Write from Wrong

1
Write from Wrong

• Dr. Valerie Balester
• University Writing Center

2
Steady rates of error

• Lunsford and Lunsford compared the number of
• formal errors in student writing over time
• Error frequency in 1917 2.11 formal errors per
  100 words
• Error frequency in 1930 2.24 formal errors per
  100 words
• Error frequency in 1 986 2.26 formal errors per
  100 words
• Error frequency in 2006 2.299 errors per 100
  words

3
Why do we make mistakes?

• Writing is difficult to master, and the more
  specialized it is the more effort is required.
• Some teachers only grade for content.
• Some students think writing is not important for
  their field or chosen profession.
• Error often accompanies growth.

4
Is grading of writing subjective?

• Yes
• Readers bring different experiences and
  expectations to a text and make different
  judgments.
• Correctness varies across disciplines, among
  journals, and even among authorities like
  dictionaries, usage guides, or great writers.
• No
• Within communities of practice there are
  conventions and style guides.
• Many American editors agree on a number of basic
  rules.
• In classes, your professor probably is being
  guided by some set of conventions or rules.

5
Use a rhetorical approach

• Consider the rhetorical situation early in the
• writing process.
• Audience
• Purpose
• Genre (type of document)

6
Active or passive voice?

• If the subject of the sentence does the
• action, the verb is in active voice.
• The Aggie mens basketball team beat Colorados
  basketball team this week.
• If the subject of the sentence receives the
• action, the verb is in passive voice.
• The tu womens basketball team was beaten by the
  Aggies this week.

7
Use passive voice . . .

• When the action is more important than the actor.
• Underwater research in the Gulf of Mexico is
  conducted by Texas AM Galveston.
• When the actor is unknown.
• Some important information was leaked by a source
  in the White House.
• When the receiver of the action is more important
  than the actor.
• The President was questioned by the press in this
  matter.
• To avoid revealing the actor.
• The President stated, Mistakes were made.

8
The Top Twenty

• Some common errors and how to fix them

9

• Wrong Word
• Thesaurus and dictionary Use with caution!
• Consider audience and connotation
• Missing comma after introductory element
• This rule is not followed in every style. Use it
  consistently.
• Whatever the theory, we have to investigate.
• Being curious, we have to investigate.
• After the first offense, we have to investigate.

• Incomplete or missing documentation
• Understand the logic of documentation
• Cite everything that is not common knowledge,
  whether it is directly or indirectly quoted
• Vague pronoun reference
• My doctor and my friend were visiting. She wanted
  to see my surroundings.
• The experiment was a failure because of poor
  design. This could happen to anyone, they told
  me.

10

• Spelling error
• Dont rely on spell checktheir may bee miss
  steaks.
• Mechanical error with quotation
• Dont just dump it always introduce the
  quotation
• Use a tag or a colon ().
• Commas and periods ALWAYS go inside quotation
  marks in American usage.

• Check your style guide! There is quite a bit of
  variation. http//library.tamu.edu/portal/site/Lib
  rary/menuitem.1d92ab916286c52ebd078f3019008a0c/
• http//writingcenter.tamu.edu/content/category/8/9
  /110/

11

• Examples of correctly integrating citations
• In Duins and Graves study of vocabulary
  instruction, it is noted that traditional
  vocabulary instruction is not effective(328).
• Traditional vocabulary instruction is not
  effective,notes a recent study (Duin and Graves
  328).
• Although may believe that memorizing lists of
  words is the best way to improve students
  vocabulary, Duin and Graves disagree.
• http//writingcenter.tamu.edu/content/view/12/74/

12

• Duin and Graves found that students vocabulary
  did not improve. Under some conditions
  traditional vocabulary instruction is not
  effective. In fact, it may have a negative effect
  because time spent on memorizing could be more
  effectively spent reading (328).
• According to a study by Duin and Graves
  Students may be at risk from our teaching
  methods. Vocabulary scores are not what they
  should be because traditional vocabulary
  instruction is not effective. In fact, it may
  have a negative effect because time spent on
  memorizing could be more effectively spent
  reading. (328)

13
http//writingcenter.tamu.edu/content/view/10/78/

• Unnecessary comma
• Know the basic rules we dont punctuate by
  pauses or breaths. Commas usually mark off
  grammatical units.
• Unnecessary or missing capitalization
• Check a dictionary or style guide.

• Missing word
• Proofread a few times, slowly. Have someone else
  read it, especially if English is your second
  language. Spell check will not catch this error.
• Faulty sentence structure
• Know basic sentences types and punctuation rules,
  and pay attention to them when you write or
  proofread.

14

• Missing comma with a nonrestrictive element
• Use commas when the information in the relative
  clause (who, which, that) is not essential
  information
• The researcher, who was new to the process, had
  difficulty.
• Use no commas if it is essential.
• The researcher who was new to the process had
  difficulty. But her experienced colleague found
  it easy.

15

• Unnecessary shift in verb tense
• Keep consistent and use logic
• Conventions vary within disciplines, so check
  some models to see if research is discussed in
  the past or present tense.
• Duin and Graves found that students vocabulary
  did not improve under some conditions.
• Duin and Graves find that students vocabulary
  does not improve under some conditions.
• Edward Said introduces the concept of
  Orientalism into literary studies in the 1980s.
  
• Not Duin and Graves found that students
  vocabulary does not improve under some
  conditions.

16

• Missing comma in a compound sentence
• Know sentence types and punctuation rules and pay
  attention to them.
• Sentences always have an independent clause which
  has a subject and verb and can stand alone and
  still make sense.
• The interview was completed.
• Some also have a dependent clause, which has a
  subject and verb but does not stand alone.
• After the interview was completed
• http//writingcenter.tamu.edu/content/view/13/78/

17
Simple

• Independent clause
• The researcher completed the interview.
• Then she reviewed the transcript.
• The researcher completed the interview and then
  reviewed the transcript.

18
Compound

• Two independent clauses
• The researcher completed the interview then she
  reviewed the transcript.
• The researcher completed the interview, and then
  she reviewed the transcript.

19

• Unnecessary or missing apostrophe (including
  its/its)
• Singular possessives or irregular plural
  possessives take s childs or childrens
• Plural possessives ending in s take s or ss
  dogs or dogss and James or Jamess
• Check a style guide.
• Possessive pronouns I/mine your/yours his,
  hers, its our/ours their/theirs

• Fused (run on) sentence
• Dont avoid long sentences
• A fused sentence is a compound sentence missing
  punctuation between clauses.
• Rock went to the MSC he
• wanted to buy some
• books.
• http//writingcenter.tamu
• edu/content/view/13/78

20

• Comma splice
• Simply joining a compound sentence with a comma
  instead of a semicolon () or a comma and a
  coordinating conjunction
• Rock went to the MSC, he wanted to buy some
  books.
• Fix with a comma plus a coordinating conjunction
  , and - but - for- or- nor- so - yet
• Rock went to the MSC, for he wanted to buy some
  books.
• Fix with a semi-colon ()
• Rock went to the MSC he wanted to buy some
  books.

21

• Lack of pronoun antecedent agreement
• Everyone, One .they or he or he/she?
• Formal usage treat these pronouns as singular, so
  it would be
• Everyone . . . he
• Everyone . . . she
• Everyone . . . he or she (s/he)
• An alterantive? Go plural
• Formal Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.
• Informal Everyone is entitled to their own
  opinion
• Always correct We are all entitled to our own
• opinion.

22

• Poorly integrated quotation
• Dumped quote
• The passage also stresses that the foreigner
  must be able to blend in with hegemonic British
  society. Dracula was a criminal socialist, a
  monster who had no respect for the hereditary
  continuities, the racial equilibrium, or the
  evolutionary elite (Dijkstra 271).
• Revised with proper attribution
• The passage stresses that the foreigner must be
  able to blend in with hegemonic British society.
  Critic Brian Dijkstra argues that, Dracula was
  a criminal socialist, a monster who had no
  respect for the hereditary continuities, the
  racial equilibrium, or the evolutionary elite
  (Dijkstra 271).

23
Complex

• Dependent and Independent
• After the interview was completed, the researcher
  reviewed the transcript.
• The researcher reviewed the transcript, after the
  interview was completed.

24
Compound / Complex

• Put both together
• After the interview was completed, the researcher
  reviewed the transcript, and then she started
  creating graphs.
• The researcher reviewed the transcript, after the
  interview was completed, and then she started
  creating graphs.

25
Modifying phrases

• Infinitive (to verb)
• To prepare graphics, the researcher had to first
  review the transcript.
• Participial (-ing)
• Then she reviewed the transcript.
• Relative (who, which, that)
• The researcher, who had reviewed the transcript,
  prepared the graphs.

26

• The researcher reviewed the transcript, after she
  completed the interview, and then she started
  creating graphs. To explain the data, she had
  categorize it, using key words to make
  associations. Although she had difficulty, being
  new to the process, the data, which had been very
  difficult to acquire, was solid.

27

• Unnecessary or missing hyphen
• Hyphenate at syllable breaks and in the least
  obtrusive place for readers.
• Use a dictionary.
• Avoid justified margins, and dont trust
  automatic hyphenation.

• Sentence fragments
• Make sure they are intentional. And rhetorically
  effective.
• Know how to find the subject and verb.

28
Find redundancy or repetition.

• Participants were issued into a drug testing
• experiment then issued a questionnaire
• examining what their emotional feelings toward
• the drug every other day for a week.

29
Keep phrases close to the word theymodify.

• Participants were invited into a drug testing
• experiment, then every other day for a week
• issued a questionnaire, examining their
• emotional feelings toward the drug.

30
Try something else

• Participants were invited
• into a drug testing
• experiment. Every other
• day for a week they were
• issued a questionnaire
• examining their emotions
• toward the drug.

• Researchers invited
• participants in the drug
• trial to answer a
• questionnaire every other
• day for a week to
• determine their emotions
• about the drug.