Top Grammar and Punctuation Errors
RESEARCH AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT – TOP 10 GRAMMAR/PUNCTUATION ERRORS INSTRUCTIONS The assigned Reading and Study focused on avoiding grammar and punctuation errors. Many writers spend a good deal of time and energy identifying the most common grammar and punctuation errors that students and other writers make. In this Research and Writing Assignment, you are required to research and identify the 10 most important grammar and/or punctuation errors to avoid, and write a 3-page research paper, citing 3–7 scholarly sources to support your identification of these 10 errors. Include your analysis of why they are the most important errors to avoid and how to avoid them. 6 SOURCES: *** Rosenwasser & Stephen, Writing Analytically (2011) – Chapter 19 *** 5 outside sources that are relevant and appropriate PLEASE look at attach documents and review the instructions further and grading rubric
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All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way. All elements of the paper as described in the instructions are thoroughly analyzed. |
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Content is comprehensive, accurate, and/or persuasive. |
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Major points are stated clearly and are supported by professional literature and/or logic. Student employs sound, reasoned analysis based on sufficient support rather than mere opinion. |
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Meaningful use of source material and analytical reasoning to elaborate upon the topic or theme. |
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Research is adequate and timely for the topic. |
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Adequate quality and quantity of cited sources to support positions. |
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Quality of Analysis. Lessons from applicable modules/weeks fully incorporated. |
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Organization |
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The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and previews major points. |
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Ideas flow in a logical sequence. |
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The structure of the paper is clear and easy to follow. All necessary aspects of the assignment as described in the instructions are clearly identifiable and adequately addressed. |
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The paper’s organization emphasizes the central theme or purpose. |
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Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and direct the flow of thought throughout the paper. |
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The conclusion logically derives from the paper’s ideas. |
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Lessons from applicable modules/weeks fully incorporated. |
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Format |
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Page requirements met. Citation requirements met. |
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The paper is laid out effectively and uses reader-friendly aids (e.g., section summaries, tables of contents, indices, appendices, etc.) when appropriate. |
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The reference page(s) contains complete, properly formatted, Turabian style citations for all support utilized. |
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The paper follows current Turabian format. |
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The paper is written in 12pt font, Times New Roman, double-spaced and 1” margins. |
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Lessons from applicable modules/weeks fully incorporated. |
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Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling |
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Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. |
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Spelling is correct. Lessons from applicable modules/weeks fully incorporated. |
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Readability/Style |
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Sentences are complete, clear and concise; Rhetorical skill shown. |
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Sentences are well constructed with consistently strong and varied structure. |
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Sentence transitions are present and direct the flow of thought. |
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Words used are precise, accurate, clear, and unambiguous. |
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Authoritative, persuasive, and statesmanlike voice. Lessons from applicable modules/weeks fully incorporated. |
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Grammar and punctuation
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Introduction
Familiarity with common grammatical and punctuation errors makes it easier to proofread and correct these mistakes. Hence, identifying the mistakes enables one to correct the errors, while also making choices on the most effective strategies to improve writing. Ranking errors from the most serious ones to the less serious ones, and breaking them down into categories helps in identification of areas that require correction and improvement. Punctuation in sentences also affects the way one interprets the written material, and proper punctuation should be adhered to avoid distorting the intended meaning. This paper focuses on ten common grammar and punctuation errors, reasons as to why they are important and how to avoid them.
Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragments do not stand alone since they lack independent clauses. It is important to avoid sentence fragments and focus on complete thoughts. These sentences fragments may also lack subject-verb relationship. These errors are important since the sentence fragments cannot stand on their own, and checking the subjects and complete verbs in a sentence helps to indicate whether they are sentence fragments. It is also necessary to proofread thoroughly and identify missing subjects, verbs and periods. For instance, there is a need to insert the verb was between the cat and verb sitting in the sentence ‘the cat sitting on the chair’. Another grammatical error that affects the flow of sentences is comma splices and fused sentences.
Comma Splices and Fused (or Run-On)
Similar to sentence fragments, the punctuation is incorrect when there are comma splices, but the sentence typically expresses more than one central idea. These errors occur when sentences are not well punctuated, whereby one part of the sentence can stand alone, but there is no proper connection especially whet her are two independent clauses. It is important to highlight on fused sentences and comma splice as they affect sentence construction and flow of ideas. In order to avoid this error then, completing two complete sentences, using semicolons, comma and coordinating conjunction together or subordinate conjunctions all help to avoid having comma splices.
Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement
The subject and verb need to agree in number, noun and pronoun whether singular or plural. As such there is a need to match singular verbs with singular nouns, and plural verbs with nouns. Checking whether in each sentence the subject agrees with the subject in person and number is necessary to avoid errors in subject-verb agreement. For instance there is no subject verb agreement in the sentence, ‘the Company secretary and her assistant commutes every day’, and there are mistakes in the sentence because the subject is in plural while the verb is singular.
Wrong or missing preposition
The grammatical error related to misuse and missing preposition may affect the intended meaning. For instance one may say ‘I met him in Norwich Street,’ instead of using the preposition ‘on’ and this distorts meaning since one expects that preposition ‘in’ is associated with being insid...