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The MAX Center is open for tutoring M-F, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
Sun-Th, 7 -10 p.m. Visit us at Kagin Commons 1st floor!
How Not to Stress About Writing
What is My Professor Looking For?
Where Can I Go to Get Resources?
How to get a handle on the big picture
Proofreading for yourself
Documentation styles
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Twenty Questions for Research Writing
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Writing Handbook
Learning to proofread for yourself.
Proofreading is something that has to be done. It cannot be avoided
if you want to have a finished product that is close to being understandable
and error free. A good way to begin this process is to read your
writing aloud, whether it be to yourself or to another person. Many
errors are discovered because they simply sound awkward.
General Advice:
° Try to give yourself some time between writing and editing
your work,
even if it is only half an hour.
° Proofread a paper more than once, each time looking for a
specific type
of error, particularly those you know you have a tendency of making.
° Make use of writing resources on campus, especially the MAX
Center
tutors who can help you learn to proofread.
Check The Fine Tuning:
You have looked at the big picture, and it’s there in black
and white. The
picture itself, however, is still a little fuzzy, and some adjustments
need to be
made.
1.) Sentence Check
• In the sentence check, look for subject-verb agreement and
pronounantecedent
agreement. Also make sure that you have written complete
sentences. Here are “check” steps to follow:
- For each individual sentence, identify the subject and verb;
both are
needed to make a complete sentence.
- Check if the subject is singular or plural. The verb should
be the right
form that compliments the subject.
- Identify who or what your pronoun refers to; if that word is
singular, the
pronoun should also be singular (and vice versa).
- Read the sentence aloud. Often a sentence fragment, subject-verb
or
pronoun disagreement sounds awkward.
2.) Wordiness
• Several techniques can help you reduce wordiness in your
writing:
- Avoid overusing it is, there is, and there are at the beginning
of
sentences.
- Change is or was, when they occur alone, to an action verb.
- Replace passive verbs with active verbs.
- Change which is or was, when possible, to a past verb or –ing
form.
- Omit this from the beginning of a sentence by joining it to
the preceding
sentence with a comma.
3.) Punctuation
• The most common types of punctuation used are the apostrophe,
comma,
colon, period, and semicolon. Also included in this area are capitalization
and the use of quotation marks. Here are some rules to use as punctuation
checking guides:
Capitalization and Periods:
- Use a period to mark the end of a sentence or after an abbreviation.
- Capitalize the first word of every sentence and the first word
of a direct
quote.
Apostrophes:
- Use an apostrophe to show possession, when “is” is
added to a word in
the abbreviated “s” manner, or for other contractions.
Commas:
- Place commas before and after the name of a person to whom you
are
speaking.
- Place a comma between items when giving a list.
- Place a comma between two sentences joined with a conjunction.
- Always use commas when a word begins a sentence but does not
flow into
it.
- Use pairs of commas around a word or phrase that interrupts
the flow of the sentence.
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