THE WRITING CENTER
6171 HELEN C. WHITE HALL
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
608.263.1992
WRITING.WISC.EDU/
TWELVE COMMON ERRORS: A STUDENT SELF-EDITING GUIDE
The following list contains only brief examples and explanations intended for you to use as reminders while you are
editing your papers. To learn more:
ā¢ Take a free grammar or punctuation review workshop offered by the Writing Center.
ā¢ Set up an appointment f or an indiv idual conference in the Writing Center.
ā¢ Confer with your course instructor.
ā¢ Look at the grammar and punctuation materials on the Writing CenterŹ¼s Web site.
ā¢ Consult a handbook for additional examples and compete explanations.
1. Sentence Fragments. Make sure each word group you have punctuated as a sentence contains a
grammatically complete and independent thought that can stand alone as an acceptable sentence.
Incorrect:
Tests of the Shroud of Turin have produced some curious findings. For example, the pollen
of forty-eight plants native to Europe and the Middle East.
Revised :
Tests of the Shroud of Turin have produced some curious findings. For example, the cloth
contains the pollen of forty-eight plants native to Europe and the Middle East.
Incorrect:
Scientists report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption. Although
caffeine does cause convulsions and death in certain animals.
Revised :
Scientists report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption, although
caffeine does cause convulsions and death in certain animals.
2. Sentence Sprawl. Too many equally weighted phrases and clauses produce tiresome sentences.
Incorrect:
The hearing was planned for Monday, December 2, but not all of the witnesses could be
available, so it was rescheduled for the following Friday. [There are no grammatical errors
here, but the sprawling sentence does not communicate clearly and concisely.]
Revised :
The hearing, which had been planned for Monday, December 2, was rescheduled for the
following so that all witnesses would be able to attend.
3. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers. Place modifiers near the words they describe; be sure the modified words
actually appear in the sentence.
Incorrect:
When writing a proposal, an original task is set for research [Who is writing a proposal?]
Revised :
When writing a proposal, a scholar sets an original task for research.
Incorrect:
Many tourists visit Arlington National Cemetery, where veterans and military personnel are
buried every day from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Revised :
Every day from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., many tourists visit Arlington National Cemetery,
where veterans and military personnel are buried.
4. Faulty Parallelism. Be sure you use grammatically equal sentence elements to express two or more matching
ideas or items in a series.
Incorrect:
The candidateŹ¼s goals include winning the election, a health program, and education.
Revised :
The candidateŹ¼s goals include winning the election, enacting a national health program, and
improving the educational system.
Incorrect:
Some critics are not so much opposed to capital punishment as postponing it for so long.
Revised :
Some critics are not so much opposed to sentencing convicts to capital punishment as they
are to postponing executions for so long.
