Avoiding Common Writing Errors

Adapted from advice created by Sue Slick

Spelling & Capitalization

• Don't capitalize school subject or majors, unless in resume or chart.
  • Languages are always capitalized, e.g., English, Spanish, etc.
• Don't capitalize school type (e.g., elementary, junior high, high school) unless you are writing about a particular middle school (e.g., Plover-Whiting Elementary School).

Punctuation

• Review possessive and plurals. Apostrophes show ownership. With a plural the apostrophe is after the s.
  • Good: one parent's rights
  • Good: many parents' rights
  • Bad: working with parent’s
• Only use a semicolon if each part of the sentence could be a complete sentence by itself.
  • Good: I thought she was sad; actually, she was just tired.
  • Bad: I thought she was sad; actually, just tired.
• Be careful with "however".
  • Good: Students should have choices. However, rules must be respected.
  • Good: Students should have choices; however, rules must be respected.
  • Bad: Students should have choices, however, rules must be respected.
• Use comma in a list, including before the last item
  • Good: teachers, students, and parents

Grammar

• Check for pronoun agreement
  • Good: a student wanted to share his/her idea
  • Bad: a student wanted to share their idea
• You can avoid this problem by using plurals
  • Example: students wanted to share their ideas
• Use consistent verb tense.
  • Good: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I planned lessons.
  • Bad: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I plan lessons.
  • Bad: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I would plan lessons.
• Make items in series parallel
  • Good: I reviewed textbooks, planned programs and supervised recess.
  • Bad: I reviewed textbooks, plan programs and supervising recess.

Structure, Sentence Beginnings, & Transitions

• Start with a clear, separate introduction. End with a clear, separate conclusion.
• Proofread for sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
• Double check to avoid sentences that begin alike.
  • e.g., My teacher... My cooperating teacher... My teacher...
  • e.g., I believe...  I believe... I believe...
• Help your reader with transitions.  Don’t expect them to leap in their thinking or read between the lines.
• Be careful with words like it, this, and who. Your reader may not know what you're talking about, especially if you're writing about several ideas or things.

Voice & Point of View

• You are a teacher. Use “I” language. Be careful about using “You” language.
  • Good: In my classroom, I am going to...
  • Good: As a teacher, I am going to...
  • Bad: As a teacher, you should...
  • Good: I will try to learn my students' names.
  • Bad: Teachers should try to learn their students' names.
• Use direct construction.
  • Good: I have twelve students in my class.
  • Bad: There are twelve students in my class.”
• Be thrifty with phrases like "I believe," I think," and "In my opinion." Your name is at the top: I know these are your ideas.

Other Issues When Editing

• You will almost always use pseudonyms for teachers and students, to protect their privacy.
• Be careful with certainty and absolutes
  • Good: I will always try to be funny.
  • Bad: I will always be funny.
  • Good: Most students usually don't want to do homework.
  • Bad: All students never want to do homework.
• Be careful with creating new metaphors for learning. It's usually better to use familiar phrases than to invent new phrases, since new phrases can be confusing
  • Good: The new lesson helped the students learn better.
  • Bad: The new lesson helped the students fill up more of their potential.
• Be careful with effect and affect
• Replace:
  • a lot with very much or many

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