NOTE(6)

UFS 211 - ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING 

Common Mistakes in Writing


Use of the wrong verb tense, at best, is irritating to read and reflects poorly on the student's writing skills. At worst, the reader can be confused as to what facts are already known and what was newly discovered in the actual study that is the subject of the paper. As a rule, use past tense to describe events that have happened. Such events include procedures that you have conducted and results that you observed. Use present tense to describe generally accepted facts.

Incomplete sentences, redundant phrases, obvious misspellings, and other symptoms of a hurriedly-written paper can cost you. Please start your work early enough so that you can proofread it. Check spelling of scientific names, names of people, names of compounds, etc. Spelling and grammatical errors can be embarrassing. Since many very different terms have similar names, a spelling error can result in a completely incorrect statement.

If you state facts or describe mechanisms, do so in order to make a point or to help interpret results, and do refer to the present study. If you find yourself writing everything you know about the subject, you are wasting your time (and that of your reader). Stick to the appropriate point, and include a reference to your source of background information if you feel that it is important.

PROOF

The requirements for scientific proof are extremely rigorous. It is highly doubtful that any single experiment can be so well controlled that its conclusions can be regarded as proof. In fact, for any result to be accepted it must be confirmed independently. In fact, we can never know if a model as we describe it presents an accurate picture of any natural process. We can never look at the original blueprint to check our conclusions. So... your data may strongly support a position, or they may allow you to reject a hypothesis, but they aren't likely to provide anything close to proof.

GRAMMAR and SPELLING

Please avoid obvious grammatical errors. Granted, you aren't writing an English paper (heck, an English teacher would tear my own writing style to shreds). However, clear written communication requires proper sentence structure and use of words. Make sure that your sentences are complete, that they make sense when you proofread, and that you have verb/subject agreement.

Spelling errors in a paper make you look amateurish.

 Parallelism

Parts of a sentence should be joined in equal ways.

NON-PARALLEL:	Dennis wants to become a lawyer, an alderman, and be able to write novels.
PARALLEL:	Dennis wants to become a lawyer, an alderman, and a novelist.

Misplaced Modifiers

ADJECTIVES modify nouns;  ADVERBS modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

MISPLACED:	Driving around the corner, three churches appeared.
CORRECTED:	Driving around the corner, I saw three churches come into view.

Expletives

Expletives are empty "filler" words that are inserted at a place in a sentence where the subject should go. If a sentence begins, "It is evident that..." the word "It" is an expletive marking the spot in the sentence where a subject should go but it doesn't actually convey any information. Expletives are wasted words. LOOK FOR: Any sentence (or phrase) that begins with "It is..." "There are..." etc. and fix the error by finding the real subject of the sentence and using it in place the empty words.

INSTEAD OF:	It is evident that we will not meet our goal.
USE:	We will not meet our goal.

Nominalization

Nominalization is changing a verb into a noun. When you change a verb to a noun, you take the strength away from the sentence. For example, "to conclude" is a specific act but if you are "reaching a conclusion" you've eliminated the specific action and replaced it with an all-purpose verb. Instead of "concluding," the action becomes "reaching." LOOK FOR such words as: recognition, assumption, formation, protection, realization, destruction, decision, examination and correct the error by changing the word back to a verb that is assigned to a subject.

INSTEAD OF:	We reached the conclusion that...
USE:	We concluded that...
INSTEAD OF:	I am working on the assumption that...
USE:	I assume that...

NOTE(6) 

PARTS OF SPEECH

1. NOUN

• Words used as the names of persons/ things/ places.
• Note: The word thing includes all objects which we can SEE, HEAR, TASTE, TOUCH or SMELL. 
• 4 types of nouns:
  • Common Nouns 
    • Ex: wallet, ball, table, chair, book, college, glass, girl, etc. 
  • Proper Nouns
    • Ex: Haikal, Britney, Klang, Astro, Petronas, Nokia, Gucci, etc.   
  • Collective Nouns
    • Ex: a school of fish, a herd of cows, a box of chocolates, a team of players etc.
  • Abstract Nouns
    • Ex: sad, plagiarism, cooperation, honesty etc.

2. PRONOUN

• Defined as a word which can be used instead of a noun.
• We use pronouns very often, especially so that we do not have to keep on repeating a noun.
• Words that take the place of nouns.
• 3 levels:-
  • 1^st person (I, We)
  • 2^nd person (You)
  • 3^rd person (He, She, It)
    • Ex: Johan is a boy. He studies in our school.

Singular

Plural

3. ADJECTIVE

• A word that describes or tells us more about a noun.
• Gives some idea of what the noun is like.
• Adjectives are said to qualify nouns.
  • Ex: Shana is a clever girl.
  • Manchester United displayed great team spirit. 

4. VERB

• Occur at the center of the predicate.
• The main part of a sentence.
• May denote actions or states of being.
• A verb is a doing word.
• ex:  We saw the cricket match.
  • She runs as fast as Usain Bolt.

5. ADVERB

• Provides information about the verb/adjective or another adverb.
• Most adverbs end in ‘-ly’ but not all.
• Generally there are 5 types:-
  • Adverb of Manner
    • These adverbs tell us how something is done.
      • ex: a) He worked systematically.
      • b) He plays tennis well. 
  • Adverb of Place
    • These adverbs tell us where the action takes place.
      • ex: a) The manager is there.
      • b) He is going abroad this year.
  • Adverb of Time
    • These adverbs tell us when the action takes place.
      • ex: a) He will be arriving tomorrow.
      • b) Negotiations have now begun.
  • Adverb of Degree
    • These adverbs tell us the degree to which the action takes place.
      • ex: a) I quite like her.
      • b) It is a very hot day.
  • Adverb Expressing Emphasis
    • These adverbs emphasizes the action taking place.
      • ex: a) The train is certainly going to be late.
      • b) You are absolutely right about this.

6. PREPOSITION

• Express a relation between 2 entities; the prepositional complement and another part of the sentence.
• “Pre-position” = placed before.
• Used to indicate position, time, duration, location, etc.
• Usually placed before a noun.
  • ex: a) The books are on the table.
  • b) The couple rested under the tree.

7. CONJUNCTION

• They are joining words.
• They may link words, phrases, clauses or sentences.
• Join two ideas.
  • ex: a) I like to read books and magazines.
  • b) He is my friend but your enemy.  

8. INTERJECTION

• A word which expresses sudden feelings of joy, sorrow or surprise.
•  Expressions which deal with emotions.
  • ex: a) Hooray! We won the match.
  • b) Alas! Her only son is dead.