Mechanical Errors
This error occurs when two complete sentences are joined with only a comma.
What is a comma splice?
When you join two ideas to emphasize both ideas equally you have a sentence that uses this strategy.
What is coordination?
This pronoun is almost never used in academic writing
What is second person or you?
These always need to be cited in an essay
What are paraphrases, summaries, and quotations?
In college, this grade means "satisfactory work" and is often the average grade in a college class.
What is a C?
Use this punctuation when you want to join two independent clauses to show a close relationship.
What is a semicolon?
Using grammatically equivalent forms to join similar ideas
What is parallelism?
The suggested or implied meaning of a word
What is connotation?
A quotation that is not effectively integrated into the summary
What is a dropped quote (or quote bomb or dropped quote)?
A strong body paragraph in an essay usually includes both of these
One reason this sentence error occurs is because students confuse the word "although" with the word "however"
What is a sentence fragment?
Without a clear antecedent, these words can cause confusion.
What is a vague pronoun (this/it)?
Words like "technology" and "society today"
What is vague or imprecise language?
This major problem can occur when writers follow the original wording of a source too closely
What is accidental plagiarism?
Another word for putting sources in conversation with one another
What is synthesis?
"Locked in the vault for many years, the owner of the jewels has decided to sell them" is an example of this kind of error.
What is a dangling modifier?
An expletive construction
What is a wordy structure that begins with "there" or "it" and is followed by a be verb?
Unplanned repetition, such as 12 o'clock noon
What are redundancies?
These two devices help your readers know when you're paraphrasing and summarizing from a source
What are in-text citations and signal phrases?
Along with the specific passages they record from sources, writers should always include this in their notes.
What is the writer's thoughts and reactions?
When the antecedent is unclear
What is a vague pronoun?
This sentence is an example: The rabbit was being chased by the dog.
What is a sentence that uses passive voice?
A writer who uses a $75 word when a $5 word would work just fine is guilty of this.
What is pretentious language?
These are two things that do not need to be cited in an essay
What are common knowledge and your own thinking?
What are using the "beginning of time," the dictionary definition, too many questions, unconnected hook, and reference to the class assignment?