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.
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Dennis wants to become a lawyer, an alderman, and be able to write novels.
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PARALLEL:
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Dennis wants to become a lawyer, an alderman, and a novelist.
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Misplaced Modifiers
ADJECTIVES modify nouns; ADVERBS modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
MISPLACED:
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Driving around the corner, three churches appeared.
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CORRECTED:
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Driving around the corner, I saw three churches come into view.
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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:
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It is evident that we will not meet our goal.
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USE:
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We will not meet our goal.
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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:
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We reached the conclusion that...
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USE:
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We concluded that...
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INSTEAD OF:
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I am working on the assumption that...
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USE:
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I assume that...
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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:-
- 1st person (I, We)
- 2nd person (You)
- 3rd 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.