The document provides guidance on common issues to avoid in academic writing such as contractions, slang, jargon, and improper sentence structure. Specifically, it discusses avoiding conjunctions at the beginning of sentences, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and dangling modifiers. It also provides examples and recommendations for correcting each issue.
2. Avoid contractions in academic writing.
Avoid using a conjunction at the beginning of a
sentence.
◦ Ex: And, but, or, yet, so, for, nor
Avoid slang, colloquialisms, and undefined
jargon.
◦ Slang – the way you talk with your friends or family
◦ Colloquialisms – the language of a place/region
◦ Jargon – the language of a job/field
3. Following the introductory clause
◦ Introductory clauses typically indicate time, order,
or the state of things.
◦ Ex: After I ate dinner, …
When listing items in a series
◦ Ex: I have a cat, a dog, and a fish.
4. To attach two independent clauses with a
coordinating conjunction
◦ An independent clause is a sentence by itself
◦ Ex: The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.
Setting aside the nonessential elements
◦ Phrases that add clarity but aren’t necessary
◦ Ex: Mrs. Jones, our English teacher, gave a test today.
7. Sentence Fragment – a partial sentence that is
set off as if it were a whole sentence by a
capital letters and ending punctuation.
◦ Fragments do not express full ideas.
8. A sentence fragment lacks a subject or a verb.
◦ Lacks a main verb:
Toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.
◦ Lacks a main subject:
With the ultimate effect of advertising is to get you to spend
money.
A complete sentence contains both a subject and
a verb.
◦ Ex: The wind blows.
9. To correct sentence fragments, make sure
your sentence has a subject and a verb.
◦ Fragment:
Working on an overdue paper.
◦ Correction:
Zach stayed up late working on an overdue paper.
10. To correct sentence fragments, make sure
your sentence has a subject and a verb.
◦ Fragment:
Working on an overdue paper.
◦ Correction:
Zach stayed up late working on an overdue paper.
11. To find sentence fragments:
◦ Read your paper aloud.
An awkward sentence will stand out better if you hear
it instead of merely seeing it.
◦ Read every sentence backwards starting at the end
of your paper.
This will stop your brain from automatically “gluing”
sentences together.
13. Run-on sentence – a sentence that contains at
least two ideas that can stand alone or a
sentence that does not contain proper
punctuation.
◦ The length of the sentence doesn’t define a run-on; the
amount of information in a single sentence does.
◦ Ex: The dog is whining she is hungry
No proper punctuation between independent clauses.
14. Comma splice – a kind of run-on sentence in
which independent clauses are connected
only by a comma.
◦ Ex: The cookies taste terrible, I forgot to add sugar.
15. Read the sentences aloud. If you run out of
breath, you may want to separate some
clauses.
Use a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS).
◦ The is whining, for she is hungry.
Use a semicolon.
◦ The dog is whining; she is hungry.
17. Misplaced Modifier – a phrase or clause
placed in such a way in the sentence that it is
unclear what part of the sentence is being
modified
◦ Only he liked Sarah.
◦ He only liked Sarah.
◦ He liked only Sarah.
18. Try placing the modifiers near the words they
modify.
In most cases, adjective phrases and clauses
should come immediately after the words they
modify.
◦ Error: The car was stopped alongside the road with one
headlight.
◦ Correction: The car with one headlight was stopped
alongside the road.
19. Adverb phrases and clauses that modify verbs
may be placed before or after the verb it
modifies.
◦ Ex: When you leave, please close the door.
◦ Ex: Please close the door when you leave.
20. Place adverb modifiers as close as possible to
the words they modify.
◦ Error: John told how his friend had fallen from the
podium.
◦ Correction: From the podium, John told how his
friend had fallen.
22. Dangling Modifier – a phrase or clause that
does not modify any other words in the
sentence
◦ Flying over the city, the skyscraper could clearly be
seen.
What or who could be clearly seen here?
23. Move the dangling phrase after the word it
modifies.
◦ Error: Hanging on a nail in his closet, he found his
tie.
◦ Correction: He found his tie hanging on a nail in the
closet.
24. Reword the independent clause, often by
adding a missing word.
◦ Error: When one month old, my grandmother died.
◦ When I was one month old, my grandmother died.
26. Read your paper aloud, slowly.
◦ You’ll hear mistakes you wouldn’t noticed by reading
silenly.
◦ Make corrections, then reread it aloud again later to see
if you need to make more corrections
Make a list of everything you need in your paper.
◦ Use it to check your paper to make sure you’ve included
everything.
27. Read for clarity.
◦ Your reader doesn’t know what you meant to write, only
what you’ve written.
◦ Make sure you’ve written everything your audience
needs to understand what you’re trying to convey.
Read paragraph by paragraph and sentence by
sentence.
◦ Ask yourself, “Could I say this with fewer words?”
◦ If yes, then do so.
28. Your computer can’t think for you.
◦ Spell checks, homonyms, and grammar check
Use resources as a guide, not as an answer.
◦ Online dictionaries and thesauruses
◦ Wikipedia is questionable at best
Be wary of any service that wants to do your
thinking for you.
◦ Citation guides vs. automatic citation machines
29. owl.english.purdue.edu
◦ APA and MLA citation guides
◦ Tips on academic and business writing
◦ Grammar, mechanics, and punctuation
http://webs.purduecal.edu/library/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
