COMPOSITION I

THREE GOOD PRACTICES

• Walk away from the draft for some period of time!
• Have someone else read and provide feedback on the draft.
• Read your draft out loud

On average (i.e., most people), writers will add 3-4 additional drafts to the first draft they create.

Second draft=checking for logic of argument (whether it makes sense); organization of paper

Third draft=mechanics and syntax errors check and correction

Fourth draft=check for simple things: formatting, typos, other small things

REVISION STAGE

ERROR: MODIFIERS

• Refer to subjects may/may not be present in sentence
• Upon entering the hotel room, the room had a refrigerator.
• Upon entering the hotel room, I noticed the room had a refrigerator.
• Chris nearly drove seven hours from Asheville to Jacksonville.
• Chris drove nearly seven hours from Asheville to Jacksonville.

ERROR: FRAGMENTS

• Easy fix: add fragment to what occurs logically before or after it
• Fragments CAN be used for emphasis--but use sparingly.
• Peter Lorre's character in "Casablanca" was great. Even though he plays a bad man.
• Peter Lorre's character in "Casablanca" was great, even though he plays a bad man.

ERROR: CAPITALIZATION

• Do not capitalize common nouns!
• "science"--unless it begins a sentence--should not be capitalized!
• Internet is no longer capitalized!
• Do not capitalize to make common words sound important!
• Proper titles of any person or creative work should be capitalized

ERROR: VERBS

• Singular subject=singular verb
• Plural subject(s)=plural verb
• Watch for erroneous passive verbs
• Passive verb construction uses helping words
• Instead of "is walking" or "has said"' verbs should be "walks" and "said"

ERROR: PRONOUNS

• Do not abuse pronouns in writing!
• Don't use a pronoun in a sentence unless its referent is introduced first
• Do not begin sentences with "it"!
• It became apparent when the teacher pointed it out again in class.
• The revision error became apparent when the teacher pointed it out again in class.

ERROR: NUMBERS

• Any number expressed in TWO WORDS OR LESS should be written out!
• Simple fractions and percentages should also be written out
• Never spell out a year--should always be numerical (1967)
• Rule also includes hyphenated numbers (i.e., twenty-one through ninety-nine)
• If complex number is used (476) all other sentence numbers should be consistent (4)

ERROR: COMMAS, ETC.

• Commas represent break in sentence
• Do not overuse commas! They are often unnecessary!
• Do not substitute semicolons for commas!
• Colons are used for listing--subjects or ideas--or emphasis

ERROR: APOSTROPHES

• Apostophes signify possession
• Should NEVER be used as plural form of subject
• Student's; students'
• "it's"="it is"; "its"=possessive
• Names ending in "s" have particular rules

ERROR: RUN ON (AKA FUSED)

• Run on sentences should be broken up
• Make separate sentences or use semicolon instead of ,
• Avoid monster paragraphs unless absolutely necessary

ERROR: SHIFTS

• Shift occurs in point of view switch
• Start in 3rd person then shift to 2nd person (with forms of "you")
• Shifts language from formal to informal
• Professional language to unprofessional

QUESTIONS?