Capitalization
Some teachers blame text messaging. After all, how many times have you written out a quick text message, not worrying about where you need to capitalize? You, like many others, have probably done this...
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Pronoun Reference
Pronoun reference errors give a lot of beginning writers trouble. A pronoun reference error occurs when you use a pronoun like he or she, and it’s not clear what that pronoun refers to. Here is an...
Documentation Common Error
Incomplete or Missing Documentation The third most common error on the list relates to proper documentation. It’s so important to remember to cite all borrowed information. No matter your documentation style, whether it is...
Conjunctions
If words are the building blocks for our writing, then good transitions are the cement that holds them together. To make these transitions in our writing we need to turn to conjunctions. A conjunction is...
Adjectives
An adjective modifies (describes / distinguishes) nouns and pronouns. In other words, adjectives change nouns or pronouns in some way. So movie is a noun, and a scary movie has been changed by the...
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify or describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Just as an adjective changes a noun, an adverb changes a verb, adjective, or adverb. Adverbs are easily identified because they...
Prepositions
Perhaps you had to memorize every preposition (there are well over 100) when you were in junior high school, but have you ever thought about the importance of these “little” words? Prepositions are little...
Articles
Well, if you thought prepositions were “little” words, wait until we consider the part of speech called articles. Articles are similar to adjectives in that they modify nouns, but unlike adjectives, they don’t really...
Interjections
“Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing” (Interjections, 2001, para. 1). While interjections...
Putting It All Together
You have learned about many different parts of speech and some basic guidelines to correct usage. This is a lot to take in for sure! To help you review, go through the presentation below,...