Aaron Kelly
Top tips for proofreading
Print it off early / leave it a day
Look for one issue at a time
Read it aloud slowly
Take care with cut and pasting
Learn punctuation rules
Check your referencing
DRAFT, DRAFT AND REDRAFT
Get a friend to read and provide feedback
Why improve your understanding
of grammar and punctuation?
Grammar checkers on computers are not
foolproof!
Demonstrating an understanding of grammar
and punctuation will impress your tutors
It will enhance written communication skills often considered a highly desirable skill by
employers
The colon
TO INTRODUCE AN IDEA
You are left with only one option: practice
regularly until you have mastered it.
There is only one thing you need to know about
colons: the more you practice the better you will
become.
The colon
TO INTRODUCE A LIST
Most students have a wide taste in music:
commercial, deep house and rock.
The soup contained several key ingredients:
vegetable stock, large onions, carrots and
coriander.
The semi – colon
IN COMPLICATED LISTS
In the meeting today we have present Professor
Wilson, University of Barnsley; Dr Watson,
University of Liverpool; Mr Aaron Kelly, Senior
Resident Tutor, Liverpool Hope University and
Miss Susan Murray, Head of Library Services,
Liverpool Hope University.
The semi – colon
Separating closely – related independent
clauses
Liverpool Hope is a great university; the tutors are
supportive and the students are super friendly.
Students often fear using the semi – colon; this is
often due to lack of understanding.
The comma splice
The comma splice occurs when a comma is
used to connect two independent clauses
Liverpool Hope is a great university, the
tutors are supportive and the students are
super friendly.
Students often fear using the semi – colon,
this is often due to lack of understanding.
Using a comma with a
conjunction
A comma should always be used BEFORE
conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so to separate
independent causes.
eg: He hated commas, so he never used them
NOT – He hated commas so, he never used them
These are called coordinating conjunctions
There is very often no need to use a comma with the
conjunction ‘because’.
Other common errors!
Avoid using contractions! e.g. shouldn’t, won’t, it’s.
Avoid using the vernacular and casual everyday
words
Always write abbreviations in full the first time you
see them e.g. The Department for Education (DfE)
implies that….
Don’t be tempted to use complex language that isn’t
your own just to make your work appear ‘academic’
Avoid using non – quantifiable descriptions
Subject / verb agreement
Plural subject, singular verb
Careful planning and a clear mind is important
for writing a good academic essay.
Careful planning and a clear mind are important
for writing a good academic essay.
In this sentence, careful planning and clear mind
are a subject of the verb (writing) and as they are
plural the verb has to be plural: are rather than is
Singular Subject / plural verb
Aaron’s taste in books was fantastic (correct)
Aaron’s taste in book were fantastic (incorrect)
The subject in this sentence is Aaron’s taste, which
is singular. It therefore needs a singular verb: was
rather than were
Singular Subject / plural verb
Problems can occur with collective nouns such as
group of, a collection of, etc. These are singular!
For example:
A small group of birds were flying across the
midnight sea.
(incorrect)
A small group of birds was flying across the midnight
see.
(correct)
Which of these sentences uses
the colon correctly?
A) The jazz band contained the following
instruments: trumpets, trombones and saxophones.
B) The jazz band contained: trumpets, trombones
and trumpets.
C) The jazz band contained: trumpets, trombones,
trumpets.
Right answer – A
Which of these sentences uses
the semi - colon correctly?
A) Greece is a beautiful country; lovely beaches
and friendly people.
B) Greece is a beautiful country; the beaches
are lovely and the people are friendly.
C) Greece is a beautiful country; people are so
friendly.
Correct answer - B
Identify the sentence that
contains the the comma splice
Aaron loves cake, he eats it at least twice a week.
At the beginning of the book, the author and
publishers details can be found.
Robert describes a term that dates back to the 18th
century, when poverty was rife.
Correct answer – A
For more information!
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar
/grammar_tutorial/page_01.htm