Transcript Teaching Grammar

Proofreading
Week 12 (12/24/2009)
Peiling Hsia
Contents:



Proofreading guideline
Common errors of writing a paper
Review of manuscript
Proofreading guideline
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/01/

A good research paper has
- a clear statement of the problem the paper is addressing,
- the proposed solution(s),
- and results achieved.
It describes clearly what has been done before on the problem,
and what is new.

A paper should focus on
- describing the results in sufficient details to establish their validity
- identifying the novel aspects of the results
(what new knowledge is reported)
- identifying the significance of the results
(what improvements and impact do they suggest)

The goal of a paper is to describe novel technical results.
General Strategies

Take a break! Allow yourself some time between writing
and proofing.

Leave yourself enough time. Always read through your
writing slowly.

Get others involved. Let you get another perspective on
your writing and a fresh reader will be able to help you
catch mistakes that you might have overlooked.

Place a ruler under each line as you read it. This will give
your eyes a manageable amount of text to read.

Correctness. Write correct English.

Role-play. While reading, put yourself in your audience's
shoes.

Information flow. In each sentence, move your reader
from familiar information to new information.

Emphasis. For material you want to carry weight or be
remembered, use the end of a sentence.

Coherence. In a coherent passage, choose subjects that
refer to a consistent set of related concepts.
1. Finding Common Errors

Proofreading can be much easier when you know what
you are looking for. Although everyone will have different
error patterns, the following are issues that come up for
many writers. Always remember to make note of what
errors you make frequently—this will help you proofread
more efficiently in the future!

Proofread for one type of error at a time. If commas are
your most frequent problem, go through the paper
checking just that one problem.
2. Spelling


Do NOT rely on your computer's spellcheck — it will not
get everything!
Examine each word in the paper individually by reading
carefully.
3. Left-out and doubled words


Left-out and doubled words
Reading the paper aloud (and slowly) can help you make
sure you haven't missed or repeated any words.
4. Fragment Sentences



Make sure each sentence has a subject.
Make sure each sentence has a complete verb.
See that each sentence has an independent clause.
5. Run-on Sentences


Review each sentence to see whether it contains more than one
independent clause.
If there is more than one independent clause, check to make sure
the clauses are separated by the appropriate punctuation.
Example run-on:
I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports
all I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.
Edited version:
I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports,
and all I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.
Another option:
I have to write a research paper for my class about extreme sports.
All I know about the subject is that I'm interested in it.
6. Comma Splices



Look at the sentences that have commas. Check to see if the
sentence contains two main clauses.
If there are two main clauses, they should be connected with a
comma and a conjunction like and, but, for, or, so, yet.
Another option is to take out the comma and insert a semicolon
instead.
Example:
I would like to write my paper about basketball, it's a topic I can talk
about at length.
Edited version:
I would like to write my paper about basketball, because it's a topic I
can talk about at length.
Edited version, using a semicolon:
I would like to write my paper about basketball; it's a topic I can talk
about at length.
7. Subject/Verb Agreement


Find the subject of each sentence.
Find the verb that goes with the subject.
Example:
Students at the university level usually is very busy.
Edited version:
Students at the university level usually are very busy.
8. Mixed construction


Read through your sentences carefully to make sure that
they do not start with one sentence structure and shift to
another.
A sentence that does this is called a mixed construction.
Example:
Since I have a lot of work to do is why I can't go out
tonight.
Edited version:
Since I have a lot of work to do, I can't go out tonight.
9. Parallelism


Look through your paper for series of items and make
sure these items are in parallel form.
Order your text so your reader can easily see how
related concepts are different and how they are similar.
Example:
Being a good friend involves good listening skills, to be
considerate, and that you know how to have fun.
Edited version:
Being a good friend involves knowing how to listen,
being considerate, and having fun.
10. Pronoun Reference/Agreement


Skim your paper, stopping at each pronoun.
Search for the noun that the pronoun replaces.

If you can find a noun, be sure it agrees in number and
person with your pronoun.

Consistent names. Refer to each significant
character or concept using the same word
everywhere. Give a significant new character a
proper name.

Pronouns always present a problem with shifts. People
can also confuse the meaning of paragraph by making
an unjustified shift in number.
Example:
Shift: Each electronics student was asked to bring in their
old television set to repair.
Corrected: Each electronics student was asked to bring in
his (or her) old television set to repair.
Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
their own calculations.
Accountants should do ____
her/his job to be exciting.
Everyone wants _______
their books to the
Some of the bookkeepers brought ____
session.
its last year of usefulness.
All of the equipment is in ____
its recipient.
None of the appreciation was relayed to ____
its
Half of the crop lost _____
leaves to worms.
All employees were instructed to give _____
their permits at
the gate.
her orders for the
Each of the waitresses picked up _____
shift.
Revising for Cohesion


Begin sentences with short, simple words and phrases.
Communicate information that appeared in previous
sentences

Topics are crucial for readers because readers
depend on topics to focus their attention on particular
ideas toward the beginning of sentences.

Topics tell readers what a whole passage is "about." If
readers feel that a sequence of topics is coherent, then
they will feel they are moving through a paragraph from
a cumulatively coherent point of view.

But if throughout the paragraph readers feel that its
topics shift randomly, then they have to begin each
sentence out of context, from no coherent point of view.
When that happens, readers feel dislocated, disoriented,
and out of focus.
1. Diagnosis

Underline the first few words of every sentence in a
paragraph, ignoring short introductory phrases such as
"In the beginning," or "For the most part.“

If you can, underline the first few words of every clause.
2. Analysis

Read your underlined words. Is there a
consistent series of related topics?

Will your reader see these connections among
the topics?

Decide what you will focus on in each paragraph.

Imagine that the passage has a title. The words
in the title should identify what should be the
topics of most of the sentences.
3. Revision

Put most of the subjects at the beginning of your
sentences.

Avoid hiding your topic by opening sentences
with long introductory clauses or phrases.
Questions to Ask Yourself as You
Revise Sentences

Do your sentences "hang together?“

Does each sentence "cohere" with the one before and after it ?

Are sentences in a paragraph unified with each other ?

Does the sentence begin with information familiar to the
reader?

Does the sentence end with interesting information the reader
would not anticipate?

Will your reader be able to identify quickly the "topic" of each
paragraph?
Revising Your Paper

revise your papers by reorganizing them to make your
best points stand out:
Add needed
information
Eliminate
irrelevant
information
Clarify sections
or sentences
6 Steps for Revising Your Paper
1. Find your main point.
2. Evaluate your evidence.
3. Save only the good pieces.
4. Tighten and clean up your language.
5. Eliminate mistakes in grammar and usage.
6. Switch from Writer-Centered to ReaderCentered
1. Find your main point.

What are you trying to say in the paper? In other
words, try to summarize your thesis, or main
point, and the evidence you are using to support
that point.

Try to imagine that this paper belongs to
someone else. Does the paper have a clear
thesis? Do you know what the paper is going to
be about?
2. Evaluate your evidence.

Does the body of your paper support your thesis?
Do you offer enough evidence to support your
claim?

If you are using quotations from the text as
evidence, did you cite them properly?
3. Save only the good pieces.

Do all of the ideas relate back to the thesis?

Is there anything that doesn't seem to fit? If so,
you either need to change your thesis to reflect
the idea or cut the idea.
4. Tighten and clean up your language.

Do all of the ideas in the paper make sense?

Are there unclear or confusing ideas or
sentences?

Read your paper out loud and listen for awkward
pauses and unclear ideas.

Cut out extra words, vagueness, and misused
words.
5. Eliminate mistakes in grammar and
usage.

Do you see any problems with grammar,
punctuation, or spelling? If you think something
is wrong, you should make a note of it, even if
you don't know how to fix it. You can always talk
to a Writing Lab tutor about how to correct errors.
6. Switch from Writer-Centered to
Reader-Centered

Try to detach yourself from what you've written;
pretend that you are reviewing someone else's
work.

What would you say is the most successful part
of your paper? Why? How could this part be
made even better?

What would you say is the least successful part
of your paper? Why? How could this part be
improved?
Common errors
1)
Hyphenated words—If the first word is used as an
adjective, no hyphen is necessary (e.g., first generation).
If the first word is a noun, then you need to hyphenate
(e.g., range-limited).
2)
Normally, integers less than ten are spelled out. Thus
one will write “six cells” instead of “6 cells.” Integers
larger than ten and fractional numbers are written in
Arabic digits, i.e., 12, 5.6, etc.
Fractional numbers are considered plurals. Thus, we
will say “one meter,” but “0.5 meters.”
3) In technical papers, there are usually symbols, and the
question arises as to which article to use in front of
symbols. Should we say a M/M/1 queue or an M/M/1
queue?
The rule is the same as in regular writing without
symbols, i.e., if the word starts with a vowel, namely, the
letters a, e, i, o, u, you will use the article “an”; otherwise,
you will use “a.”
However, we need to determine how the symbol is
pronounced. In the case of M/M/1, we pronounce it “emem-one,” i.e., it starts with a vowel.
Compare this with a B-ISDN network. In this case, the B
in B-ISDN is pronounced like “bee,” i.e., not a vowel.
4) The first time a symbol is used, explain what it means,
usually with the symbol in brackets, e.g., one will write
“Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).”
Subsequently, use the symbol only. This is in keeping
with the concept of conciseness.
5) Try avoiding negative words like “not,” “un,” “non,” etc.,
as well as double negatives such as “not invalid,” “not
uninteresting” as much as possible.
For example, use “invalid” instead of “not valid,” use
“violating” instead of “not satisfying.”
7) Say “greatly improves” rather than “highly improves” or
“largely improves.”
8) The words “work” and “research” are already in plural
form. Thus we do not say “Existing works in this area ” or
“Prior researches ”
9) Avoid using multiple superlatives. Use “best” rather than
“very best,” “optimal” rather than “most optimal.”
10) Do not start a sentence with “also.” Use words such as
“Besides,” “Moreover,” “In addition” instead.
11) The words “figure,” “table,” “theorem,” “lemma,” etc.
may be used as proper or common nouns. Proper
nouns must be capitalized.
They are proper nouns when a number or some other
attribute follows them. For example, we say, “Fig. 1
illustrates ” and “In this figure, we illustrate… ”
12) Semi-colons can be used to break up groups of objects.
For example, “Set A comprises numbers 1, 2, 3; Set B
comprises 4, 5, 6; Set C comprises 7, 8.”
13) Avoid repeated usage.
(o) “ the storage required in the first case is greater than
that in the second case.”
(X) “ the storage required in the first case is greater than
the storage required in the second case.”
14) English and American spelling is sometimes different, i.e.,
“colour” versus “color.” Try to be consistent throughout
the text.
Web links

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html (How to Write
a PhD Thesis )

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/paper.html (Writing and
publishing a scientific paper )

http://www.journals.asm.org/misc/reviewguide.shtml
(GUIDELINES FOR REVIEWERS for ASM Journals)

http://www.cigr.org/InstructionsforReviewers.htm Instructions for
Reviewers (CIGR –international Commission of Agricultural
Engineering)

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/03/briefing/4010b1-12%20EPA.htm (Example of “response to reviewers”)