1.8: Ten Most Common Mistakes in 101 Essays from the OWL
- Page ID
- 315229
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)1) Missing commas or comma overuse For help with commas, see Chapter 18 on pages 244-253. This chapter includes in-depth explanation of the rules as well as examples and exercises.
2) Sentence issues: Fragments, Comma splices, and Run-on Sentences For help with sentence mistakes see Chapter 17 on pages 233-242, and for help building the sentence types correctly, see Chapter 16 on pages 217-222.
3) Lacking transitions between paragraphs For help building transitions see pages 30-31 on organizing your paper, and for help revising transitions as well as a list of transitions, see pages 58-60. Also, consider looking at the section that addresses the type of paper you are writing, such as Narrative transitions (p. 87), Cause and Effect transitions (p. 113), or Comparison transitions (p. 102). For more in-depth help, consider reviewing this page from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Writing Center on transitions.
4) Lacking a strong and clear thesis For help with your thesis, see pages 27-29 for thesis basics and pages 56-57 for help revising your thesis. Also, consider looking at the chapter or section that addresses the type of paper you are writing, such as the thesis section in the Comparison and Contrast chapter (p. 102) or the Synthesis paper section (pp. 133-136).
5) The focus/purpose is too broad For help narrowing the scope of your paper, see pages 44-45 and page 140.
6) Dangling/misplaced modifiers See Chapter 20 on pages 292-294 for help with this issue as well as practice exercises. See this page for help avoiding dangling and misplaced modifiers.
7) Apostrophe errors Apostrophes are covered on pages 256-259 of the punctuation chapter.
8) Pronoun overuse, leading to confusion See pages 272-274 for help with pronouns. When you are overusing pronouns, it is not clear who you are referencing with the pronoun; to fix this, use a more specific word to replace the pronoun.
9) Parallelism/tense shift issues Chapter 20 is helpful with tense shifts, especially the verb section on pages 274-283. See this page for more help with avoiding unnecessary shifts in verb tense from Writing Commons. Parallelism is covered on pages 288-292 of the same chapter. For more help with this topic, see this page on parallelism from Oregon State University.
10) Issues with source requirements or source citation In-text citations are covered in Chapter 14 (pp. 172-190), and Chapter 15 covers MLA in-text citations (193-195) and the Works Cited page (196-198).