| !! |
Learn this skill ! ! You are repeating a basic mistake and frustrating or alienating your reader. M |
| ? |
What? Specify to what you are referring-- OR rewrite this confusing sentence more clearly. Hint: Read the sentence(s) aloud to a friend. |
| an ? |
Profound interpretation and analysis of the example is needed. Ensure your analysis supports your thesis and topic sentence. |
| ap |
Apostrophes must be used correctly. Of 's, s', its, it's, do you know which are plural? Singular? Possessive? F.Y.I.: Its' is not a word. Click here for an another helpful site. |
| ar |
Avoid beginning sentences or clauses with articles (e.g., the, an, a). Articles are weak sentence-openers because they do not evoke an image or an action and therefore do not engage your reader effectively. |
| awk |
Awkward phrasing must be reworded for clarity. Try breaking up the sentence or changing or eliminating words. |
| b m s |
Be more specific by providing more precise details OR use a higher level of specificity (i.e., level 4). |
| b q |
Break up this long quotation by eliminating the less relevant parts and elaborating on the more relevant part(s) more fully. |
| c |
"Confusables" must be used properly (e.g., then indicates time while than indicates a comparison; could of should be could have). Click here for additional help. |
| c c |
Commas between clauses must be used properly: [ independent clause , coordinating conjunction + independent clause ] For more help with commas, click here. |
| c r |
Close-reading of figurative language must be added (i.e., elaborate on the thematic meaning of the word(s) connotations). |
| c s |
Comma spliced sentences must be broken up or reworded. Hint: Replace comma with a period or semicolon or see c c above. |
| cl |
A cliché is a trite, worn-out, ho-hum phrase and as such is a substitute for good writing-- rephrase the idea in an original way. Find some entertaining sports cliches here. |
| co ? |
Sentences must follow one another smoothly and logically, otherwise the paragraph's coherence is lost and so is your point. |
| col |
Colloquialisms are informal phrases and as such must be reworded formally (e.g., put up with becomes endure; a lot becomes often, much, or frequently; comes over becomes visits; goes through becomes endures; won't becomes will not, etc.). |
| con? |
Conclusion and final "clincher" must be made more clever and/or thought provoking causing your reader think about "the bigger picture." |
| c r |
Conduct a close reading by explaining the connotative significance to your point. |
| ct |
Contractions must be avoided (e.g., Won't becomes will not. Can't becomes cannot, etc.). Contractions are a type of colloquialism. |
| cx |
Context of quotation is missing. Provide a very brief summary of the relevant plot details and/or character background for your reader. |
| d p |
Dangling participles must be avoided. Example: Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, the car ran better becomes Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, Fred found he could get better gas mileage. In the first example, the car appears to be changing its own oil. Find even more help here. |
| d s |
Double space here as specified by MLA form. |
| dic |
Diction must be effective (i.e., use a clearer or more accurate word). Refer to a thesaurus or dictionary if need be. Find even more help here. |
| doc |
Quotations' page numbers and punctuation must be documented properly. Example: Freddie "drags his feet slowly" (Author 33). In subsequent consecutive references to the author, include only the page number. NEVER include the author's first name. Also, note the order of the quotation mark, parentheses, and period. Find more extensive instruction here. |
| el |
Elaborate by using one or more elaboration strategies. (Scroll down on the linked page and read the section entitled "Development." |
| ex ? |
More specific supporting examples are needed here. Hint: Revisit the text and refer to specific characters, incidents, behaviors, etc. |
| f c c |
Conclusion must come full-circle by resolving the question posed in the introduction or recreating the scenario described in the intro. |
| f c |
Faulty comparison or incongruous pairing. |
| f d |
False drama must be avoided. Replace the exclamation point for clearly dramatic or emotionally charged words instead. |
| f p |
First person must be used appropriately (i.e., NEVER use I , me , or we in an informational essay's body. However, you should use the first person in a narrative or reflective essay). |
| f s |
Fused sentences must be reworked. A fused sentence contains two independent clauses without proper punctuation separating them. Consider using a semicolon but only if stylistically appropriate. |
| foc ? |
Focus of thesis, paragraph, or section is unclear or too wide. Ensure each paragraph has unity (i.e., one central supporting idea only). |
| fr |
Fragments must be reworded as complete sentences. Hint: Add a subject or combine the fragment with another sentence. |
| g t |
"Gummy there" or "it" (i.e., expletive construction) should be eliminated and the sentence reworded. |
| h |
Homonyms & Homophones must be used correctly (e.g., their/ there/ they're, to/ too/ two, you're/ your, etc.). |
| h k ? |
Hook must be clever, engaging, AND relevant. Perhaps begin the essay with a riddle, an anecdote, a scenario, a witty saying etc. Additional help is available here and here. |
| intro ? |
Introduction must be creative, clear, AND relevant. It must also "funnel" (see p p below) from a broad hook to a specific thesis. |
| i p |
Incorrect or awkward preposition usage. Find more help here. |
| k b |
"Killer bees" should be swatted by eliminating be, was, were, been, etc. and recasting the sentence or by selecting a stronger verb. |
| l q |
Long quotations consisting of five or more lines must be indented one inch and NOT be contained in quotation marks. |
| log |
Your point must be made more logically. Ideas must follow one another in sequence while avoiding logical fallacies. |
| m l a |
Use standard MLA formatting here. Double space name; course name; and number; teacher; and date (use European notation for the date). |
| m m |
Misplaced modifiers must be avoided. Note the difference in meaning here: He barely ran ten yards (because he was tired). vs. He ran barely ten yards (before being hit by a bus). In the first example barely modifies ran; in the second example, it modifies ten. |
| n q |
Never include supporting quotations in an introduction or conclusion. Instead, weave them into the body to support your thesis. |
| org ? |
Paragraphs and the ideas within them must flow logically and not needlessly repeat ideas. Sections or "chunks" must follow the order specified in the projected organization. |
| o w |
Make this one word, not two. |
| p |
Plopped quotations are unacceptable. Quotes must be woven in by leading into or out of the quote, or by using a quote sandwich. |
| p c |
Use the possessive case before a gerund (e.g., him going becomes his going). |
| p e |
Punctuation at the end of a sentence must not be underlined. |
| p o ? |
Projected organization or "proofs" must be stated at thesis. Use each to help you craft separate topic sentences for the body. |
| p p ? |
Pivot-point sentence is missing. It belongs in the middle of your intro and should both echo backward AND refer forward to the story. |
| p s |
The projected organization and/or string of clauses must be recast using parallel structure. Example: To emerge, to flourish, and death becomes To emerge, to flourish, and to die. Note the consistent string of infinitives in the second example. Find more help here. |
| p v |
Passive voice must be rewritten into the active voice ☺ (i.e., change Object-Verb-Subject sentence construction to S-V-O instead). Find more help here. |
| plop |
Quotations must be integrated, NOT plopped into your writing (see doc example above for a clear example of using signal words to create an integrated quotation).
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| prep |
Avoid ending sentences with prepositions (e.g., to, in, from, with, on, over, etc.). Reword your sentence accordingly. |
| q ? |
Sufficient supporting quotations must be included here for proof and clarity. Weave in the quotation properly! |
| r |
Redundant words or ideas should be eliminated or reworked. (In other words, you already said this another way.) |
| r o |
Run-on sentences must broken up or reworded. Hint: Replace comma with a period or a semi-colon. |
| rel ? |
The relevance is unclear. What does this statement or quotation have to do with your point, topic sentence, or thesis? Explain carefully. |
| rh |
Rhetoric (i.e., superficial, overly-generalized, or misleading writing) must be eliminated and reworked. Check out this Dilbert comic too. |
|
sdt
s i |
Use an elaboration strategy instead: show, don't tell.
Split infinitives should be used sparingly (e.g., To boldly go vs. To go boldly).
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| sp |
Spelling of words must be correct. Use a spelling-checker, but do not rely on it exclusively. PROOFREAD your final draft thoroughly. More help here. |
| spec |
Specify exactly to what or whom this word or phrase refers. |
| src ? |
Correctly identify the source of your information here using a citation. Ensure you use proper MLA form when doing so (see doc above). |
st
ss
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Style should be interesting. Vary your word choice, sentence lengths, and/or sentence structure. Find more help here and here.
Stringy sentences cram too many ideas into one sentence and should be broken up into two or more sentences.
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| sub |
Subjunctive mood must be used here. The subjunctive of to be is ALWAYS be in the present tense and were in the past tense. See additional help here. |
| sum |
Summarize the plot briefly and/or introduce main characters, so your reader is first acquainted with the basic storyline and has a context for understanding your analysis. |
| t |
Tense, literary present must be used consistently (e.g., saw becomes sees ; grew up becomes grows up, etc.). Use the literary present tense in informational writing. Narrative writing is typically written in past tense. |
| t s ? |
Topic sentence explaining the main idea must be added as the first sentence of the paragraph or section. |
| th ? |
Thesis or theme must be clear and profound. Remember, a high-quality theme is true in life, true in the story, and "deep." |
| tr |
Transition word is needed to connect new ideas (i.e., not only, however, next, in addition to, furthermore, etc.). Find more help here, here, and here. |
| tt ? |
Title must be snappy or clever AND include the topic, author, and work addressed. Hint: Use a colon and/or a literary term to add "snappiness." |
| u |
Unity is lacking. A paragraph must have only one "center of gravity" or main idea. Everything contained in the paragraph must relate directly to the topic sentence. |
| u q |
Underline novel, epic, CD, play, and film titles; use quotation marks around short story, poem, song, article, and chapter titles. Find more help here. |
| u s a |
Use a stronger adjective or adverb |
| u s n |
Use a stronger noun. |
| v p |
Vague pronoun (e.g., this, which, it, they, he, she, etc.) must be replaced or clarified. Ask yourself, This what? Next, insert the answer immediately following the word this (e.g., this image, this term, this feeling, this idea, etc.). |
| vox |
Voice or "sound" of essay must be unique and appropriate to purpose and audience. Find even more help here. |
| w |
Wordy! Use fewer words to express the same idea or phrase. Perform "literary liposuction" with in my opinion, due to the fact that, etc. Find more help here, here, here, and here. Take a quiz here. |
| w p |
Weak phrasing must be eliminated (e.g. this quote shows, in conclusion, etc.). When revising, combine sentences if need be. |
| who ? |
Second person must be used appropriately (i.e., NEVER use "you" in an informational essay's body. Using the second person purposefully in a narrative is acceptable of course.). |
