Grammar
Gender, Race and Identity
USC
Sourcing/Quotations
WILD CARDS
100

The problem with this sentence is this: A local 10-year-old said to reporters, "This past weekend I raided some Sephoras, bought $300 worth of Drunk Elephant products, and stole a Stanley cup. So, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good."

What is the Oxford comma?

100

The problem with this sentence is this: Chinese Trendy Food is an asian-american restaurant located on campus.



What is Asian American, capitalized and no hyphen?

100
The problem with this sentence is this: "Here are 10 locally-owned cafes to visit in South L.A. this semester." 

What is South Central, not South L.A.?

100

The problem with this sentence is this: Hannah Banana, an associate professor of Electrical Engineering, hates her job. 

What is electrical engineering (lowercase fields of study/majors)?

100

The problem with this sentence is this: The Daily Trojan (DT) is so cool.

What is no acronyms in parentheses?

200

The problem with this sentence is this: Kimberly was walking towards her next class and found herself amidst a large group of students protesting outside. 

What is toward, not towards and amid, not amidst?

200

The problem with this sentence is this: August is National Black Business Month, which is the perfect time to highlight all of our community's black-owned businesses.

What is Black-owned (capital B), not black-owned (lowercase B)?
200

The problem with this sentence is this: During this week's USG meeting, the Senate unanimously voted to ban squirrels from campus. When asked how the Senate would rid campus of squirrels, president Divya Jakatdar said, "Stop asking so many questions."




What is senate (lowercase for USG)?

200

The problem with this sentence is this: "Shut up you dummy stupid heads," said Reneé Rapp in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.

What is the Los Angeles Times (italics)?

200

The problem with this sentence is this: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) celebrates male empowerment. 



What is "The Wolf of Wall Street" (in double quotes, not italics)?

300

The problem with this sentence is this: Charli D'Amelio has racked up an impressive following on TikTok; with 5 million followers in the past month alone. 

What is improper use of a semicolon?

300


The problem with this sentence is this: Lowriding was initially created by Chicano and Latino communities in Los Angeles' Eastside before being adopted by the Black community.



What is Latine, not Latino

300

The problem with the sentence is this: The Trojan Farmers Market used to be held every Wednesday on McCarthy Quad.

What is at McCarthy Quad, not on McCarthy Quad?

300

The problem with the sentence is this: "In my French class, there's this girl who always says gracias instead of merci."

What is 1) italicizing foreign languages (never do this) and 2) "'gracias' instead of 'merci'" (using single quotes inside of double quotes)?

300

The problem with this sentence is this: "In the last five minutes of the game, LeBron James pulled out a three-pointer that saved his team from another loss this season."

What is 3-pointer, not three-pointer?

400

The problem with this sentence is: USC women's basketball beat out Stanford in their last game against the Cardinal in the Pac-12.

What is "their" should be "its"?

400

The problem with this sentence is this: There are two non-binary people in my writing class this semester.

What is nonbinary (no hyphen)?

400

The problem with this sentence is this: I met up with my girlfriend in the Village last weekend for a CAVA date.

What is at USC Village?

400

The problem with the sentence is this: "Naming one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs is hard," Reo, a sophomore majoring in journalism, said. "I hate them all."

What is "said Reo, a sophomore majoring in journalism" (putting said before the name when using appositives/introductions)?

400

The problem with this sentence is this: Sexyy Red released her most recent album, Hood Hottest Princess, in June 2023. 

What is "Hood Hottest Princess" in quotes (album title)?

500


The problem with this sentence is this: "Asteroid City" was shown in a number of formats: IMAX 70mm, Anderson's intended viewing format, IMAX, and many more.

What is "Asteroid City" (2023), and what is "format; IMAX; and" (semicolons when using appositive phrases in a list)?

500

The problem with the sentence is this: President Carol Folt recently opened a center for minority students at USC.  

What is underrepresented, not minority?

500

The problem with the sentence is this: Before registering for Fall 2024 classes, you can meet with your advisor first to get advice and recommendations.

What is adviser, not advisor?

500

The problem with the sentence is this: "No Oxford comma," said Christina Chkarboul, a junior double majoring in global studies and earth sciences.

What is "majoring in global studies as well as earth sciences" (using "as well as" for double majors and also saying "majoring in" regardless of amount of majors)?

500

The problem with this sentence is this: No. 20 women's tennis prepares to host its cross-town rival this Sunday at Marks Stadium.

What is crosstown rival?