20 Most Common Errors: A Guide for Writers in Botany



20 MOST COMMON ERRORS: A GUIDE FOR WRITERS IN BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE

The twenty most common errors in college writing were identified by Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors in research examining thousands of students essays in the late 1980's. Explanations of the errors have been adapted from The Everyday Writer by Lunsford and Connors (New York: St. Martin’s, Press, 1997, pages 11-14.).

1. Missing comma after an introductory element

Many sentences begin with one or more introductory elements—clauses, phrases, or single words that lead into the main body of the sentence. To show where an introductory element ends and the main part of the sentence begins (thus helping your readers move more easily through the sentence), insert a comma after the introductory element. If the sentence includes multiple introductory elements, use a comma after each one.

Even if the introductory element is a single word in length, use a comma to set it off from the main body of the sentence.

Wrong:Incorrect: Collectively by mass the cashew is usually considered ranks as the third or fourth greatest nut of commerce (by mass) worldwide.

Right:Correct: Collectively, by mass, the cashew is usually considered usually ranks as the third or fourth greatest nut of commerce (by mass) (by mas) worldwide.

2. Vague Pronoun reference

Readers should be able to easily identify a pronoun’s antecedent (that is, the specific word or phrase to which the pronoun refers). If the antecedent is unclear (either because there is more than one possible pronoun reference or because the word to which the pronoun refers is implied but not actually stated in the text), you need to make the reference more explicit.

Readers should be able to clearly understand what specific word or words are being referred to by a pronoun.

Wrong:Incorrect: The rurally situated Pprocessing plants, located in rural areas, purchase nuts from local farmers and , provideing employment for villagerswomen.; tThey represent a local, diffuse cash infusion.

Correct: Right: : The rurally situated processing plants purchase nuts from local farmers and provide employment for villagers. These processing plants represent a local, diffuse cash infusion.

Processing plants, located in rural areas, purchase nuts, providing employment for women, and represent a local, diffuse cash infusion.

3. Missing comma in a compound sentence

When two independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as separate sentences) are joined by a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, so, yet, nor, or for, precede the conjunction with a comma to signal a pause between the two parts of the sentence. The pause gives pace to the sentence and helps prevent sentence misreadings. In the following example, the sentence contains three independent clauses.

When two clauses that could each stand along are joined by a conjunction like and, but, so, yet, nor, or for, a comma should be used before the conjunction to separate the clauses.

Wrong:Incorrect: A number of other pests cause minor disfigurement of leaves and fruit but these pests do not seriously affect nut production and so they are usually ignored by owners.

Correct: Right: A number of other pests cause minor disfigurement of leaves and fruit,s, but these pests do not seriously affect nut production, and so they are usually ignored by owners.

Note: Be sure to distinguish between compound sentences, as defined above, and complex sentences that, which have two or more predicate phrases but only one subject. Complex sSentences do with a compound predicate do not take a comma between the two parts of the predicate. For example:

Wrong:Incorrect: These pests disfigure leaves and fruit, but don’t affect nut production.

Correct: Right: These pests disfigure leaves and fruit but don’t affect nut production.

4. Wrong word

Most instances of this error arise from confusion or carelessness regarding homonyms or other words that either sound similar or have similar meanings. Wrong-word errors may also result from overly casual use of a thesaurus.( Be sure to consult a dictionary if you’re not sure of the exact meaning of a word you find in a thesaurus.)

Most of these errors arise from confusion or carelessness regarding homonyms or from causal use of a thesaurus.

Wrong:Incorrect: Are interest in cashew began in 1985 with the observations that both single and small groups of cashew trees naturalized nationalized around the Calicut district of, Kerala, India, were visited by foraging ants, spiders, and wasps.

Correct: Right: Our interest in cashew began in 1985 with the observations that both single and small groups of cashew trees naturalized around the Calicut district of , Kerala, India , were visited by foraging ants, spiders, and wasps.

5. Missing comma(s) with a non-restrictive element

Non-restrictive elements are words, phrases, and clauses that provide relevant information in a sentence but are not essential to the sentence’s basic meaning. Non-restrictive elements in a sentence should be set off (on both sides) with commas. In the following example, the non-restrictive element is underlined.

A non-restrictive element is one that is not essential to a sentence’s basic meaning. Non-restrictive elements should be set off with commas.

Wrong:Incorrect: The trees which produced a crop of nuts and inflated pedicles harvested by local residents showed no evidence of herbivory, and there were no Homoptera present.

Correct: Right: The trees trees, which produced a crop of nuts and inflated pedicles harvested by local residents, showed no evidence of herbivory, and there were no Homoptera present.

6. Wrong or missing verb ending (-s or –es, -d or –ed)

In spoken English, we sometimes either omit verb endings altogether or pronounce them inaudibly, but standard written English requires their use even when other information in the sentence implies these endings. Make sure that subject and verb agree (plural or singular) and that you are using the correct verb tense. (See also #10.)

Wrong or missing verb ending

Make sure that subject and verb agree and that the correct tense is used.

Wrong:Incorrect: Of course, it’s important to stay inform However, when cashew is grown in commercial-size monoculture plantings, one consistently hear and reads of about the potential pest problems that can occur when cashew is grown in commercial-size monoculture plantings.that become automatic justification for the worldwide recommendation of pesticide application.

Correct: Right: However, w Of course, it’s important to stay informed about the pest problems that can occur when cashew is grown in commercial-size monoculture plantings.

hen cashew is grown in commercial-size monoculture plantings, one consistently hears and reads of potential pest problems that become automatic justification for the worldwide recommendation of pesticide application.

7. Wrong or missing prepositions

A sentence’s meaning may change depending on the preposition you use in conjunction with a verb or as part of a prepositional phrase. For example, the act of comparing something to something else involves looking for similarities among the two items; the act of comparing something with something else means registering both similarities and differences between the items. The acts of meeting at or in an intersection have different implications, as do the acts of talking around, about, or through an issue.

To compare to is used to indicate similarities; to compare with is used to indicate similarities and differences. You may meet on a street, at a theater, or in a city.

Wrong:Incorrect: The insect helopeltis spp. iIs endemic of , and drives insecticide usage, in through Southeast Asia, India, and East Africa.

Correct: Right: The insect helopeltis spp. iIs endemic to, and drives insecticide usage, in throughout Southeast Asia, India, and East Africa.

8. Comma splice

Inexperienced writers sometimes combine two or more independent clauses (clauses that are capable of standing independently as separate sentences) into a single sentence by inserting a comma between the clauses. This error can be corrected in several ways: by separating the clauses into stand-alone sentences; by replacing the comma with a semicolon; by following the comma with a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, so, yet, nor, or for; or by rewriting the sentence to subordinate or eliminate one of the independent clauses.

Inexperienced writers sometimes combine two or more independent clauses (clauses that are capable of standing independently as separate sentences) into a single sentence by inserting a comma between the clauses. This error can be corrected in several ways: by replacing the comma with a semicolon; by following the comma with a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, so, yet, nor, or for; by separating the clauses into stand-alone sentences; or by rewriting the sentence to subordinate or eliminate one of the independent clauses.

Two clauses that are capable of standing independently as sentences should not be spliced together with only a comma.

Wrong:Incorrect: Numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores, Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

Correct: Right: Numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores. Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

or

Numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores;. And Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

or

The error can be corrected by adding a subordinating one clause or by separating the clauses with a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction.

Right:Numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores, and Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

or

Numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores. Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

or

Right:While numerous studies have shown that ants can interfere with herbivores, Bentley now addresses the general context of ants as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture.

9. Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe

Possessive nouns (nouns that indicate possession of something else) generally have an apostrophe-s ending if singular (e.g. botanist’s or Davis’s) or just an apostrophe if plural (e.g. botanists’ or Davises’). Possessive personal pronouns (hers, his, ours, theirs, yours, its), however, do not take apostrophes.

Please not that possessive personal pronouns, such as its, don’t require apostrophes.

Wrong:Incorrect: Observation of the ant’s’ activity over a 3-wk period revealed that 5 different ant species were visiting extrafloral nectaries.

Correct: Right: Observation of the ant’s’ activity over a 3-wk period revealed that 5 different ant species were visiting extrafloral nectaries.

10. Unnecessary shift in tense

Unless you have a clear reason for doing otherwise, use the same tense for all verbs both within and across sentences.

Unless there is a clear reason to the contrary, verbs should be consistent in tense.

Wrong:Incorrect: An inflorescence develops from the axillary bud of a left-like bract, and during its development and elongation it lays flat near the bract adaxial surface.

Correct: Right: An inflorescence develops from the axillary bud of a left-like bract, and during its development and elongation it lies flat near the bract adaxial surface.

11. Unnecessary shift in pronoun

When you use a pronoun reference in a sentence, make sure that you use the same pronoun for all subsequent references in the sentence. The most common example of pronoun shifting is the shift between one and I, you, or we.

The most common of these errors is a shift from one to I or you.

Wrong:Incorrect: Some people in agricutural occupations, even those in university experiment station environments, One might consider the presence of any kind of ant on a crop plant potentially dangerous because of his the insect’s often- seen ability to tend coccids or aphids, but perhaps we should think this matter through more carefully .

Correct: Right: One might consider the presence of any kind of ant on a crop plant potentially dangerous because of the insect’s often-seen ability to tend coccids or aphids, but perhaps one should think this matter through more carefully.

Some people in agricutural occupations, even those in university experiment station environments, consider any ant on a crop plant potentially dangerous because of their often seen ability to tend coccids or aphids.

12. Sentence fragment

A sentence fragment is an incomplete portion of a sentence that is punctuated as a full sentence. To correct this error, incorporate the fragment into the preceding or subsequent sentence, or rewrite the fragment to include subject and predicate. In some types of writing (for example, in fiction and journalistic writing), authors may incorporate fragments as a stylistic choice. In academic writing, however, the use of fragments is far less common.

A sentence fragment is punctuated and left to stand as a whole sentence, but is really only a fragment or incomplete part of a sentence.

Wrong:Incorrect: We made an interesting and unexpected discovery. GA great amount of variations in the amount and type of ground cover for any given age class of trees.

Correct: Right: We made the interesting and unexpected discovery that found a great amount of variation in the amount and type of ground cover for any given age class of trees variesd greatly.

or

We made an interesting and unexpected discovery. We learned that the amount and type of ground cover for any given age class of trees varies greatly.

13. Wrong tense or verb form

A verb must clearly show when a condition or action is, was, or will be completed.

Wrong:Incorrect: The stages of fruit development have included one in which There are one stage of fruit development where ants are were attracted to a specific region of the developing nut.

Correct: Right: There is one The stages of fruit development include one in which stage of fruit development where ants are attracted to a specific region of the developing nut.

14. Lack of subject-–verb agreement

The verb form used in a sentence may vary depending on whether the subject is singular or plural and whether the sentence is written in first-, second-, or third person. When you are looking for subject–verb agreement errors, be mindful that the noun closest to the verb may not be the subject.

A verb should agree with it subject in number and in person.

Wrong:Incorrect : One of our purposes purposes throughout this effortin doing this study have been to find evidence that a diverse assemblage of natural predators can replace chemical pestsicides.

Correct: Right: One of our purposes in doing this study throughout this effort has been to find evidence that a diverse assemblage of natural predators can replace chemical pestsicides.

When the subject consists of two or more nouns connected by and, the subject is generally plural. However, when all parts of the subject refer to the same thing or person, the subject is considered singular (see the second example following).

In the case of a compound subjects with two or more parts connected by and, the subject is generally plural. Only when both parts of the subject refer to the same thing or person is the subject still considered singular.

Right:

Correct: Right: The principal investigator and her associates are interested in finding evidence that a diverse assemblage of natural predators can replace chemical pesticides.

Correct: Right: Our principal purpose and intent throughout this study has been to find evidence that a diverse assemblage of natural predators can replace chemical pesticides.

When the subject consists of two or more nouns connected by or or nor, verb agreement should be with the subject noun that is closest to the verb.

In the case of subject parts joined by or or nor, agreement should be with the part closest to the verb.

Correct: Right: Neither the principal investigator nor her associates believe that chemical pesticides are the only solution to this problem.

15. Missing comma in a series

To avoid potential sentence misreadings, always insert a comma between the last two items in a three-or-more-item list.

Its always wise to comply include a comma between the last two items in a list.

Wrong:Incorrect: Cashew nut trees are consistently ant-visited throughout the year, with the ants attracted to a large number of extrafloral nectaries on the leaves, inflorescences, flowers and developing nuts.

Correct: Right: Cashew nut trees are consistently ant-visited throughout the year, with the ants attracted to a large number of extrafloral nectaries on the leaves, inflorescences, flowers, and developing nuts.

16. LLack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent

When you use a pronoun (such as you, him, she, their, it) in place of the noun to which it refers (called the pronoun’s antecedent), make sure the pronoun agrees with its antecedent in both gender and number.

Wrong:Incorrect: The ants methodically fed at a number of nectaries before descending the branch/trunk system and returning to its nest.

Correct: Right: The ants methodically fed at a number of nectaries before descending the branch/trunk system and returning to their nests.

Note also that modifiers like each, every, one, and (in some cases) either and neither are singular, and so the nouns they modify will require singular pronoun references. Also, singular noun antecedents joined by or or nor require a singular pronoun.

A pronoun should agree with its antecedent in gender and number.

Wrong:Incorrect: Each The aants methodically fed at a number of nectaries before descending the branch/trunk system and returning to its their nestsnests.

Correct: Right: The antsEach ant methodically fed at a number of nectaries before descending the branch/trunk system, and returning to its its nests.

Some noun antecedents (for example, “botanist” or “researcher”) are non-gender-specific; that is, they may refer to both males and females. When you use this type of antecedent in its singular form, your pronoun references to the antecedent must acknowledge both genders. You have several options for establishing pronoun agreement with non-gender-specific nouns: (1) For every pronoun reference, use “him and her, “she and he,” etc. Some writers find this awkward and choose instead to alternate between male and female pronoun references either paragraph by paragraph or section by section. (2) You can change the sentence wording to make the antecedent (and therefore the pronoun) plural. (3) You can simply get rid of the pronoun. All three solutions are illustrated here.

Wrong:Incorrect: Every aspiring botanist should cultivate his laboratory and field research skills.

Correct: Right: Every aspiring botanist should cultivate her or his laboratory and field research skills.

or

All aspiring botanists should cultivate their laboratory and field research skills.

or

Every aspiring botanist should cultivate laboratory and field research skills.

17.: Unnecessary comma(s) with a restrictive element

Restrictive elements are essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. They should not be set off from the rest of the sentence through the use of commas. In the following example, intended meaning is not that all researchers were consulted but rather that those researchers with whom we did consult arrived at their estimates in this fashion.

Restrictive elements are essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. They should not be set off from the rest of the sentence through the use of commas.

Wrong:Incorrect: The researchers, with whom we consulted, arrived at their Eestimates of ground ant diversity , and abundance , were made by continuously censusing a bait trapline.

Correct: Right: : The researchers with whom we consulted arrived at their estimates of ground ant diversity and abundance by continuously censusing a bait traplineEstimates of ground ant diversity and abundance were made by continuously censusing a bait trapline.

18:. Fused sentence

Fused, or run-on, sentences occur when clauses that could stand alone are joined with no linking words or punctuation. Correct this error in one of threefour ways: (1) Separate the clauses into two (or more) sentences; (2) insert a semicolon between the clauses; (23) insert a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (e.g. and, but, so, yet, nor, for) between the clauses; or (3) insert a semicolon between the clausesor (4) rewrite the sentence to subordinate or eliminate one of the independent clauses.

. The second and third correction strategies are illustrated below.

Fused or run-on sentences occur when clauses that could stand along are joined with no linking words or punctuation. They can either be separated into two (or more) sentences or linked through the addition of words or punctuation.

Wrong:Incorrect: Yield from these plantations was considered satisfactory all growers continue to be were interested in pest protection and the cost of doing business, however.

Correct: Right: Yield from these plantations was considered satisfactory. Growers continue to be interested in pest protection and the cost of doing business, however.

or

Yield from these plantations was considered satisfactory; and all however, growers were continue to be interested in pest protection and the cost of doing business.

or

Yield from these plantations was considered satisfactory, but ; and all growers continue to be were interested in pest protection and the cost of doing business.

or

Although yield from these plantations was considered satisfactory, growers continue to be interested in pest protection and the cost of doing business.

1. Misplaced or dangling modifier

To prevent sentence misreadings, place modifying words and phrases as close as possible to the word or words they modify.

Modifiers should be as close as possible to the words they describe.

Wrong:Incorrect: These plantings at Pushparhanangian, Informatics, and Panadura estates in Sri Lanka, and the Malaysian planting, document demonstrate that a pesticide-free, income-producing cashew crop can be successfully grown within areas where government agriculturists consider pesticides an absolute necessity, on a pure cost basis.

Correct: Right: On a pure cost basis, tThese plantings at Pushparhanangian, Informatics, and Panadura estates in Sri Lanka, and the Malaysian planting, document demonstrate that on a pure cost basis, a pesticide-free, income-producing cashew crop can be successfully grown within areas where government agriculturists consider pesticides an absolute necessity.

2. Its/It’s confusion

3. Its indicates possession; it’s is a contracted form of it is.

Wrong:Incorrect: However, tThe relationship with ants is not an incidental or trivial event, however, and—if its to lead to elimination of pesticide use in cashew production—it demands more detailed study if its to lead to elimination of pesticide use in cashew production.

Correct: Right: However, Tthe relationship with ants is not an incidental or trivial event, however, and —if it’s to lead to elimination of pesticide use in cashew production—it demands more detailed study.demands more detailed study if it’s to lead to elimination of pesticide use in cashew production.

Most of these sample sentences were adapted from All correct sentences taken directly from:

Rickson, Fred R. Rickson and Melinda P. Rickson’s 1998 article on. “The Cashew Nut, Anacardium Occidentale (Anacardiaceae), and its Perennial Association with Ants: Extrafloral Nectary Location and the Potential for Ant Defense,.” in the American Journal of Botany, vol. 85, no. (6, pp. ): 835-849. 1998.

Handout prepared All incorrect sentences were simulated by Beth Russell, Oregon State University, 1998, with reference to:

Lunsford, Andrea and Robert Conners. The Everyday Writer: A Brief Reference. New York: St. Martins Press, 1997. (Pg 11-24).and revised by Tracy Ann Robinson. With thanks to Dr. Don Armstrong, OSU Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, for his content review.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download