hello so this is the first of two videos this peer review week and as the title says it's on 20 common errors in student writing I thought that would be good and helpful to concentrate on as you guys edit your own and other people's essays over the next week or so so I'm just going to go through these quickly explaining what the error is and how to fix it in your writing so first error the wrong word error so this happens when you use a word it doesn't mean what you think it means or when a word doesn't fit the context so for example saying he makes an illusion to modern technology this is wrong because illusion means a false impression you should use illusion which means a reference so it should be he makes an illusion to modern technology so in some always double check words so they mean what you intend them to mean second the missing comma after an introductory element error it's a long time when you start a sentence with an introductory word phrase or Clause you need a comma to show where the introduction ends and the main part of the sentence begins without this comma your sentence can be a little bit confusing for example determined to make their flight on time they Rose it Dawn it's unclear where the introduction ends adding a comma makes it clear determined to make their flight on time they Rose at dawn so this separation of the dependent from the independent clause helps the reader understand your sentence more easily these things matter third the incomplete or missing documentation error this is just when you don't properly site your sources and academic writing which can lead to plagiarism and all kinds of weird stuff so different fields as I've said before have different citation Styles such as MLA and APA but you should always give credit to your sources this is just essential now this is the case when you quote directly you know when you give it like a direct quote but also when you paraphrase an idea since the idea is not yours it's somebody else's you need to cite it even if it's not quoted directly fourth the vague pronoun reference error so this error happens when a pronoun like he she it so on doesn't clearly refer to a specific noun so for example if you put this handout in your binder it may remind you of important tutoring strategies well the pronoun it could refer to either the handout or the binder so clarify things just by specifying if you put this handout in your binder the hand out May remind you of important tutoring strategies okay fifth the spelling error this is a big one for students and it's not about that you don't know how to spell of course you guys know how to spell it's more about just not editing for mistakes and despite spell Checkers mistakes are common because spell Checkers can't catch everything they often miss H homonyms for example I can even say the word you know things like presence versus presence that's a homonym uh compound words as well that should be you know together and they also miss sort of proper names you know proper nouns like names so for example a spell check might not catch the error in Vladimir Putin is the leader of Russia you know the correct spelling is Vladimir and another example everywhere she walked she was reminded of him it should be everywhere not everywhere so always proof read your work carefully even after using a spell checker just to catch for these kind of Errors six mechanical error within a quotation error so this happens when you don't use quotation marks to show where someone else's words end and yours in always use quotation marks in pairs and place other punctuation marks inside the quotation marks in MLA at least so for example a woman must have money in a room of her own if she is to write fiction Virginia wolf argues that's incorrect it should be a woman must have money in a room of her own if she's to write fiction Virginia wolf argues now it might seem like we're splitting hairs but it does matter seventh the unnecessary comma error so this happens when you add commas uh where they aren't needed basically making your writing again confusing so don't use commas around essential information use them around nonessential information but don't use commas around essential information don't use a comma before a conjunction if it doesn't join parts of a compound sentence don't use commas before the first or after the last last item in the series and don't use commas between subjects and verbs verbs and objects or prepositions and objects editing is key eth the unnecessary or missing capitalization error so this happens when you capitalize words this just shouldn't be capitalized or that you forget to capitalize capitalize words they should be capitalized so capitalize proper nouns you know specific names proper adjectives the first word of a sentence important words in titles and also some words for directions and family relationships so most other words are just not capitalized for example financial aid is a pressing concern for many University students that's incorrect it should just be financial aid is a personing concern for many University students when in doubt check a dictionary to ensure proper uh proper capitalization ninth the missing word error well this just happens when you accidentally leave out words so reading your work aloud can actually help you catch these mistakes for example soccer fans the globe rejoiced when Ida scored the second goal you know the missing word is around 10th the faulty sentence structure error this happens when a sentence starts with one structure and then suddenly switches to another structure causing confusion for the reader for example the information that families have access to is what financial aid is available and thinking about the classes available and how to register well that's just confusing a clearer version is families have access to information about financial aid class availability and registration it's just about making sure each sentence maintains a consistent structure with a clear subject and verb okay over halfway 11 the missing comma with a non-restrictive element error so this happens when you forget to use commas to set off a phrase or Clause that adds extra non-essential information to a sentence for example David who loved to read history was the first to head the British Library that's incorrect it should be David comma who loved to read history comma was the first to head the British Library the phrase who love to read history is non-restrictive which means it adds extra information but it's not crucial to the main point of the sentence using commas correctly helps clarify this for the reader 12 the unnecessary shift in verb tense error this happens when a sentence switches tenses without a clear reason for doing so for example Martin searched for a great horned owl he takes photographs of all the birds sites that's confusing because it shifts from the past tense searched to present tense takes a consistent version is Martin searched for a great horned owl he took photographs of all the birds he cited 13 the missing comma in a compound sentence error this happens when you join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction for and nor but or yet so but forget to add a comma before the conjunction for example Miranda drove her brother and her mother waited at home that's confusing because it looks like Miranda drove both her brother and her mother so a clearer version would be Miranda drove her brother and her mother waited at home the comma before and separates the two independent clauses making the sentence easier to understand and I might as well uh you know make a 13.1 error to missing comment in a list so this happens when you don't use commas to separate items in the list which can cause confusion and a little bit of humor so for example my three favorite things are eating my family and not using commas well that's both disturbing and confusing because it looks like you're saying that you enjoy eating your family a clearer version is my three favorite things are eating my family are not using commas so the commas help separate the items in the list making the sentence easier to understand 14 the unnecessary or missing apostrophe error this happens when you either add an apostrophe where it doesn't need to you know doesn't need to go or you forget to add one where it is needed so to make a noun possessive add an apostrophe and an S so for example Mike's phone or just an apostrophe for plural possessives for example the girl's bathroom do not use an apostrophe in possessive pronouns like ours yours and hers we see that a lot use its to signify belonging to it and its when you mean it is or it has for example repeated viral infections compromise doctor's immune systems that's missing an apostrophe it should be doctor's immune systems another example the shaft lifted the skillet of its hook it's a 14 inch Copper Skillet well that has unnecessary and missing apostrophes so it should be the chef lifted the skillet off its hook it's a 14in Copper Skillet 15 the fused or the run-on sentence error so this happens when two independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or connecting words for example the house was flooded with light the moon Rose above the Horizon that's a runon sentence you can fix it by dividing into two sentences or you can join them with a conjunction the house was flooded with light because the moon Rose above the Horizon another example he wondered what the decision meant he thought about it all night again it's a run-on sentence you can fix it by adding punctuation or a conjunction 16 the comma splice error this happens when two independent clauses are joined only by a comma which isn't enough to properly connect them so for example the students rushed the field they tore down the goals that's a comma splice you can fix it in a few ways use a period to separate the Clauses or a semicolon or you can use a conjunction the students rushed the field and they tore down the goals 17 the lack of pronoun anteed agreement error so this happens when a pronoun doesn't match its ant to set in in number you know singular or plural or gender for example every guest left their shoes of the door well actually that's now acceptable in Modern English because there can be used as a singular you know gender gender neutral pronoun but if you prefer a more traditional approach you can write every guest left his or her shoes at the door it's just about being clear and it's also about preference 18 the poorly integrated quotation error so this happens when a quotation is abruptly inserted into your writing without a smooth transition or introduction for example an award-winning 2009 study of friendship quote and then you give the quote and then you give the citation that's just awkward instead introduce the quotation with a signal phrase according to an award-winning 2009 study on friendship then you give the quotation and then the citation and all that also make sure that the grammar of the quote complements the grammar of the surrounding Pros or it's going to seem strange and remember you can use square brackets if you ever want to change the wording in a quotation to make it fit with your grammar okay 19 the missing or unnecessary hyphen error this happens when a hyphen is either mistakenly left out or added where it's just not needy a compound adjective needs a hyphen when it comes before the noun that it's modifying so this is wrong this article describes 18th Century Theater this should be 18th Century Theater again you might think this is splitting hairs if you have hair but correct or professional grammar is just crucial for establishing credibility especially in Academia finally 20 the sentence fragment error so this happens when a group of words is presented as a complete sentence but is actually incomplete sentence fragments can occur in several ways first a fragment might be missing a subject as in the American colonists resisted British taxation and started the American Revolution here it is corrected second a fragment might lack a complete verb as in the pink geranium blooming in its pot so this should be is blooming in its pot third a fragment might begin with a subordinating word without completing the thought such as we visited the park where we threw the ball it should be we visited the park where we threw the ball ensuring each sentence has a subject and verb and avoiding starting sentences with subordinating words without finishing the thought help make your writing clear and complete anyway I'm getting a bit over time here but these are the most common errors you will will improve your writing if you look out for them in your writing