2. A quick summary on perfecting textual errors A powerpoint lesson from Mrs Pitt

3. Have a field day and be alert. When you see a faulty road sign, billboards and adverts(and there are many), see if you can identify them. What follows here is a brief summary for you to revise for Paper One – and of course for outstanding English Usage.

4. Let’s APPLAUD the use of punctuation and correct language usage! Markers look at four general areas in deciding on a mark for a written assignment: how well you've handled the topic and followed the assignment the quality of your ideas the way you've organised your paper the quality of your writing style and grammar. This means that grammar is only one of a number of factors determining your grade. Still, too many errors in grammar, punctuation, and style will lose you marks and this often determines what a distinction candidate (level 7) should, or should not be awarded! This guide describes the ways to avoid the most common errors and gain full marks for the textual editing questions sprinkled in Paper One.

5. This is also called called CONCORD a.Subjects and verbs must agree in number:  Recent discoveries about the weather reveals that several cycles are involved.  Recent discoveries about the weather reveal that several cycles are involved.  The media was biased in its reporting of the event.  The media were biased in their reporting of the event. b. Nouns and pronouns must agree in number:  A student is free to express their opinion.  A student is free to express his or her opinion.  Students are free to express their opinions. c. Pronouns must agree with each other: Once one has decided to take the course, you must keep certain policies in mind. Once you have decided to take the course, you must keep certain policies in mind.

6. REVISION: What is a sentence fragment? A sentence fragment is a group of words that is punctuated to look like a sentence but doesn't fulfil the requirements of a complete sentence. You should know that a complete sentence must contain both a subject and a predicate (verb). The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about(usually answers the question WHO does the ACTION), while the verb tells something about the subject or expresses an action. Look at this example and you will see that there's no subject: Writing an essay for Portfolio.

7. Also, a complete sentence must contain at least one "independent clause," that is, a group of words that stands by itself as a complete thought. A sentence may also have "subordinate clauses," that is, a group of words that needs another to complete its meaning. Look at this example: the first sentence forms a complete thought. However, the second is a fragment because it depends on the verb "was poured"-it answers the question why the liquid was poured but doesn't itself express any action: We poured the acid into a glass beaker. Being the only material impervious to these liquids. You can correct it in two ways: We poured the acid into a glass beaker, being the only material impervious to these liquids We poured the acid into a glass beaker, being the only material impervious to these liquids. As it is the only material impervious to these liquids, we poured the acid into a glass beaker.

8. F = for A = and N = nor B = but O = or Y = yet S = so Recognise a coordinating conjunction when you see one. And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the eight coordinating conjunctions. To remember all eight, you might want to learn one of the acronym: FANBOYS You cannot start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction

9. WHAT IS A COMMA SPLICE? Quite simply, a comma splice is the attempt to join two independent clauses with a comma. This is also called a run-on sentence. Here is an example of a comma splice, followed by several different ways of correcting it: COMMA SPLICE: I got up late this morning, I didn't have time for breakfast. CORRECTIONS: I got up late this morning. I didn't have time for breakfast. or I got up late this morning; I didn't have time for breakfast. Or I got up late this morning, so I didn't have time for breakfast. or I got up late this morning, and I didn't have time for breakfast.

10. The infinitive verb (to eat, to go etc) should never be split.e.g. “To boldly go” should be “To go boldly”.

11. Dangling Modifiers or Misrelated participles cause ambiguity! Make sure that a modifying phrase or (usually ending in –ing) or clause doesn't "dangle" without the subject it is intended to modify. Here, the first example implies that the pain was doing the manipulating. The second implies that the hobbies go to school: By manipulating the lower back, the pain was greatly eased. By manipulating the lower back, the physiotherapist greatly eased the pain. When not going to school, my hobbies range from athletics to automobiles. When I am not going to school, my hobbies range from athletics to automobiles.

12. Ambiguity may also be caused from misplaced phrases. Always place the phrase as close as possible to the verb or subject it refers to ( or qualifies). Make sure the modifier clearly refers to the element you want it to. In the following example, is the council advising at regular intervals, or should the physicians be administering the drug at regular intervals? The council advises physicians at regular intervals to administer the drug. The council advises physicians to administer the drug at regular intervals. At regular intervals, the council advises physicians to administer the drug. A "misplaced" modifier (usually an adverb) is positioned so that it changes the meaning of the sentence. This example raises an image of an elderly gentleman climbing through a window: I could see my grandfather coming through the window. Through the window, I could see my grandfather coming.

13. Recognise the literal meanings of your metaphors. The following example offers a ludicrous image of lightning grabbing someone and then becoming a wooden toy: Like a bolt from the blue the idea grabbed him,and it quickly took its place as one of his hobby-horses. The idea grabbed him as soon as he heard of it, and it quickly became an obsession. Also, avoid clichés. Instead, give a precise description. The cliché in this example suggests that, at some point in their lives, South Africa may begin to age 48 hours for every 24 that pass: We studied pain management techniques for South Africa’s rapidly aging population. We studied pain management techniques for the elderly in long-term care institutions in urban settings.

14. A malapropism (also called a Dogberryism) is the substitution of an incorrect word for a word with a similar sound, usually to comic effect. Look at these examples: He had to use a fire distinguisher. Dad says the monster is just a pigment of my imagination. Isn't that an expensive pendulum round that man's neck? Good punctuation means not to be late. He's a wolf in cheap clothing. Michelangelo painted the Sixteenth Chapel. My sister has extra-century perception. "Don't" is a contraption. Tragedy is a conception in literature. A malapropism (also called a Dogberryism) is the substitution of an incorrect word for a word with a similar sound, usually to comic effect. Look at these examples: He had to use a fire distinguisher. Dad says the monster is just a pigment of my imagination. Isn't that an expensive pendulum round that man's neck? Good punctuation means not to be late. He's a wolf in cheap clothing. Michelangelo painted the Sixteenth Chapel. My sister has extra-century perception. "Don't" is a contraption. Tragedy is a conception in literature.

15. Used for Omission/Contraction and Possession The apostrophe must be the most misunderstood and misused piece of punctuation in the language. This is made worse by the fact that most people simply fail to understand what it does, and make it unnecessarily complicated. The result is that many people, in an effort to appear correct, use a scattergun approach, dropping in apostrophes every time the letter "s" ends a word, for plurals, possessives and contractions alike. In fact, using the apostrophe correctly is easy - once you know the rule!

16. Contractions In formal prose we would write She has told him but when speaking we would say She's told him. The apostrophe is used to indicate the missing letters. 1. I am (I'm) - He is (he's) - You are (You're). 2. Note the difference between it's (it is) and its (belonging to it): It’s true: the dog bit its tail. (Notice too that the term its' does not exist). 4. It's may also be a contraction of 'it has' - 'It's been a pleasure meeting you'.

17. The Possessive Case We can say either The whiskers of the cat, or the cat's whiskers. This is the possessive case, when something belongs to somebody or something else. When the possessor is single we indicate possession by using an apostrophe followed by the letter 's': The man's coat my sister's hat. When the possessors are plural, the apostrophe is placed after the final 's': The girls' bicycles my cousins' parents. If the plural word does not end in an “s”, add apostrophe s e.g.: The children’s stories The men’s hats When names end with the letter 's', either use is acceptable: James' wife or James's wife. (It is often said that the choice between the two should be made on how the word is pronounced.)

18. The apostrophe is never used with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its ours, yours, theirs But it is used with 'one': One must do one's best. Many shops and business concerns these days omit the apostrophe from their titles: Barclays Bank Woolworths Store Coopers Wines. No apostrophe is required in the plural form of numbers and dates: in the 1990s the roaring twenties The possessive of classical names ending in es is often formed by the apostrophe alone: Demosthenes' speeches Sophocles' plays Xerxes' campaigns

20. In her famous book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” Lynne Truss explains how different the meaning would be of the following: The panda eats shoots and leaves. The panda eats, shoots and leaves! Remember this one? Woman, without her man, is nothing. Woman: without her, man is nothing. [Needless to say if I were in charge the second sentence would be the only correct version!]

21. You think English is easy? 1) The bandage was wound around the wound. 2) The farm was used to produce produce. 3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4) We must polish the Polish furniture. 5) He could lead if he would get the lead out. 6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.. 8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

22. ) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10) I did not object to the object. 11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid. 12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. 13) They were too close to the door to close it. 14) The buck does funny things when the does (stick to English here, people – as in: doe a deer, a female deer) are present. 15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. 16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow

23. The wind was too strong to wind the sail. 18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. 19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. 20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend? Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

24. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

25. How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all!

26. Lovers of the English language enjoy this... It is an example of why people learning English have so much trouble. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language...... This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v]. It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

27. At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP,and why are the officers UP for election. Why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UPexcuses... To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special! And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about the word UP

28. To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, the earth soaks it UP. When it does not rain for a while, things dry UP. One could go on & on, but I'll wrap this UP for now because my time is UP ! Oh... one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U P ! Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book.. otherwise UP yours! It's UP to you! Now I think I'll shut UP. Whew!!!

29. Keep language alive by consolidating and revising as much as you can. Being able to write and speak correctly makes you a cut above the rest! Regards Mrs Pitt