Peer Review Editing Practice: Fixing Common Errors

A complete sentence consists of...

• a subject

• a verb

• a complete thought

Why is the sentence below a fragment?

Reading the essay.

• It is missing a subject.

• It is missing a verb.

• It is missing a complete thought.

• It is missing a subject and a complete verb.

Answer explanation

We need to know WHO is reading the essay, so this "sentence" is missing a subject. If YOU are reading the essay (e.g., you are the subject), there needs be ARE before the verb READING to make the verb complete.

You are reading the essay.

In the sentence example below which word is the verb?

The student edits his essay.

Answer explanation

If the action is in real-time, the verb can become a verb phrase with a helping verb and the main action verb:

The student is reading his essay.

In the following sentence, which word is the subject?

Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process.

• proofreading

• the final stage

• the writing process

• the final stage of the writing process

Answer explanation

Tip 1: To find the subject, locate the main verb and decide what/who is doing the action.

Tip 2: Ignore prepositional phrases (of, to, over, under) which are usually attached to objects--not subjects.

Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process.

Which part of the writing sample below is a fragment/incomplete sentence?

To fix a fragment, you can often attach it to the sentence before or after it.

Which is easy to do.

• To fix a fragment,

• To fix a fragment, you can often attach it to the sentnece before or after it.

• Which is easy to do.

Answer explanation

Just add a comma before "which" and make it one complete sentence!

What is a run-on sentence?

• independent clauses fused together without proper punctuation or connecting words

• a sentence containing an independent clause and a fragment

• a really long sentence

• a sentence containing a series of fragments

Answer explanation

Reminder: An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence and contains the following:

A subject + verb + complete thought.

How can you fix the run-on sentence below? Choose all that apply.

It is important to proofread an essay it is the final stage of the writing process.

• It is important to proofread an essay. It is the final stage of the writing process.

• It is important to proofread an essay; it is the final stage of the writing process.

• It is important to proofread an essay; in fact, it is the final stage of the writing process.

• It is important to proofread an essay, and it is the final stage of the writing process.

• It is important to proofread an essay, which is the final stage of the writing process.

Answer explanation

All of the sentence revisions are good ways to correct a run-on sentence! The key methods are...

1) separate the independent clauses (ICs) into two sentences

2) separate the ICs with a semicolon or a semicolon and a transition

3) separate the ICs with a comma and a conjunction

4) make one of the clauses a dependent clause

Which of the following statements best describes a comma-splice?

• Two independent clauses combined with a comma

• A series of dependent clauses separated by commas

• A sentence that has too many commas

• A sentence that is missing a required comma

Answer explanation

Reminder: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence; it consists of the following...

Subject + verb + complete thought.

The sentence below is a comma-splice.

What are some ways to fix it? Choose all that apply.

There are many proofreading techniques, one is to read your essay out loud.

• Replace the comma with a semicolon.

• Replace the comma with a period.

• Add a conjunction (and, but, so, etc.) after the comma.

• Make one of the independent clauses a dependent clause.

Answer explanation

You can correct a comma-splice in all of these ways. This is what it looks like to make one of the clauses dependent:

It is good to read your essay out loud because it is a great way to proofread.

Which word in the sentence below is the subject?

Another reader can help you catch errors in your essay.

• Another readea

• you

• your essay

• errors

Answer explanation

Reminder: The subject is what or who is doing the main action (the verb) in the sentence.