EDITING

AShK
 Editing is the final stage in the writing process, means checking
a paper carefully for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other
errors.

 Students often find it hard to edit a paper carefully. They

have put so much work into their writing, or so little, that
it’s almost painful for them to look at the paper one more
time.
 Read your paper out loud. Hearing how your writing sounds
is an excellent way to pick up grammar and punctuation
problems in your writing. Chances are that you will find
sentence mistakes at every spot where your paper does not
read smoothly and clearly.
My Job at the Crescent Falls Diner and Truck Stop Working at
the cresent falls diner and Truckstop was the worst job I ever
had. First of all, the work was physically very hard. During my
ten hour days I had to carry heavy trays of food to the
custamers, and I had to clean the tables. I would wash dishes
and then go unload the delivery truck, lifting sixty-pound
cartons of food supplies. The second bad feature was the pay.
I had to work at least sixty hours a week to afford next
semester’s tuition because I got only minimun wage, and I
had to share my tips with the kitchen workers too. Finally the
working conditions were horrible. I had to wash dishes in a hot
and steamy kitchen. Once, when unloading a truck, I hurt my
back so badly I was out of work for a week without pay! And
the boss was a tyrant who hated me cause I was a college
student, he gave me terrible hours. Even made racist slurs to
my face.
EXPLORING WRITING - JOHN LANGAN

1. Fragment - pg. 162

2. Run on - pg. 179
3. SVA - pg. 231
4. Homonym - pg. 407
5. Capitalization - pg. 324
6. Preposition - pg. 607
7. Inconsistent Verb Tense - pg. 241
8. Articles - pg. 597
9. Apostrophe - pg. 342
10. Missing quotation mark - pg. 354
11. Missing comma - pg. 365
12. Spelling
1. Fragment – Roz had the first Traumatic experience of her life
when she was four years old.
2. Missing apostrophe- didn’t
3. Run on- She felt nothing; a part of her life had simply ended.
4. Inconsistent tense- was staying
5. Mistake in subject verb agreement- has
FRAGMENTS
Meaning : A small piece or a part, especially when broken from something
whole.

Every sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a
complete thought. A word group that lacks a subject or a verb and does not
express a complete thought is a fragment. For example,

 Scribbling notes in class. (Fragment)

Jayne was scribbling notes in class. (Sentence)
 Telephones. (Fragment)
Telephones ring. (Sentence)
MOST COMMON TYPES OF FRAGMENTS THAT PEOPLE WRITE:

 Dependent-word fragments
 -ing and to fragments
 Added-detail fragments
 Missing-subject fragments
DEPENDENT-WORD FRAGMENTS:

The most common kind of fragment is the dependent-word fragment, which

has a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought.
After I stopped drinking coffee
A dependent statement :
Dependent statements by themselves are fragments. A sentence starting
with a dependent word cannot stand alone. They must be attached to a
statement that makes sense without any help.
“After I stopped drinking coffee” is a dependent statement. It leaves us
hanging. We expect in the same sentence to find out what happened after
the writer stopped drinking coffee.
SOME WORD GROUPS THAT BEGIN WITH A DEPENDENT WORD ARE FRAGMENTS. HERE IS A LIST OF COMMON DEPENDENT WORDS:
1. After I stopped drinking coffee. I began sleeping better at night.
2. Brian sat nervously in the dental clinic. While waiting to have his wisdom
tooth pulled.
3. Our power went out. During a thunderstorm.
4. Today I visited Melissa. A friend who is in the hospital
5. The town decided to put more lights on Bijoy Shoroni. A place where several
people have been mugged.
How to correct dependent word fragments :
1.Attach it to the sentence that comes after it or to the sentence that comes
before it
After I stopped drinking coffee, I began sleeping better at night.
2.Eliminate the dependent word and make a new sentence
I stopped drinking coffee. I began sleeping better at night.
3.Do not generally use a comma if the dependent-word group comes at the
end of a sentence
Brian sat nervously in the dental clinic while waiting to have his wisdom tooth
pulled.
Our power went out during a thunderstorm.
5.Sometimes the dependent words (who, that, which, or where) appear not
at the very start but near the start of a word group.
Today I visited Melissa, a friend who is in the hospital
The town decided to put more lights on Bijoy Shoroni, a place where several people
have been mugged
2. -ING AND TO FRAGMENTS
When a word ending in “-ing” appear at or near the start of a word group, a
fragment may result.
1. I spent all day on bdjobs.com. Trying to find a job that suited me .
2. Maggie felt happy after eating chinese for the first time. Not realizing until
later that the toilet would become her best friend.
3. I walked slowly into the living room. Preparing to look shocked.
4. He looked forward to lunch time at school. It being the only time he could
get free food.
 Attach the fragment to the sentence that comes before it or
the sentence that comes after it, whichever makes sense.
I spent all day on bdjobs.com, trying to find a job that suited me .
I therefore walked slowly into the living room, preparing to look
shocked.
 Add a subject and change the -ing verb part to the correct form
of the verb.
Maggie felt happy after eating chinese for the first time. She did not
realize until later that the toilet would become her best friend.
I walked slowly into the darkened living. I was prepared to look shocked.
 Change “being” to the correct form of the verb be (am, are, is,
was, were)
He looked forward to lunch time at school. It was the only time he could
get free food.
When “to” appears at or near the start of a word group,
a fragment sometimes results:

1. I plan on working overtime. To get this job finished.

2. To get back my term paper. I went to see my English
instructor from last semester
How to correct ‘to’ word fragments
Correct it by adding it to the sentence that comes before or
after it.
 I plan on working overtime to get this job finished.
 To get back my term paper, I went to see my English instructor
from last semester.

When an -ing or to word group starts a sentence, follow it with

a comma
 3. ADDED - DETAIL
FRAGMENTS
Added-detail fragments lack a subject and a verb. They often
begin with one of the following words or phrases.

Also, especially, except, for example, including,

such as
1. My apartment has its drawbacks. For example, no hot water in
the morning
2. I love to cook and eat Bengali food. Especially Kacchi and Payesh.
3. Bernardo always buys things out of season. Such as, an air
conditioner in December.
4. He failed a number of courses this semester. Among them,
English I, Economics and Biology.
How to Correct Added-Detail Fragments

• Attach the fragment to the complete thought that precedes it.

 My apartment has its drawbacks, for example, no hot water in the
morning
 I love to cook and eat Bengali food, especially Kacchi and Payesh.
• Add a subject and a verb to the fragment to make it a complete
sentence.
 My apartment has its drawbacks. For example, there is no hot water
in the morning
 Bernardo always buys things out of season, such as, he bought an air
conditioner in December.
• Change words as necessary to make the fragment part of the preceding
sentence. For example,
 The drawbacks of my apartment are, there is no hot water in the
morning.
 Among the courses he failed this semester were English I,
4. MISSING SUBJECT
FRAGMENTS
People write missing-subject fragments because they think the
subject in one sentence will apply to the next word group as
well. But the subject,as well as the verb, must be in each word
group to make a sentence.
 One example of my grandfather’s generosity is that he visits
sick friends in the hospital. And takes along get-well cards
with a few dollars folded in them.
 My father grunted as he lifted up a heavy box. Then with a
loud groan, dropped them
How to Correct Missing-Subject Fragments

1. Attach the fragment to the preceding sentence.

• One example of my grandfather’s generosity is that he visits sick
friends in the hospital and takes along get-well cards with a few
dollars folded in them.
• My father grunted as he lifted up a heavy box then with a loud
groan, dropped them

2. Add a subject (which can often be a pronoun standing for the subject
in the preceding sentence).
• One example of my grandfather’s generosity is that he visits sick
friends in the hospital. And he takes along get-well cards with a
few dollars folded in them.
• My father grunted as he lifted up a heavy box. Then with a loud
groan, he dropped them
1
After Ron’s exam ended. He decided to take a long break from
studies. He was planning for a vacation in Japan. 2While having
no money. Ron decided to work part time in KFC. 3A place
famous for their burgers. He worked hard all day and night.
4
Making burgers after burgers. He still kept working hard while
thinking about Japan. 5It being the only thing that he dreamed
of. He planned on working overtime. 6To get his job finished. 7To
earn more money. He started going home late. Ron started
eating unhealthy foods. 8For example, burgers. One day, he
woke up with a chest pain. 9Then with a loud scream fainted.
RUN-ON
A run-on sentence occurs when two independent clauses / complete
thoughts run together without proper punctuation or appropriate
conjunctions.
If you don’t connect the clauses with a semicolon or comma with a
conjunction, the sentence is incorrect. These mistakes are called run-on
sentences.

Clause :
A single clause alone, with proper punctuation, is a complete sentence. If
you want to connect two or more clauses together in English, you need to
use the right grammar. Usually, you can connect clauses correctly by adding
a comma with a conjunction or adding a semicolon to the sentence.
Types of Run-Ons

1.Fused sentences :

• 2 sentences are fused, joined together

• No punctuation mark used to break between two or more thoughts.
• They are fused or joined together as if they were only one thought.
The exam was postponed the class was canceled as well.

2. Comma splices :

• A comma is used to connect or “splice” together the two complete

thoughts.
• A comma alone is not enough.
• Some connection stronger than a comma alone is needed
The exam was postponed, the class was canceled as well.
Correcting run-ons:

• Period and a capital letter

• Comma plus a joining word
• Semicolon
• Subordination

Example:
1. I love to write letters I would write one every day if I had the time.
(Fused sentence)
2. The flowers are beautiful, they brighten the room. (Comma splices)

Method 1 : Period and a capital letter

- I love to write letters. I would write one every day if I had the time.
- The flowers are beautiful. They brighten the room.
Method 2 : Comma plus a joining word/ coordinating conjunction

and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet

- I love to write letters, and I would write one every day if I had the time.
- The flowers are beautiful, and they brighten the room.

Method 3 : Semicolon
Semicolon alone

- I love to write letters; I would write one every day if I had the time.
- The flowers are beautiful; they brighten the room.

Semicolon with a Transition

- I love to write letters; therefore, I would write one every day if I had the time.
- The flowers are beautiful; moreover, they brighten the room.
Method 4 : Subordination
Adding a subordinating conjunction (when, while, because, as, although,
if, though, since) to make one sentence out of the two clauses.

Turn one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause.

I love to write letters, I would write one every day if I had the
time.
- Because I love to write letters, I would write one every day if I had the
time.

The flowers are beautiful, they brighten the room.

- Since the flowers are beautiful, they brighten the room.
Sentence 1
- The exam was postponed.
Sentence 2
- The syllabus was increased.
Run-ons
- The exam was postponed the syllabus was increased.
- The exam was postponed, the syllabus was increased.

Correct sentence :
1. Period and a capital letter
- The exam was postponed. The syllabus was increased.
1. Comma plus a joining word
- The exam was postponed, so the syllabus was increased.
1. Semicolon
- The exam was postponed; the syllabus was increased.
- The exam was postponed; therefore, the syllabus was increased.
1. Subordination
- Since the exam was postponed, the syllabus was increased.
Homonyms

Words that
have the same
sound but
different
meaning and
spelling.
Know, No
1. Dogs and cats usually _________________ by the tone of the speaker’s voice when they
are being told_________________ .
Peace, Piece
2. Upon hearing that ________________ of music, my angry mood was gradually replaced
by one of _________________ .
Desert, Dessert
3. Certain medications can make your mouth feel as dry as a ____________ .
4. For me, a real ____________ must contain chocolate.
Right, Write
5. Without the ____________ amount of advance planning, it is difficult to ____________ a
good research paper.
To, Too, Two
6. The____________ of them have been dating for a year, but lately they seem
____________ be arguing ____________ often to pretend nothing is wrong.
Principal, principle
7. If the ____________ ingredient in this stew is octopus, I’ll abandon my ____________ of
trying everything at least once
INCONSISTENT VERB TENSE
Verb tense: Verb tense refers to when the action in a sentence takes place—
whether it happened in the past, is happening in the present, or will happen
in the future.
Changes in verb tense help readers understand the relationships among
various events. However, unnecessary or inconsistent shifts in tense can
cause confusion.

Do not shift tenses unnecessarily.

If you begin writing in the present tense, don’t shift suddenly

to the past.
If you begin in the past, don’t shift without reason to the
present.
Inconsistent verb tense :

1. Gary stood up and drops his glass.

2. We parked the car and head toward the movie theater.
3. In my nightmare, a hairy spider crawled up the side of my bed and
races quickly onto my pillow.
4. As soon as I get out of bed, I did fifty pushups.
5. As soon as I got out of bed, I do fifty pushups.
6. Mark finished his essay, tidies his room, and went out for supper.
7. Before I began college, I work full-time as a data entry clerk for a
supply company.