Avoiding Common Writing Errors

Spelling & Capitalization

Don't capitalize school subject or majors, unless in resume or chart.

Languages are always capitalized, e.g., English, Spanish, etc.

Don't capitalize school type (e.g., elementary, junior high, high school) unless you are writing about a particular middle school (e.g., Plover-Whiting Elementary School).

Punctuation

Review possessive and plurals. Apostrophes show ownership. With a plural the apostrophe is after the s.

Good: one parent's rights
Good: many parents' rights
Bad: working with parent’s

Only use a semicolon if each part of the sentence could be a complete sentence by itself.

Good: I thought she was sad; actually, she was just tired.
Bad: I thought she was sad; actually, just tired.

Be careful with "however".

Good: Students should have choices. However, rules must be respected.
Good: Students should have choices; however, rules must be respected.
Bad: Students should have choices, however, rules must be respected.

Use comma in a list, including before the last item

Good: teachers, students, and parents

Grammar

Check for pronoun agreement

Good: a student wanted to share his/her idea
Bad: a student wanted to share their idea

You can avoid this problem by using plurals

Example: students wanted to share their ideas

Use consistent verb tense.

Good: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I planned lessons.
Bad: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I plan lessons.
Bad: I talked with my cooperating teacher, and I would plan lessons.

Make items in series parallel

Good: I reviewed textbooks, planned programs and supervised recess.
Bad: I reviewed textbooks, plan programs and supervising recess.

Structure, Sentence Beginnings, & Transitions

Start with a clear, separate introduction. End with a clear, separate conclusion.

Proofread for sentence fragments and run-on sentences.

Double check to avoid sentences that begin alike.

e.g., My teacher... My cooperating teacher... My teacher...
e.g., I believe... I believe... I believe...

Help your reader with transitions. Don’t expect them to leap in their thinking or read between the lines.

Be careful with words like it, this, and who. Your reader may not know what you're talking about, especially if you're writing about several ideas or things.

Voice & Point of View

You are a teacher. Use “I” language. Be careful about using “You” language.

Good: In my classroom, I am going to...
Good: As a teacher, I am going to...
Bad: As a teacher, you should...
Good: I will try to learn my students' names.
Bad: Teachers should try to learn their students' names.

Use direct construction.

Good: I have twelve students in my class.
Bad: There are twelve students in my class.”

Be thrifty with phrases like "I believe," I think," and "In my opinion." Your name is at the top: I know these are your ideas.

Other Issues When Editing

You will almost always use pseudonyms for teachers and students, to protect their privacy.

Be careful with certainty and absolutes

Good: I will always try to be funny.
Bad: I will always be funny.
Good: Most students usually don't want to do homework.
Bad: All students never want to do homework.

Be careful with creating new metaphors for learning. It's usually better to use familiar phrases than to invent new phrases, since new phrases can be confusing

Good: The new lesson helped the students learn better.
Bad: The new lesson helped the students fill up more of their potential.

Be careful with effect and affect

Replace:

a lot with very much or many

Created by Kym Buchanan | http://KymBuchanan.org | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.