iRevise Writing and Research Guide

Punctuation: Where & why have you used commas, question marks, quotations, periods, colons, semicolons, etc? Have you used each correctly? (For instance, do you have a reason for each comma? Are you using it with a conjunction? Are you separating items in a list? If you use a semicolon, does it connect two closely related independent clauses? For instance: "Experts vary regarding the purposes of education; some argue that the most important purpose involves socialization."

In each sentence, ask "Where's the action?" "Who's kicking who?" (From: Lanham, Richard A. Revising Prose. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1992). Find the verb and the subject (an action and an actor). For instance, there is no subject (actor) in: "fears small-minded bureaucrats," so it isn't a complete sentence; it's a sentence fragment. By adding a subject/actor, you create a sentence: "Susan fears small-minded bureaucrats." Make sure the word group isn't merely a subordinate clause or phrase. For example, "After I woke up" is NOT a sentence; "After I woke up, I went back to sleep" is a sentence. If you find a fragment, you can attach it to a nearby sentence or turn it into a sentence.

Run-on sentences: Look for independent clauses blend into each other because they lack correct punctuation (for instance, the clauses need a comma & coordinating conjunction or a semicolon). Actions run together in: "I wake up at 7:00 too tired to get out of bed I go back to sleep at 7:02." To clarify this sentence, you could separate the clauses with a period (after "bed"); use a conjunction and a comma ("...bed, but..."); or separate the clauses with a semicolon ("bed; I go").

Avoid ambiguous pronoun reference. Circle every pronoun: What does the pronoun refer to? How will the reader know that? A pronoun needs a clear referent: What is "it"? Who are "they"? Some other pronouns: this, that, you, he, she.

Have you conjugated verbs correctly? Circle each verb: is it in present, past, or future tense? Do you switch tenses? For instance, if you're writing in the present tense, do you switch to the past tense? "I think educators need more education. They didn't know what they should." In this example, there's no reason for switching from the present to the past tense. Edit for consistency: "I think educators need more education. They don't know what they should."

Check for subject/verb agreement. Make the verb agree with its subject, even if a word comes between them. ("The students in the class need help.") Treat most indefinite pronouns as singular (anybody, anyone, each, everything, someone, something, etc.). ("Everyone in our class supports affirmative action.") Note: there are other rules for subject/verb agreement. If subject/verb agreement confuses you, ask for a handout and/or assistance.