees a painting by Georgia O'Keeffe, you are impressed by a sense of power and stillness.
F. President Richard Nixon compared the United States with a "pitiful, helpless giant."
G. Though I gave advice for revising his draft only became worse.
H. The car is lying on it's side in the ditch. Its a white 2004 Surbaru.
I. I was strongly attracted to her, she had special qualities.
J. People, who wanted to preserve wilderness areas, opposed the plan to privatize national parks.
K. Joy laughs until she cried during The Simpsons.
L. A central part of my life goals have been to go to law school.
M. Every student must provide his own uniform.
N. By the time Ian arrived, Jill died.
O. The words "I do" may sound simple but they mean a life commitment.
P. Sharks eat mostly squid, shrimp, crabs and other fish.
Q. Marina who was the president of the club was first to speak.
R. Company policy prohibited smoking, which many employees resented. [[what are two possible meanings?]]
S. She doubted the value of meditation she decided to try it once.
T. Overambitious parents can be very harmful to a childs well-being.
Here are the twenty most common errors by name. AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE CORRECTIONS ABOVE, match each example above with the kind of error in the following list -- by typing the letter of the example after each name in the list below.
- Missing comma after an introductory element
- Vague pronoun reference
- Missing comma in a compound sentence
- Wrong word
- Missing comma(s) with a nonrestrictive element
- Wrong or missing verb ending
- Wrong or missing preposition
- Comma splice
- Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe
- Unnecessary shift in tense
- Unnecessary shift in pronoun
- Sentence fragment
- Wrong tense or verb form
- Lack of subject-verb agreement
- Missing comma in a series
- Lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent
- Unnecessary comma(s) with a restrictive element
- Fused sentence
- Misplaced or dangling modifier
- Its/It's confusion