Common mistakes and how to fix them Essay-writing review Common mistakes and how to fix them

Passive voice hurts clarity If your comments included “wording” or “confusing”, this likely pertains to you

Active Voice The subject proceeds (comes before) the verb Someone reading it can clearly identify the subject. Example: I bought the goldfish. But look—if you take out the “I”, the sentence doesn’t work at all: Bought the goldfish. See? Now it sounds weird.

Passive Voice: The subject does not come before the verb and can be cut out of the sentence entirely. (Or, at times, it already is) Example: The goldfish was bought by me. But look—if you want, you can take out “me” entirely: The goldfish was bought. And it still makes sense as a sentence. Kinda weird. But still.

The goldfish was bought by me. Daily Edit: The following sentences are in passive voice. Fix them so that they are in active voice (The subject should be first). The goldfish was bought by me. Mistakes were made by the Apple corporation. The album was recorded by Chance the Rapper.

How did you do? Passive voice (original sentence) Active voice (correct sentence) The goldfish was bought by me. I bought the goldfish. Mistakes were made by the Apple corporation. The Apple corporation made mistakes. The album was recorded by Chance the Rapper. Chance the Rapper recorded his album.

What do you do when the sentence does not give you the subject? Passive without a Subject: The test was given. Use context clues to figure out the subject and use the correct one: Passive with a Subject: The test was given by the teacher Active: The teacher gave the test.

Try it! Add the subject, then make it active: The sick patient was seen.

How did you do? The doctor saw the sick patient.

What do you do when it is a compound sentence? The coffee was bought by the girl, but she never drank it. Just fix the part that is passive: The girl bought the coffee, but she never drank it.

Try it! Mistakes were made by the scientist, but he fixed them before his final experiment.

How did you do? The scientist made mistakes, but he fixed them before his final experiment.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Definitions: Pronoun: words that replace nouns Examples: “he”, “they”, “it”, “some”, and “one” Antecedent: the noun that comes before the pronoun in the sentence Example: Juliet slept through her funeral. Antecedent Pronoun

Pronouns: Plural vs Singular Plural pronouns replace nouns used for groups: They, Them The frogs sang their songs. Singular pronouns replace nouns that just represent one person, place, or thing: He, she, it, her, his Amy practiced her scales every day.

An Exception Plural pronouns should be used to indicate a singular noun IF your goals is to be gender-neutral For example, if you do not know the gender of the person you are referring to, you can refer to that person as “they” or “them” If, however, that person’s gender is important to the meaning of the sentence, you should include it. Do: When a reader encounters Romeo and Juliet for the first time, they may feel intimidated at first. Do NOT: Due to Juliet’s gender and age, she is considered property of her parents.

Indefinite Pronoun—singular, plural or both Singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, nothing, one, other, somebody, something, someone Plural: both, few, many, others, several  Singular or Plural: all, any, more, most, none, some Hand out notes, and ask students to sort the pronouns into singular, plural, or both.

Correct the following sentences: Romeo loves Juliet so much that when they die they cannot live without them. No one realizes that Romeo and Juliet is going to kill themselves. By the time the Prince realizes their mistake, it is too late

sentences

Simple Sentences A simple sentence has only one independent clause A simple sentence can have a compound subject or verb. A simple sentence communicates one idea. Examples: Juliet slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play.

Compound Sentences A compound sentence is made up of two or more independent clauses. A compound sentence is often connected by a coordinating conjunction. (For, and, but, so, or) A compound sentence can also be connected by a semicolon. (;) A compound sentence communicates more than one idea. Example: Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo, so she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play.

Run on sentences Definition Examples: Run-ons, comma splices, and fused sentences are all names given to compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly. Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play.

Solution one: Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, yet, so, or, nor, for). When you join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, place a comma before the coordinating conjunction. Run-on: Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play. Correction: Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo, so she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play.

Solution Two: Use a semicolon (or, in some cases, a colon or a dash). You can use a semicolon alone or with a transitional expression (e.g., however, at any rate, in contrast, as a result, etc.). Run-on: Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play. Correction: Juliet cannot handle living without Romeo; she slowly loses her sanity over the course of the play.

Solution Three: Separate the independent clauses into sentences. This is an especially good technique when one of the independent clauses is very long. Run-on: It seems to Juliet that life without Romeo is hopeless, she gave up everything to be with him and now she is all alone and, worse still, her parents want her to marry another man. Correction: It seems to Juliet that life without Romeo is hopeless. She gave up everything to be with him, and now she is all alone. Worse still, her parents want her to marry another man.

Solution Four: Restructure the sentence by subordinating one of the clauses. You can subordinate a clause if one of the independent clauses seems less important than the other. Here are a few examples in which one of the clauses has been subordinated (indicated here by underlining). Note that a subordinated clause is no longer independent—it cannot stand on its own as a sentence. Run-on: Romeo holds all the power in the relationship, Juliet is at the mercy of her parents. Correction: Romeo holds all the power in the relationship, as Juliet is at the mercy of her parents.

Structure, quotes, and transitions Body paragraphs Structure, quotes, and transitions

Body Paragraph structure In an analytical essay, each body paragraph looks something like this: Topic sentence/transition Include context to set up textual evidence Textual evidence Analysis of textual evidence Repeat the last three steps if there is additional evidence Concluding sentence/transition

Methods for introducing quotes of 1-3 lines: Introductory sentence with a colon When Juliet hears Romeo swear his love to her in the orchard, she reacts with concern for his well- being: “The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,/And the place death, considering who thou art,/If any of my kinsman find thee here” (II.ii.62-64). Introductory sentence with a verb and comma When Juliet hears Romeo swear his love to her in the orchard, she expresses worries by saying, “The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,/And the place death, considering who thou art,/If any of my kinsman find thee here” (II.ii.62-64).

Transitions: use key words to bridge your paragraphs Example: Thesis: Through Romeo’s reckless behavior, Shakespeare proves that love prevents logical thinking and leads to dangerous decisions. End of body paragraph one: Though Romeo’s actions in the Capulet garden, it is clear that he cannot make logical decisions because all he thinks about is being with Juliet. Beginning of body paragraph two: Romeo’s decisions grow increasingly reckless and illogical as the play continues and his obsession with Juliet grows.