LEO: Literacy Education Online Editing & Proofreading Strategies for Specific Sentence-Level Errors

Writers who are effective editors and proofreaders use specific strategies for searching for particular types of errors. With this in mind, the most important thing to remember is that you can't check for everything in one reading. Make a list of errors typical of your writing -- starting with most serious or most frequent and moving to the less serious or less frequent. Then make several passes through your paper, looking for one type of error during each pass.

This handout reviews errors writers frequently make and provides "tricks of the trade" for catching each type of error. Note: Each error below is followed by the editor's mark teachers frequently use when pointing out the error.

• COMMA ERRORS
  • omitted commas after introductory phrases or clauses

  • omitted commas in compound sentences

  • comma splices

• SENTENCE STRUCTURE
  • sentence fragments

  • problems with parallel structure

• SPELLING & TYPOS
  • spelling errors

  • confusion between sound-alike words

  • typographical errors

  • omitted words

• GRAMMAR
  • problems with subject/verb agreement

  • problems with pronoun agreement or reference

COMMA ERRORS

To search for omitted commas after introductory words, phrases, or clauses

Commas should appear after emphatic opening words and introductory phrases and clauses which come before the main sentence. To catch errors omitted after introductions, try these strategies:

• Check the first two words of each sentence to figure out if the sentence has an introductory element.
  • Note: Introductory elements (whether words, phrases, or clauses) always establish one of two things: they establish time or condition.

  • As a result, the first words of a sentence will provide you with a tip about whether or not you'll need an introductory comma.

• If the first words indicate that you're being teased and the primary information is being withheld until time and/or condition is established, a "break point" will occur where you should insert a comma to let readers know that the main sentence is coming up. The comma should appear at this break point.

• Until you get a feel for the types of words that establish time or condition, refer to the following list of words which commonly begin introductory phrases or clauses.

To search for omitted commas in compound sentences

If you have two complete sentences (or independent clauses), they must be connected with both a comma and a connecting word (or coordinating conjunction). If the comma is missing, the error is called a run-on. To check for run-on sentences, use the following two-step process:

• Skim the paper, looking only for the seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet.

• When you find one of the seven coordinating conjunctions, cover it with your finger or a piece of paper; determine if the word groups on either side can stand alone. If there are complete sentences on each side of the coordinating conjunction, then you should show the coordination or balance by placing a comma in front of the conjunction.

To search for comma splices

If you have two complete sentences, and they are connected by only a comma, the error is called a comma splice. To find comma splices, follow these steps:

• Skim the paper, stopping at every comma to check and see if there is a complete sentence on each side of it.
  • If there is, you'll need to decide
    • if you'd like to separate the ideas more and give each of them more emphasis or

    • if you'd like them to remain in the same sentence because you want to stress their relationship.

  • If you'd like to separate and emphasize the ideas more, use a more emphatic punctuation mark -- the period -- which will signal to your reader that you are moving from one completed thought to another.

  • If you'd like the ideas to remain in the same sentence because their relationship is important, fix the comma splice by linking the sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.

To search for sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is a group of words that's punctuated as if it's a sentence; however, it's missing a subject or a verb -- or has a subject and verb but includes a word that makes it dependent on another sentence. To find sentence fragments in your writing, try the following strategies:

• Check every sentence to ensure that it has a main subject and verb.

• Pay special attention to any sentence beginning with a word that signals clarification.
  • Since most fragments are actually pieces of sentences, pay special attention to sentences which begin with "and," "because," "such as," "for example," "for instance" -- or any other word or group of words indicating that it's going to explain something. You should check the group of words carefully to make sure that it has a main subject and verb following such introductory elements.

  • Also check for groups of words beginning with words showing dependence (i.e. after, although, because, before).
    • Even though these words may be followed by a subject and verb, this group of words can't stand alone unless another subject and verb follow.

    • For example, "Because I followed the presidential debates carefully" is a fragment; although it has a subject and verb ("I followed"), the word "Because" makes the whole group of words dependent -- probably on the sentence before or the one after.

• NOTE: You can save yourself a lot of time in looking for fragments if you figure out the type or types of fragments you usually make. For help in isolating fragment patterns typical of your writing, see Common Causes of Fragments.

To search for problems with parallel structure

Items in lists must appear in the same grammatical form; that is, if one word has an -ing ending, all must.

Sentence that aren't parallel will feel awkward, won't flow. To check for problems with parallelism:

• Read your paper, pausing for sentences that trip you up, that feel awkward. Check them for parallelism.

• Look in particular for words or word groups in a series, and check words or word groups joined by "and" and "or."

• Make sure that these items match in grammatical form, that is, in word forms (parts of speech and order).

• If those elements don't match in form, you must either make them match or restructure your idea to avoid the need for parallelism.

More information on parallelism is available.

SPELLING & TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

To search for spelling and typographical errors

Most strategies for catching spelling and typographical errors involve either increasing your awareness of the types of errors you tend to make or slowing down so that you see what's actually on the page. As you read the following suggestions, consider which would be most useful for you. One or more of these strategies are usually appropriate.

• Although spelling problems often seem insurmountable, most writers find one or more patterns are typical of their spelling errors; therefore, the first step to proofreading for spelling is to keep a chart of the words you often misspell. This list can provide a reference sheet that you can keep next to you as you write. It can also serve as a diagnostic sheet you or a tutor can use to identify error patterns that you can search for in your papers. An example of such a chart, Personal Spelling List, is available.

• Slow yourself down and read for spelling and typos rather than for content.
  • Isolate each line with a straightedge -- a piece of blank paper, a notecard, the edge of a book -- and point to each word with a pencil or pen.

  • Read from the end rather than the beginning of a line so that you can't get caught up in what you're saying.

    • Using this strategy, you'll be able to separate the individual words from the meaning; you'll be able to proof quickly but systematically; and, of course, you'll be much more likely to catch extra letters, omitted letters, transposed letters, and so on.

    • Caution: reading backwards won't allow you to identify errors with sound-alike words (such as "to"/"too"/"two," "there"/"their," or "its"/"it's"); therefore, you should skim your paper, looking specifically for them.

  • Find a good spell checker, and learn how to use it. Caution: this method does not catch sound-alike words either, so skimming should supplement the spell checker.

To search for omitted words

Searching for omitted words is a bit different than searching for spelling or typographical errors, but some of the same strategies are useful:

• Read your paper backwards: that is, read the last sentence; then go to the second to the last, etc.

• If you prefer to read straight through your text, you should use some strategy to slow yourself down. Reading aloud often helps. In fact, any strategy that will cause you to be a careful reader rather than a speed reader will be useful.

• Place your pencil or pen on each word as you read it.

• Isolate each line with a straightedge; even a piece of paper will work.

GRAMMAR

To search for problems with subject/verb agreement

Subject/verb agreement errors frequently happen when a phrase intervenes between the subject and verb, as in the following examples.

If you looked specifically for the subject and verb, the error would probably be obvious and the correction easy.

So, to find and fix subject/verb agreement errors, you need to systematically look for subjects and verbs:

• Isolate the main verb in each sentence.

• Then match that verb to its subject and make sure that they agree in number.

• Verbs are words that show action or state of being; however, it's sometimes easier if you think of them as words that can be used to change time.

  The trick is to make the numbers agree, and the simplest way to do that is to count it out (i.e., one thing is/two things are).

More information on subject/verb agreement is available.

To search for problems with pronoun agreement or reference

Searching for errors in pronoun reference or agreement requires that you look for pronouns and the nouns they point to:

• Skim the paper and find each pronoun.

• Once you find the pronoun, skim backwards until you find the noun it's replacing.

• Make sure that each pronoun agrees in number with its corresponding noun. Once again, the simplest way to check agreement is to count.

• If you can't find the noun to which the pronoun refers, you should either insert a noun to serve as a referent or change the pronoun to a noun. Caution: Be careful when there is an article ("a," "an," "the" ) in front of a noun. The article makes the noun singular. ("Parents have a tough job. A parent should recognize how tough his or her job is." )

• Be particularly careful in checking for agreement with the singular pronouns "each," "everybody," and "everyone."
  • Although people frequently say "Everyone . . . their" to avoid gender bias, writing requires that such singular pronouns be matched with singular pronouns: "everyone . . . his/her," "each . . . he or she."

  • If you feel uncomfortable using either of these constructions, either make all pronouns plural (All doctors have their reports.) or omit the second pronoun altogether (Each doctor has a report.). Information on solving the pronoun puzzle and avoiding gender bias is available.

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© 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 The Write Place
This handout was originally written by Robert Child at Purdue University and was revised by Judith Kilborn for the Write Place, St. Cloud State University. It may be copied for educational purposes only. If you copy this document, please include our copyright notice and the name of the writers; if you revise it, please add your name to the list of writers.

Last update: 26 March 1999

URL: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/editing.html

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