Download BE YOUR OWN CONSULTANT: GRAMMAR helpful techniques for identifying & correcting

BE YOUR OWN CONSULTANT: GRAMMAR
The goal of this handout is to provide you with some helpful techniques for identifying & correcting
common grammar mistakes.
PARTICIPLES
General Rule: These phrases are used to provide extra information about
nouns.
Rule
Example
Avoid dangling or
misplaced
participles by
ensuring that
participle phrases
are next to the word
they describe.
WRONG: Being an Art History major, the Renaissance has always been
fascinating.
RIGHT: Being an Art History major, I have always been fascinated by the
Renaissance.
WRONG: I saw a cat in a tutu walking to campus today.
RIGHT: Walking to campus today, I saw a cat in a tutu.
Easy Explanation
Search the paper
for “-ing” and
“-ed” verbs. If
they’re used as a
descriptive phrase,
check to make sure
there’s no
possibility for
confusion.
ALSO RIGHT: I saw a cat in a tutu as I was walking to campus today.
MODIFIERS
General Rule: These words need to be next to the word they describe.
Rule
Avoid misplaced
modifiers by making
sure adverbs are
next to the word
they describe.
Example
I ate almost all the cookies. vs. I almost ate all the cookies.
These sentences mean two different things.
Only he told me that he wished me the best.
He only told me that he wished me the best.
He told only me that he wished me the best.
He told me only that he wished me the best.
He told me that he only wished me the best.
He told me that he wished only me the best.
Easy Explanation
These are usually
obvious when
they’re blatantly
incorrect. In that
case, the sentence
won’t make sense.
Check instead for
adverbs like “only”
and “often,” which
can affect meaning
when they’re in the
wrong place.
PARALLEL STRUCTURE
General Rule: Equivalent parts of a sentence should be the same part of
speech or type or phrase.
Rule
Example
Equivalent parts of a
sentence should be
the same part of
speech.
WRONG: An excellent paper requires spending adequate time and
research.
RIGHT: An excellent paper requires adequate planning and research.
WRONG: I believe that I am a strong candidate due to my experience as a
volunteer, student, and work in the library.
Easy Explanation
Cover up all but one
unit of the list (do
this for every unit in
the list). If the list
still makes sense,
it’s parallel!
RIGHT: I believe that I am a strong candidate due to my experience as a
volunteer, student, and library employee.
SPLIT INFINITIVES
General Rule: Don’t put an adverb between “to” and a verb.
Rule
Example
Don’t split an
infinitive to include
adverbs.
RIGHT: To write effectively, be sure to consider your audience carefully.
WRONG: To effectively write, be sure to carefully consider your
audience.
Easy Explanation
Star Trek was
wrong (even in
season 4). It’s “To
go boldly where no
one has gone
before.”
TENSE OR VOICE SHIFT
GENERAL RULE: Pick a tense, pick a voice, & stick with it.
Rule
Sentences should be
written in either
active or passive
voice, as is
appropriate to the
discipline.
Example
RIGHT: The solution was pipetted onto a slide.
WRONG: I pipetted the solution onto a slide.
RIGHT: We walked to the store together, and I went inside.
WRONG: We walked to the store together, and I go inside.
Sentences should
not shift in tense.
Tense should also
be disciplineappropriate.
RIGHT: In Austin’s text, Emma joins Knightley on the picnic.
WRONG: In Austin’s text, Emma joined Knightley on the picnic.
Easy Explanation
Want to know if a
sentence is passive?
Add “by zombies”
after the verb. If the
sentence still makes
sense, then it’s
passive.
For literary
present: every time
you reread a
passage, the plot
happens again. It’s
always happening,
so it’s in the present
tense.
FRAGMENTS AND RUN-ONS
General Rule: All independent clauses require punctuation.
Rule
Example
Easy Explanation
WRONG: All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.
Sentences require a
subject and a verb.
When a sentence
includes two
independent
clauses, it should be
broken into two
sentences or the
clauses should be
joined with a
semicolon, a comma
& coordinating
conjunction, or a
comma & a
subordinating
conjunction.
If fragments are a
common problem
ALSO WRONG: All squares are rectangles, which is strange because. Not in the writing, just
all rectangles are squares.
go through & circle
all your subjects &
RIGHT: All squares are rectangles. Not all rectangles are squares.
verbs.
ALSO RIGHT: All squares are rectangles; not all rectangles are squares.
STILL RIGHT: All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are
squares.
SO MANY WAYS TO BE RIGHT: Although all squares are rectangles,
not all rectangles are squares.
ONE MORE: All squares are rectangles; however, not all rectangles are
squares.
If run-ons are a
problem, see our
punctuation sheet
on semicolons &
commas
(particularly with
coordinating
conjunctions).
Sources:
Hale, Constance. Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose. New York:
Broadway Books, 2001.
Kolln, Martha and Loretta Gray. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects.
7th ed. New York: Longman, 2012.
Strunk, William Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style [Illustrated]. New York: Penguin:
2007.
Sword, Helen. Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012.
Templer, Bill. “Pedagogies for Plainer Talk: Reclaiming the Commons of Discourse.” Reflections
on English Language Teaching 7.1 (2008): 1-20.
“The Top Twenty: A Quick Guide to Troubleshooting Your Writing.” Easy Writer. Bedford/St.
Martin’s. n.d. Web. 10 November, 2014.
“Top 20 Grammar Errors.” Writing Across the Curriculum. Georgia State University, 17
December 2012. Web. 10 November, 2014.
“Top Twenty Errors in Undergraduate Writing.” Undergrad Program in Writing and Rhetoric.
Stanford University, n.d. Web. 10 November, 2014.