Correct the 30 errors
in grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and proofreading in the following
text.
Adapted from the
introduction to
Keys to Great Writing
1. My intent in writing
this book, as well as my weekly columns, are to help you achieve a higher competence, to help you write more
clearly, emphatically, and write more memorably; whatever your present level
of development. The five elements of style, the five elements of composition,
the approach to drafting and revising – all apply to you, whether you are
young or old, and weather you want to improve your effectiveness in creative
writing, on the job writing, or college course work.
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Answers to entire exercise
2. In reading this book
I invite you to consider your goals and assess your strength’s and
weaknesses. And as you do, I ask you not to be your own worst enemy. Don’t
make assumptions about yourself and your skills that are self-limiting. I
site four myths in particular, that can prevent you from realizing your
potential as a writer:
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exercise
3.
Myth #1: Only
people with natural ability can learn to write well.
According to ‘the
myth of the chosen few,’ either you’ve got talent or you don’t. If you’ve got
it, writing comes easily, however, if you don’t, you’ll never be more than a
duffer.
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4. The reality is that
anyone with average intelligence and commitment can become a competent
writer. As Marvin Bell, a poet and long-time faculty member in the Iowa
Writers’ Workshop, is fond of saying, “talent is cheap, what counts is
determination.”
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
5.
Myth #2: People
who are good in math and science are inherently incapable of using language
effectively.
Equally limiting is
the assumption that certain types of skills, are mutually exclusive. If you
are good with numbers, the thinking goes, you can’t be good with words
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
6. But there are too
many examples of talented and accomplished technical writers for this to be
true. (Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Stephen Jay Gould, and Lewis Thomas come
to mind). Furthermore, certain traits – such as a penchant for concentrating
on specific, concrete detail and the ability to think logically – are
characteristic of both science-minded and language-minded people. Like “the
myth of the chosen few ”, the “technically-minded-people-can’t-write myth” can
serve as a convenient excuse for inattention and lack of effort.
Answers Answers to entire
exercise
7.
Myth #3: Achieving
writing competence is a matter of learning to avoid errors.
Avoiding mistakes
that interfere with precision or undermine credibility is crucial. If you
fail to convey a basic grasp of language in your writing; nothing else really
matters. Regrettably, many writers – even college graduates – make so many
significant and distracting errors that questions of correctness necessarily
take precedence over more interesting issues of viewpoint, persuasive strategy
and style.
Answers Answers to entire
exercise
8. At the same time,
truly competent writing is more then a matter of correctness. As Joseph
Williams reminds us in Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, “A
writer who obsesses on usage, can write in ways that are entirely correct but
wholly unreadable.” According to Williams, we should put good usage “in its
place – behind us – before we move on to more important matters.”
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
9.
Myth #4: Learning
to write well is easy if you just learn the right tricks.
No matter how
tempting it is for teachers of writing – me included - to try to make it seem
easy, writing is a complicated, challenging endeavor, and acquiring
proficiency requires years of careful study and discipline.
Answers Answers to entire
exercise
10. This is not to say
that there are no simple principals and easy-to-learn techniques. In fact,
there are many – a sentence has two natural stress points, a conventionally
structured paragraph has three parts, an organizational statement is usually
presented as the last sentence in an opening paragraph – but genuine
competence involves more than prescription and formula, it also involves a
feeling for language that comes from close association and familiarity, like
the intimacy that develops between long-time friends.
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
11. So I invite you to
set aside these myths and ask yourself: What are you’re expectations of
yourself as a writer? How good do you want to be? Are you satisfied if you
can get the job done – that is, if you can get your point across without
making distracting errors in spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation? (Nothing to apologize for there.) Or do you expect more of yourself than
basic competence?
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
12. Now for the principle
question, both for you and myself; Do your expectations exceed your
performance? If so, what are you currently doing to attain your desired level
of competence?
Answers
Answers to entire
exercise
13. If your answer is
“nothing” or “not much,” I hope this book will motivate you to start making
significant progress towards achieving your goals. I hope it will inspire you
to look for opportunities to apply the advise I offer to your daily writing,
to start working on a few techniques at a time. As you commit yourself to
improving your writing, remember that genuine progress takes time. Don’t
expect to accomplish everything at once.
Answers
Answers to entire exercise
Answers to entire
exercise, from the top
Adapted from the introduction to
Keys to
Great Writing
1. [5 errors] My intent in writing
this book, as well as my weekly columns, is
[1. subject-verb agreement]
to help you achieve a higher competence, to help you write more clearly,
emphatically, and
[2. nonparallel structure]
memorably, [3.
semicolon in place of a comma
-- a semicolon should be used between two complete sentences or between the
items in a series; a comma can be used between a main clause and a trailing
element]
whatever your present level of development. The
five elements of style, the five elements of composition, the approach to
drafting and revising – all apply to you, whether you are young or old, and
whether [4. misspelled word]
you want to improve your effectiveness in creative writing, on-the-job
[5. missing
hyphens in a unit modifier] writing, or college course work.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
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2.
[4 errors]
As you read this book [1. dangling
modifier] I
invite you to consider your goals and assess your strengths
[2. unnecessary apostrophe in a plural word]
and weaknesses. And as you do, I ask you not to be your own worst enemy. Don’t make assumptions about yourself and your skills that are self-limiting.
I cite [3. misspelled word]
four myths in particular [4. unnecessary comma before
a relative clause]
that can prevent you from realizing your potential as a writer:
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
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3.
[2 errors] Myth #1:
Only people with natural ability can learn to write well. According to
“[1.
single quotation marks used in place of double quotation marks]
the myth of the
chosen few,”[1.
single quotation marks used in place of double quotation marks]
either you’ve got talent or you don’t. If you’ve got it, writing comes easily;
[2. comma splice -- two complete sentences spliced
together with a comma rather than separated by a period or semicolon]
however, if you don’t, you’ll never be more than a duffer.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
4.
[2 errors] The reality is
that anyone with average intelligence and commitment can become a competent
writer. As Marvin Bell, a poet and long-time faculty member in the Iowa
Writers’ Workshop, is fond of saying, “Talent
[1. sentence beginning with lower case rather than upper
case letter] is
cheap. What [2. comma splice
-- two complete sentences spliced together with a comma rather than separated
by a period or semicolon]
counts is determination.”
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
5.
[2 errors] Myth #2: People who are good in math and science are inherently incapable of using
language effectively. Equally limiting is the assumption that certain
types of skills
[1. unnecessary comma between subject and verb]
are mutually exclusive. If you are good with numbers, the thinking goes, you
can’t be good with words.
[2. missing
period at the end of a sentence]
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
6.
[2 errors] But there are
too many examples of talented and accomplished technical writers for this to be
true. (Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Stephen Jay Gould, and Lewis Thomas come to
mind.)
[1. incorrect order of punctuation marks -- concluding mark goes before, not
after, closing parenthesis when the sentence is completely enclosed by parentheses] Furthermore, certain traits – such as a penchant for concentrating on specific,
concrete detail and the ability to think logically – are characteristic of both
science-minded and language-minded people. Like “the myth of the chosen few,”
[2. comma after, rather than before, closing quotation
marks]
the “technically-minded-people-can’t-write myth” can serve as a convenient
excuse for inattention and lack of effort.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
7.
[2 errors] Myth #3:
Achieving writing competence is a matter of learning to avoid errors.
Avoiding mistakes that interfere with precision or undermine credibility is
crucial. If you fail to convey a basic grasp of language in your writing,
[1. semicolon used in place of a comma -- a semicolon
should be used between two complete sentences or between the items in a series]
nothing else really matters. Regrettably, many writers – even college
graduates – make so many significant and distracting errors that questions of
correctness necessarily take precedence over more interesting issues of
viewpoint, persuasive strategy, [2. inconsistent use of serial comma
-- comma before the last item in a series was omitted here but was used
elsewhere]
and style.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
8.
[2 errors] At the same
time, truly competent writing is more than
[1. misspelled word]
a matter of correctness. As Joseph Williams reminds
us in Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, “A writer who obsesses on
usage [2. unnecessary comma between subject and
verb]
can write in
ways that are entirely correct but wholly unreadable.” According to Williams,
we should put good usage “in its place – behind us – before we move on to more
important matters.”
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
9.
[1 error] Myth #4:
Learning to write well is easy if you just learn the right tricks. No matter how
tempting it is for teachers of writing – me included –
[1. hyphen used in place of a dash]
to try to make it seem easy, writing is a complicated, challenging endeavor, and
acquiring proficiency requires years of careful study and discipline.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
10.
[2 errors] This is not to
say that there are no simple principles
[1. misspelled word] and easy-to-learn
techniques. In fact, there are many – a sentence has two natural stress points,
a conventionally structured paragraph has three parts, an organizational
statement is usually presented as the last sentence in an opening paragraph –
but genuine competence involves more than prescription and formula. It
[2. comma splice -- two complete sentences spliced
together with a comma rather than separated by a period or semicolon]
also involves a feeling for language that comes from close association and
familiarity, like the intimacy that develops between long-time friends.
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
11.
[1 error] So I invite you
to set aside these myths and ask yourself: What are your
[1. misspelled word]
expectations of yourself as a writer? How good do you want to be? Are you
satisfied if you can get the job done – that is, if you can get your point
across without making distracting errors in spelling, grammar, usage, and
punctuation? (Nothing to apologize for there.) Or do you expect more of
yourself than basic competence?
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
12.
[3 errors] Now for the
principal
[1. misspelled word]
question, both for you and me [2.
incorrect pronoun case]: [3. semicolon, a mark of separation, used in place of a colon, a mark of
introduction] Do your expectations exceed your
performance? If so, what are you currently doing to attain your desired level
of competence?
Back to same paragraph
Next paragraph
Back to top of exercise
13.
[2 errors] If your answer is
“nothing” or “not much,” I hope this book will motivate you to start making
significant progress toward
[1. misspelled word]
achieving your goals. I hope it will inspire you to
look for opportunities to apply the advice [2.
misspelled word]
I offer to your daily writing, to start working on a few techniques at a time. As you commit yourself to improving your writing, remember that genuine progress
takes time. Don’t expect to accomplish everything at once.
Back to same paragraph
Back to top of exercise
Back to top of document
Adapted from the
introduction to
Keys to Great Writing
1. [5 errors] My intent in writing
this book is
[1. subject-verb agreement]
to help you achieve a higher competence, to help you write more clearly,
emphatically, and
[2. nonparallel structure]
memorably, [3.
semicolon in place of a comma
-- a semicolon should be used between two complete sentences or between the
items in a series; a comma can be used between a main clause and a trailing
element]
whatever your present level of development. The
five elements of style, the five elements of composition, the approach to
drafting and revising – all apply to you, whether you are young or old, and
whether [4. misspelled word]
you want to improve your effectiveness in creative writing, on-the-job
[5. missing hyphens in a unit modifier]
writing, or college course work.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
2.
[4 errors]
As you read this book [1. dangling
modifier] I
invite you to consider your goals and assess your strengths
[2. unnecessary apostrophe in a plural word]
and weaknesses. And as you do, I ask you not to be your own worst enemy. Don’t make assumptions about yourself and your skills that are self-limiting.
I cite [3. misspelled word]
four myths in particular [4. unnecessary comma before
a relative clause]
that can prevent you from realizing your potential as a writer:
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
3.
[2 errors] Myth #1:
Only people with natural ability can learn to write well. According to
“[1.
single quotation marks used in place of double quotation marks]
the myth of the
chosen few,”[1.
single quotation marks used in place of double quotation marks]
either you’ve got talent or you don’t. If you’ve got it, writing comes easily;
[2. comma splice -- two complete sentences spliced
together with a comma rather than separated by a period or semicolon]
however, if you don’t, you’ll never be more than a duffer.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
4.
[2 errors] The reality is
that anyone with average intelligence and commitment can become a competent
writer. As Marvin Bell, a poet and long-time faculty member in the Iowa
Writers’ Workshop, is fond of saying, “Talent
[1. sentence beginning with lower case rather than upper
case letter] is
cheap. What [2. comma splice
-- two complete sentences spliced together with a comma rather than separated
by a period or semicolon]
counts is determination.”
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
5.
[2 errors] Myth #2: People who are good in math and science are inherently incapable of using
language effectively. Equally limiting is the assumption that certain
types of skills
[1. unnecessary comma between subject and verb]
are mutually exclusive. If you are good with numbers, the thinking goes, you
can’t be good with words.
[2. missing
period at the end of a sentence]
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
6.
[2 errors] But there are
too many examples of talented and accomplished technical writers for this to be
true. (Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Stephen Jay Gould, and Lewis Thomas come to
mind.)
[1. incorrect order of punctuation marks -- concluding mark goes before, not
after, closing parenthesis when the sentence is completely enclosed by parentheses] Furthermore, certain traits – such as a penchant for concentrating on specific,
concrete detail and the ability to think logically – are characteristic of both
science-minded and language-minded people. Like “the myth of the chosen few,”
[2. comma after, rather than before, closing quotation
marks]
the “technically-minded-people-can’t-write myth” can serve as a convenient
excuse for inattention and lack of effort.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
7.
[2 errors] Myth #3:
Achieving writing competence is a matter of learning to avoid errors.
Avoiding mistakes that interfere with precision or undermine credibility is
crucial. If you fail to convey a basic grasp of language in your writing,
[1. semicolon used in place of a comma -- a semicolon
should be used between two complete sentences or between the items in a series]
nothing else really matters. Regrettably, many writers – even college
graduates – make so many significant and distracting errors that questions of
correctness necessarily take precedence over more interesting issues of
viewpoint, persuasive strategy, [2. inconsistent use of serial comma
-- comma before the last item in a series was omitted here but was used
elsewhere]
and style.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
8.
[2 errors] At the same
time, truly competent writing is more than
[1. misspelled word]
a matter of correctness. As Joseph Williams reminds
us in Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, “A writer who obsesses on
usage [2. unnecessary comma between subject and
verb]
can write in
ways that are entirely correct but wholly unreadable.” According to Williams,
we should put good usage “in its place – behind us – before we move on to more
important matters.”
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
9.
[1 error] Myth #4:
Learning to write well is easy if you just learn the right tricks. No matter how
tempting it is for teachers of writing – me included –
[1. hyphen used in place of a dash] to try
to make it seem easy, writing is a complicated, challenging endeavor, and
acquiring proficiency requires years of careful study and discipline.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
10.
[2 errors] This is not to
say that there are no simple principles
[1. misspelled word] and easy-to-learn
techniques. In fact, there are many – a sentence has two natural stress points,
a conventionally structured paragraph has three parts, an organizational
statement is usually presented as the last sentence in an opening paragraph –
but genuine competence involves more than prescription and formula. It
[2. comma splice -- two complete sentences spliced
together with a comma rather than separated by a period or semicolon]
also involves a feeling for language that comes from close association and
familiarity, like the intimacy that develops between long-time friends.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
11.
[1 error] So I invite you
to set aside these myths and ask yourself: What are your
[1. misspelled word] expectations of
yourself as a writer? How good do you want to be? Are you satisfied if you can
get the job done – that is, if you can get your point across without making
distracting errors in spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation? (Nothing to
apologize for there.) Or do you expect more of yourself than basic competence?
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
12.
[3 errors] Now for the
principal
[1. misspelled word]
question, both for you and me [2.
incorrect pronoun case]: [3. semicolon, a mark of separation, used in place of a colon, a mark of
introduction] Do your expectations exceed your
performance? If so, what are you currently doing to attain your desired level
of competence?
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
13.
[2 errors] If your answer is
“nothing” or “not much,” I hope this book will motivate you to start making
significant progress toward
[1. misspelled word]
achieving your goals. I hope it will inspire you to
look for opportunities to apply the advice [2.
misspelled word]
I offer to your daily writing, to start working on a few techniques at a time. As you commit yourself to improving your writing, remember that genuine progress
takes time. Don’t expect to accomplish everything at once.
Back to exercise
Back to top of exercise
Back to top of exercise