Objectives

• Master the basics of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics 
• Learn to read a dictionary entry and to use words effectively 
• Become familiar with the appropriate format for margins, block quotations, and graphic elements of a research paper 
• Become familiar with proofreading strategies

Grammar, Mechanics, and Punctuation

Fragments and fused sentences: Fragments are incomplete sentences, and fused sentences are actually two sentences crammed together. To fix these problems, use this step-by-step process:

1. Circle all the verbs, which are words that can be made past tense.  (Today, I talk.  Yesterday, I talked.  Today, I am.  Yesterday, I was.)
1. Cross out verbs that have "to" in front of them.
2. Cross out verbs that end in "-ing" and do not have a form of the verb "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, been) in front of them.
3. Cross out verbs that end in "-en" and do not have "has" or "have" in front of them.
4. Any verbs that remain are probably main verbs.
2. Underline each remaining verb's subject (the noun that is performing the action).
3. Draw brackets around each complete clause (a group of words with a subject and a main verb).
4. Cross out any clause that begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that) unless the clause is a question.
5. Cross out any clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, even though, as, when, if, while, since . . .)
6. Anything that remains is probably an independent clause, which can stand alone as a sentence.

If the sentence contains two or more independent clauses, separate them with a conjunction (and, or, but . . .) or a semicolon or a period.

Subject-verb agreement: We say that a subject "agrees" with a verb when both are singular or both are plural. Examples: The library is closed. The boys are outside. Her book, which inspired several movies, is popular. The books on the table are mine. The employees and the manager are in a meeting. Note: When the two nouns in the subject are connected by an "or," the verb agrees with the final noun: Examples: Judging from the looks of this house, I'd say the dog or the kids are home. Judging from the looks of this house, I'd say the kids or the dog is home.

Dangling and misplaced modifiers: Modifiers, which are words or phrases that describe other words or phrases, generally should appear next to the words or phrases that they describe.  When the word or phrase that the modifier describes does not appear in the sentence, we say the modifier is "dangling."  When the modifier does not appear next to the word or phrase that it modifies, it may be "misplaced."  To correct such problems, use the following procedure:

1. Place brackets around the modifier.
2. If necessary, supply the word or phrase that the modifier is describing.
3. Move the modifier so that it appears next to the word or phrase it modifies.

Nouns: If there is more than one of something, we say it is "plural."  To make a noun plural, you usually can simply add an "s."  Examples: books, dogs, players, unions.  English also has some irregular plurals--nouns that are made plural without adding an "s."  Examples: men, women, children, people, teeth, feet, deer.  Proper nouns--which refer to specific persons, places, things, or ideas--should be capitalized. Clue: Most proper nouns cannot be made plural. Examples: Michael Jordan, the Cape Fear River, the Bible, Raleigh, English, Spanish.  Common nouns--which refer to non-specific person, places, things, or ideas--should not be capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence otherwise require capitalization because of their context. Examples: basketball, ocean, book, city, language, history, psychology. Make sure that you use the correct form of each noun. If you are unsure of the correct form, check a dictionary.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement: We say that a pronoun "agrees" with an antecedent--the noun to which it refers--when both are singular or both are plural. Examples: The attorney won her case. The attorneys won their cases. The company is improving its service. The companies are improving their service.

Adjectives and adverbs: Adjectives are words that describe nouns.  They usually answer the question "Which?" or "What kind?" or "How many?" Most adjectives do not end in "-ly." Examples: nice, quick, bad, remarkable, true, good. Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They usually answer the question "When?" or "Where?" or "Why?" or "How?" Many adverbs end in "-ly." Examples: nicely, quickly, badly, remarkably, truly, well. Make sure that you use the adjective form of a word when the word describes a noun and the adverb form when it describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. If you are unsure of the correct form, check a dictionary.

Commas: In general, use commas to set off the following words or phrases:

1. items in a list: I like bananas, oranges, and strawberries.
2. introductory phrases
1. prepositional phrases: At the end of the movie, the hero leaves town.
2. subordinate clauses: Because I like the outdoors, I go hiking a lot.
3. verb phrases: Having taught this subject several times, I knew the answer right away.
3. transitions: Mozart wrote many amazing symphonies. Symphony 39, for example, opens in an exciting way.
4. conjunctive adverbs: She generally doesn't like jazz; however, she has bought a few of Miles Davis's albums.
5. appositives: The activist, a woman with impeccable credentials, has changed legislators' minds about a number of issues.
6. non-restrictive clauses: The White House, which is in Washington, is a national treasure.
7. cities when they appear with states or countries: She was born in Anderson, Indiana, but she moved to Fort Wayne.
8. years when they appear with months and days: The dean arrived on May 8, 1999, and departed in May 2000.

1. contractions: don't (do not), weren't (were not), we'll (we will), she's (she is or she has), it's (it is)
2. possessive nouns
1. singular possessives: The dog's bed is red.
2. plural possessives: The dogs' beds are red.
3. irregular possessives: The children's game ended. The women's league is large. He sells men's clothing.

Titles: In general, underline or italicize the titles of long works and ongoing works, such as books, plays, films, compact discs, magazines, journals, and television shows. Examples: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Macbeth,Home Alone, Tattoo You, Smithsonian, The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Seinfeld. In general, place quotation marks around the titles of short works, such as poems, songs, short stories, and magazine articles. Examples: "The Raven," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Barn Burning," "Gun Control in the United States."

Punctuation and quotation marks: Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks. Example: Although I like "God's Grandeur," my favorite poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins is "The Windhover."

Proofreading Strategies

The key to successful proofreading is actually seeing the words and punctuation--not the cogent argument, not the solid organization, not the stylistic flourishes, but the little black marks on the page. You can see those marks if you follow this procedure.

1. Do everything you need to do to the paper except proofread it. Include all the evidence you want to include, settle on a method of organization, put in all the transitions, and make all the necessary decisions about word choice, syntax, and the like. Now and only now should you print out your "proof draft." On this draft, you will look for nothing except surface errors such as misspellings, missing commas, missing words, and so on. 
2. If you have time, leave the paper for a while. Go to lunch or take a walk. Try to separate yourself from it as much as possible. 
3. When you are ready to proofread, remove everything from your desk except your proof draft, a red pen, a hardback dictionary, and a grammar manual. Turn off the television and the stereo. You might even find it helpful to turn out all the lights except a desk lamp. Now you can focus on your draft. 
4. Read the paper slowly. Mark any mistakes with a red pen. During this first proofing, you should be able to detect errors such as missing words, comma problems, and grammatical mistakes, such as errors in subject-verb agreement. If you are not positive what a word means or how it should be spelled, look it up in a dictionary. 
5. Now read the paper again. This time, look at it in an artificial way. For example, you might try reading it backwards word by word or sentence by sentence. You also might try reading it aloud. All of these methods of artificially reading your words force you to see or hear things you might miss if you were reading normally and were distracted by the flow of sentences and paragraphs. 
6. Using strategies such as these, proofread the paper again and again until you are comfortable with it; then, ask at least one other person to proofread it, as well. 
7. Go to the computer and make the changes you have noted, as well as any valid changes suggested by someone else. As you make them, check them off the hard copy. After you have finished correcting the mistakes, glance over the paper to make sure all of your changes have been checked. 
8. One or two days--not the night!--before it is due, print out the final version and put it in your notebook. Go for a run, pick up a magazine, or turn on some music. Relax. You're done!

Terms

• proofreading 
• subject-verb agreement 
• proper noun 
• common noun 
• dictionary