Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Papers (or journal or blog entries with these errors will not receive a grade)
1.Misspelling words jump 2.Beginning a sentence without a capital jump 3.Using text-messaging abbreviations
Jump
4. Writing sentence fragments jump 5. Writing run-on sentences (and comma splices) jump
Misspelled Words
To a large extent, the worlds of education, business, and government are closed to you if you cannot turn in text without misspellings.
The habit of checking, and rechecking, the spelling of documents you create is vital.
Not capitalizing the first word of each sentence is the quickest and easiest way to:
1. Not get that job you want. Few employers will bother with someone who cant or doesnt write standard English.
2. Not be taken seriously by other people. People will assume youre dumb if your writing is sloppy. In fact, not taking the time to fix simple problems is dumb.
Its true that some online communities Have relaxed rules about capitalization. Sometimes, no capitalization is used.
This is okay, in those places, just as its okay to lounge around the house in slippers and a ragged t-shirt.
Translation: If you want to talk to the powers that be, you need to speak in English. tkmwfi (take my word for it)
Sentence fragments
A complete sentence expresses a complete thought
Although Rachel worked hard on her paper My student editor Derrick A freshly watered houseplant
What
hard? What about my student editor Derrick? What about that freshly watered house plant? What happened because you couldnt find the program?
The sentence is wrong because Jesse likes to write poetry and Hes a talented writer can both stand as complete sentences. Therefore, we cant merge them into a single sentence without separating them in some way.
Its a run-on sentence. Its not good enough to join the two thoughts with a comma. Thats called a comma splice: Jesse stopped at the grocery store, he needed a lunch for the field trip tomorrow.
If you have two independent clauses, they need to be separated by something more powerful than a comma.
Independent
sentences:
Gary did want the sandwich My brother, Greg, was late for the meeting
Use
Craig accepted Lisas Craig accepted Lisas gift it was nice. gift; it was nice.
Use a comma and a coordinating conjuction (and, but, or, for, yet, nor, or so):
Wrong
Right
Use a comma and a subordinating conjunction (after, although, before, unless, as, because,
even though, if, since, until, when, while, etc.)
Wrong Right Jessica and Waylon like Though Jessica and pizza Allison doesnt. Waylon like pizza, Allison doesnt.
(however, moreover, on the other hand, nevertheless, instead, also, consquently, otherwise, as a result, etc.)
Right I thought the colors would go together well; however, I was mistaken.
Getting these things right isnt hard. They have more to do with habits of carefulness than with any great knowledge of writing.
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.
John Dryden
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Mortimer Caplan