COMMON MISCUES FOUND AMONGST
SENIOR RAMBLINGS
Pronoun Reference difficulties –
unclear, broad, indefinite (WT, pp. 81-86)
“This . . .” That . . .” (WT, p. 86)
“Thing” (LH, p. 1)
Thing One or Thing Two?
“The thing is that I think that the thing
that bothers me most is that something
is wrong when things are out of place.”
Proper use of “thing”
Phil. 4:8
FS – fused sentence (WT, p. 63)
CS – comma splice (WT, pp. 62-63)
Ending sentences with prepositions –
“with, for, of ” (WT, p. 200, 240)
(Phrasal verbs)
Comma usage – guessing! (WT, p. 131)
Contractions (MLA Handbook, p. 90)
“So” as in “so much.”
When so is paired with that, it becomes more
acceptable in writing. For example, even though it's
considered bad form to write, "I was so happy," it's OK
to write, "I was so happy that I jumped for joy." When
you say you are so happy that you jumped for joy, so
becomes an indefinite adverb of degree instead of a
vague intensifier. In other words, so leads into a
thought about how happy you were. How happy were
you? So happy that you jumped for joy. The
grammarians find it much more acceptable when so is
linked to another clause like “that you jumped for joy.”
It's usually better to use a stronger adjective (like
“elated” for “so happy”) to describe something than to
throw a so or a very in front of a weak adjective.
Formatting Issues
Lines of poetry
three or more typed lines – indent entire selection one
inch and no quotation marks are added (see WT, p. 258).
Lines of Prose
more than four lines of prose - indent entire selection one
inch and no quotation marks are added (see WT, p. 258).
In addition, check the proper way to cite these
situations; it is a little different than normal.
The Literary
Present
The basic rule is this: You should use the past tense
when discussing historical events, while you should
use the literary present when discussing fictional
events.
Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic
creations are assumed to exist in an eternal present.
When you are writing about writers or artists as they
express themselves in their work, stay in the present
tense.
For Example:
•In Michelangelo's painting, Christ judges the world.
•Johnson's characters journey to Cairo.
•Plato argues without much conviction.
•Paul writes about the hardships he has endured.
But when you are writing about a certain historical
event (even the creation of a literary or artistic work),
use the past tense. Some examples:
•Paul wrote in the first century.
•Picasso then produced a series of sculptures.
Sometimes a sentence must employ both present and
past tense. For example:
•The first part of the poem, which she completed in
1804, describes the effects of isolation from society.
In Summary
When you quote directly from a text or
allude to the events in a story (as in a brief
plot summary), you should use "the literary
present." We write about written works as if
the events in them are happening now,
even though the authors may be long dead.
Quoting an essay, you would write:
Annie Dillard wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek when
she lived in Virginia's mountains. In the book's
chapter, "Seeing," Annie Dillard contends that
"vision... is a deliberate gift, the revelation of a
dancer who for my eyes only flings away her seven
veils" (17).