Students taking classes outside on the Clarkson campus

Common Errors

If you're worried about a certain element of your writing, chances are you'll find an article about how to fix it here. We've taken a look at the most common grammatical and structural errors and came up with some examples and techniques on how to fix each of them. (All of the links below are in Microsoft Word format.)

  • Apostrophes, possessive: So, you add an apostrophe after every word that ends with an "s," right? Nope. Confusing? Apostrophes can be tricky. If you're not certain how to use them, look here.
  • Avoiding Plot Summary: In this four-page summary, you will learn what plot summary is, why professors dislike it, how to avoid it, and see some examples.
  • Commas: If you've been wondering where to put a comma, this is the place to look.
  • Concluding Paragraphs: What do you do when you've turned in your first paper and your professor has written "conclusion is weak" in terrible handwriting at the bottom of your page? Read this.
  • Easily Confused Words: There is a problem. Too many people are mixing up their words, and they're making their professors unhappy.
  • Eliminating Wordiness: Forsooth! I daresay we've found another article, this time relating to the problem of having just a few too many words.
  • Quotations: "Putting quotations into a paragraph is an easy way for you to show that you have supporting evidence to further back up your argument/thesis statement" (Streeter, 2005).
  • Run-Ons and Comma Splices: So there was this time once when I was writing a paper for my professor, and he told me that my sentences just went on and on and on and on. Seriously I don't know what's up with that!
  • Subject-Verb Agreement: The ninth article in the series, they talk about how to make your subject and verb match it. It's like basic addition, for writing.
  • Thesis Statements: Adding a strong thesis statement to your paper can make the life of the reader far easier.
  • Using "I": I didn't write this, and that's appropriate to say. When else is it appropriate to use "I" in your papers?.
  • Vague Pronouns: When you're writing about that and not sure what "that" refers to, this is the stop.
  • Voice, Active vs. Passive: This article was written by a former tutor, and it addresses how to use active instead of passive voice in your papers.

Article descriptions written by Justin Barnett, 2005.