Essentials of English Usage
Following are some problems commonly found in college students’ writing. Each type of problem is identified by a general abbreviation that your professor may use to indicate the presence of this error in your sentence. This list includes errors (that is, violations of rules of grammar and punctuation) as well as problems of expression.
Choose your area of inexpertise:
| Abbreviation | Error | Abbreviation | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| act | active vs. passive voice | poss | possessives |
| agr | agreement | pr | primer style |
| ca | case | p-ref | pronoun reference |
| cite | citation | p | punctuation |
| cs | comma splice | pq | punctuation of quotations |
| cg | congruity | ps | subordinate elements, punctuation of |
| da | dangling element | r | run-on |
| d | diction | semi | semicolon use |
| f | fragment | sxt | sexist language |
| j | jargon | su | subordination |
| mp | misplaced modifier | t | tense |
| m | mood | u | unity |
| pl | parallelism | w | wordiness |
| pv | passive voice |
Find Your Voice
What good is having a great idea if you can’t communicate it effectively? We’ll teach you how to express yourself through writing and speaking, of course, but also through digital communications and artistic expression — all of which will help you stand out no matter what path you choose after graduation.
