In Search of…Correctness

"See everything. Overlook a great deal. Correct a little."

 

-          POPE JOHN XXIII

“ I am aware that it is counterproductive to rewrite a whole sentence as if the teacher,

and not the student, were the author (Knoblauch and Brannon, 1983), but I sometimes do so anyway.”

Do Errors Matter?

Survey of business executives, attorneys, bank officers, real-estate agents, stockbrokers, small business owners and engineers by Hairston (1981) found that they noticed and reacted strongly to sentence errors.

Findings: Serious or Very Serious Errors

Status-Marking Errors– Non-standard verb forms– Lack of subject-verb agreement– Double negatives– Pronoun case (he/him, she/her) errors

Very Serious Errors– Sentence fragments– Run-on sentences– Capitalization errors– Obscure subject/verb agreement errors– Commas between subject and verb or subject

and complement– Nonparallelism– Faulty adverb forms

Serious Errors– Verb form errors– Dangling modifiers– “I” as object– Lack of commas for parenthetical remarks– Lack of commas in series– Tense switching– Use of plural modifier with singular nouns

“Anyone who has worked with college

writers knows that there is little connection between teacher correction and student accuracy. Many of us focus on correctness

because it is what we know best (Noguchi, 2001).”

“Errors contain valuable information (Shaughnessy, 1977) about a student's writing, but I sometimes cannot wait to get rid of them. ‘I can't read an essay until I straighten out the sentences,’ says a colleague.”

What is a careful writer to do?

Becoming a Self-Editor

1. Identify typical errors on old papers.

2. Determine which errors occur most often.

3. Learn the concept – what is wrong with this?

4. Develop strategies to locate errors.

5. Set all this aside and write your paper.

“Studies have found that a student's writing is inhibited when the student knows it is going to be assessed in terms of correctness (MacGowan-Gilhooly, 1991; Bass, 1993), and that, in fact, mechanical accuracy can result from working to express ideas fluently and clearly rather than from focusing on correctness (Kasper, 2001).”

Then…..

6. Take a break, clear your mind, and

7. Go back and apply the strategies for identifying and correcting your errors.

8. Look for one type of error at a time.

This advice brought to you by Purdue University Online Writing Lab @

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

and by Toddy Heyden, author of “Why can't I stop correcting? Overcoming my resistance to changing how I teach.”

“Editing is best done at the end of the writing process (Elbow, 1981).”

A Review of Some Common Errors

Use Commas Correctly

Before a conjunction joining two independent clauses.– Martin said that he would be late, but he arrived

on time.

After an introductory phrase that begins a sentence.– After you have earned your degree, you will be

eligible for a promotion.

Commas

To set off nouns in direct address, appositives, conjunctive adverbs, and parenthetical remarks.– Shelby, did you return the library book?– He, according to our records, is employed as a

marine biologist.

To separate independent adjectives.– She was an efficient, dependable employee.

Commas

To separate elements of addresses or dates.– We live at 22 W. Nora, Spokane, Washington.– She was born on July 3, 1892, in South Dakota.

Use Semicolons To separate two or more independent clauses

without a conjunction.– Stocks have increased in value; bonds have

decreased in value.

To improve clarity between two independent clauses with a conjunction when one of the clauses has internal commas.– Regardless of the treatment, including drug

therapy, Ms. Brunson did not respond in any way; and her headaches persisted.

Semicolons

Between independent clauses when a transitional expression introduces the second clause.– Steve’s suggestion was not accepted; however,

his logic was difficult to refute.

The Colon

Use a colon to introduce a list that follows introductory words that mean “as follows”– Greg was promoted for these reasons: his

marketing experience, his performance evaluation, and his positive attitude.

Use a colon when a list follows on separate lines.– Please answer the following questions:

1. When will you leave?

2. How long will you stay?

3. When will you return?

Common Errors

Do NOT use a colon when the list follows a verb or a preposition.

Do NOT use a colon when another sentence follows the introductory sentence and precedes the list.

Avoid Subject-Verb Agreement Errors Subjects separated from verbs

– Everyone in those departments participates in the program.

Intervening phrases are not considered the subject.

– Ms. Stockman, as well as her sisters, is going to Europe.

Subjects joined by “and” are plural.

– Both Mr. Johnson and his boss were waiting for the shuttle.

When subjects are joined by or, the verb should agree with the closest subject.

If one of the subjects is plural, put that subject closest to the verb.– Ms. Binder or her assistants are reviewing the

file.

Indefinite Pronouns

Singular Plural Both

every + one

any + body

some + thing

each, either, every, many a, neither, nobody, nothing

both, few, many, several

All, more, most, some, any, none

Modifier Placement

For clarity, place the modifier as close as possible to the word modified.– The missing book was found by Terry under the

bed. Introductory verbal phrases must modify the

subject of the sentence.– Working overtime, the project was completed.– After studying several opportunities, this job was

the most desirable.

Parallelism

Words, phrases, or clauses joined by conjunctions must be in the same grammatical form.– Tim’s responsibilities include supervising five

programmers, writing monthly progress reports, and the coordination of projects.

– Tim’s responsibilities include supervising five programmers, writing monthly progress reports, and coordinating projects.

– He not only wants to work in Manhattan but also to live in Manhattan.

– He wants not only to work in Manhattan but also to live in Manhattan.

– He not only wants to work in Manhattan but also wants to live in Manhattan.

Use Positive Language

Say what can or should be done, not what can’t or shouldn’t– We cannot process your application because

you did not sign the form.

– We will process your application promptly if you will please sign the bottom of the form.

Use Active Voice

The verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is doing the action.

Active voice is more direct, more economical, and takes responsibility.– The company has added several new features to

its benefits package.– The auditors found several errors in the

financial statement.

Passive Voice

Passive voice focuses attention on the recipient of the action.

Use passive voice when the “doer” of the action is unknown or unimportant.– Several features have been added to the benefits

package.– Several errors were found in the financial

statement.

Capitalization

Capitalize a professional title that immediately precedes a person’s name.– We will meet with Program Director Mary

Costello after lunch.

Do not capitalize a title when the person’s name is used as a non-restrictive appositive.– Our program director, Mary Costello, will be

attending the meeting.

Do not capitalize a title when it follows a person’s name.– Marty Smith, our operations manager, will be leaving

at the end of the month. Do not capitalize a title when it is used in place of

a person’s name.– Our operations manager will be leaving at the end of

the month.

Geographic Locations

Capitalize nicknames of specific places.

– Spokane is called the Lilac City.

Capitalize directions when they are part of a specific regional designation or nickname. – Eastern Washington is sometimes referred to as the

“Inland Empire.”

– She grew up in the northern corner of the Idaho Panhandle.

Organizational Names

Capitalize the official name of a division or department within a business organization.

– Send a copy of the letter to the Customer Service Department.

Do not capitalize the name of the function of a department that is being used because the official departmental name is not known.– Please have someone from your customer service

department call me.

Numbers

Generally, use words for the numbers one through ten and figures for numbers greater than ten.– I worked there for five years before transferring.

– She has worked for this company for 25 years.

Use words for numbers that begin sentences.– Twenty-seven of our workers have been laid off.

Numbers, cont.

Express related numbers in the same form.– I ordered 5 dictionaries, 3 style guides, and 12

sets of worksheets.

Proofread for correctness

Proofread, proofread, proofread!