Essay
Writing
Frequent Errors in Writing
The following represent some of the errors that are frequently seen in a student writing. Try to remember them, eliminate them, and improvement should follow.
Proper Names:
Incorrect Usage
Correct Usage
europe, asia
Europe, Asia
france, england
France, England
spanish, english
Spanish, English
bismarck, leopold II
Bismarck, Leopold II
king louis XIV
King Louis XIV
queen Victoria
Queen Victoria
whigs, tories
Whigs, Tories
victorian era, great depression
Victorian Era, Great Depression
Capitals
Capitalization
Capitalization
Verb Tenses: (Use past tense in history essays.)
Prussia attacks France.
Prussia attacked France.
The treaty is of Paris signed.
The treaty of Paris was signed.
Prussia seeked victory.*
Prussia sought victory.
*Be careful in forming the past tense of Irregular Verbs
Subject/Verb Agreement: (Singular subjects require singular verb forms. Plural subjects require plural verb forms.)
England and France was at
war. England and France
were at war.
Russia were an ally of France.
Russia was an ally of France.
Making
Subjects and Verbs Agree
Subject-Verb
Agreement
Subject-Verb
Agreement
The Apostrophe* ( ' ) to denote possession.
Russias situation was grave.
Russia's situation was grave.
The emperors army was defeated.
The emperor's army was defeated.
The nation mobilized it's*
army. The nation
mobilized its army.
* (It's is a contraction for "it is." It's raining out= it is raining out.)
The
Apostrophe
Uses
of the Apostrophe
Form Plurals properly:
countrys
countries
treatys
treaties
Spelling:
Noun Plurals
Plural
Noun Forms
Be Aware of Common Misspellings: If you are writing an essay at home and using a word processor, use the spell checker (and the grammar checker if possible) before printing out your work.
recieve
receive Spelling:
IE/EI
develope
develop
foreing
foreign
Britian
Britain
where (place)
were (past tense verb)
controled
controlled
(Remember the rule: double the consonant before adding on a suffix that
begins with a vowel)
Spelling:
Common Words that Sound Alike
Avoid slang & Avoid writing in the first person: Use the narrative style of the textbook.
At the top you had...
The government was headed by...
dead giveaway
draw the line
gentle as a lamb
needle in a haystack
stick out like a sore thumb
strong as an ox
throw in the towel
vanish into thin air
Avoid superfluous phrases such as:
"I am now going to relate
the story of..."
"I forgot to mention that
. ."
Conciseness:
Methods of Eliminating Wordiness
Clear,
Concise Sentences
Writing
Concise Sentences
Avoid Abbreviations and acronyms in college writing:
Incorrect
Correct
gov.
the government
a/c
on account of
d/w
dealing with . . .
b/c
because . . .
Abbreviations
Abbreviations
and Acronyms
Use definite articles: A, An, The before nouns.
Treaty was signed in ...
The treaty was signed in...
He reported to tsar
He reported to the tsar
The Use and Non-Use of Articles
Be careful with homonyms (words that sound the same but have different meanings and are spelt differently)
The proposal was thrown out.
The throne of Belgium was occupied..
They knew about the crisis.
The new government was...
It was their army that lost.
It was there (place) that the battle was fought.
Spelling:
Common Words that Sound Alike
Homonyms
Extensive List
Homonyms
Notorious
Confusables
Remember to format properly.
-number the pages
-number the question being
answered as it appears on the exam paper
There is no need to
rewrite the question.
-leave the margin blank
-use a spell/grammar checker
for any writing done out of class
When organizing an essay/answer in class:
Organize your thoughts before putting anything in writing. Rushing often
results in errors that could be easily avoided and it invariably lowers
grades. If you have time, proofread the essay to locate and correct errors
before you submit it
Writing
in class Essays
Essay organization:
- Give out of class essays and research papers a title.
- It's a good idea to spend a few moments briefly outlining what you
want to state.
- Read the question carefully and address each part of it in order.
- Take as much guidance as you can from the question and ask for clarification
if in doubt.
- Don't ramble off onto unrelated topics--stick with the question.
- Do not assume that you do not have to mention something because
the professor already knows it. Give background information because instructors
expect you to demonstratethat you know the basic facts.
In general, your essay, regardless of length, should have an introductory statement, a central section incorporating analysis and aconcluding statement on the historical significance of the topic.
Introduction :
Give a brief background to the individual or event; for example, the
personality, status or position of 'major players' or circumstances preceding
or leading to a particular event.
Development:
This part of the answer will require narrative (detail and description
of events) as well as explanation (the reason and purpose behind events,
i.e., why things happened as they did). Be sure to separate different topics
with paragraphs that fully explore that topic. Also, begin with sentences
that clearly introduce the subject of the paragraph or serve as good transitional
sentences that will impart elegance to your writing.
Conclusion:
Your conclusions, based on class lectures and reading, will generally
offer the consensus of historians on the significance of the events and
personalities under discussion.
Guide
to Grammar and Writing
An
Editing Checklist
Coherence
Sentence
Fragments
Writing
Numbers
Common
Mistakes and Tricky Choices
Plague
Words and Phrases
