Guide to Response Symbols
by Jennifer Borton
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(Please ASK if, after you’ve read about the particular error in your blue Style Sheet booklet, you’re still unsure about what it means. My corrections are meant to help you improve your writing in general, not just your writing for my class.)
|
Abbreviation
|
Problem
|
|---|---|
| agr | incorrect agreement between subject & verb or between pronoun & antecedent |
| anth | anthropomorphizing (attributing human capacities or qualities to inhuman objects; e.g., “The theory says…”. Better: “According to the theory…”) |
| awk | awkward phrasing |
| ca | incorrect case (I/me, we/us, she/her, he/him, who/whom) |
| cg | problem with congruity (includes incomplete/incongruous comparisons, shift in person, shift in number, shift in tense, etc.) |
| cit | citation (reference) needed |
| comp | finish the comparison (used less/more, higher/lower, etc. without saying less or more than what) |
| cont | avoid using contractions in formal writing |
| d | error of diction (incorrect word choice; e.g., affect vs. effect, its vs. it's, less vs. fewer, while vs. whereas or although, since vs. because) |
| da | dangling elements (e.g., “In reading over my paper, it was clear that it needed some work.”) |
| inc | incomplete sentence |
| mm | misplaced modifier (e.g., “To measure self-esteem, the participants will complete…¿” Better: “To measure self-esteem, the experimenters will distribute…”) |
| mw | missing word |
| ONW! | omit needless words! |
| ¶ | new paragraph needed |
| pl | sentence is not parallel in form |
| poss | possessive (incorrect apostrophe) |
|
Abbreviation
|
Problem
|
| p.o.v. | point of view (avoid writing in the 2nd person, i.e., don't use “you”) |
| prep | don’t end a sentence with a preposition |
| punc | problem with punctuation |
| pv | use of passive voice |
| subj | incorrect use of subjunctive (e.g., using “would” when you’re writing about the past) |
| t | problem with verb tense |
| v. r. | vague referent (e.g., use of “this” or “they” without a clear antecedent) |
Guide to Psychology-Specific Corrections (including APA style)
| alph | alphabetize references in parentheses or alphabetize references in reference section |
| caps | capitalize running head |
| use “men” and “women” | |
| part | use “participants” instead of “subjects” when referring to humans (Often, I'll abbreviate participants as “Ps”). |
| sp | no extra space needed (everything should simply be double-spaced) |
