When you leave the university and go out into "the real world" you will find that your writing ability is still important. Of course, substance (facts and analysis) are most significant, but grammar, spelling, and style also count. In this class, your writing ability will impact your grade for each written assignment. After graduation, instead of a bad grade, poor writing may result in a lost job opportunity, promotion, or raise.

You should care about your writing. Read your draft papers critically. Look for errors, but more important, look for ways to make the paper more clear to the reader.

The following are some of the more common errors found on student papers:

Grammatical Errors

1. NOT MATCHING SINGULARS AND PLURALS

WRONG: "Therefore, it is essential that the manager of the program know what they are doing."

WRONG: "Well educated people are knowledgeable about the benefits of a healthy life style and attracting those types of employees certainly would not be bad for business and should be considered by managers."

WRONG: "These are the basic concepts and beliefs of an organization, as such they form the heart of the organizational culture."

3. 'THAT' VS. 'WHO'

'That' refers to inanimate objects. 'Who' refers to people.

WRONG: "Health administrators are the people that really run the hospital."

4. POSSESSIVES: SINGULARS ARE GENERALLY " _____'S " (UNLESS THE WORD ENDS WITH AN 'S') AND PLURALS ARE GENERALLY " _____S'."

WRONG: "The doctor's lounge is here." (if plural)

WRONG: "My doctors office is here.

5. Its vs. it's

WRONG: "The hospital must worry about the actions of it's medical staff."

WRONG: "Its important to have a good quality assurance program."

Style

6. LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG PARAGRAPHS AND/OR PARAGRAPHS WITH ONLY ONE SENTENCE.

Usually, paragraphs should average 100-200 words and should generally contain at least three sentences.

7. TOO MUCH PASSIVE VOICE

WRONG: "The cherry tree was cut down by George."

RIGHT: "George cut down the cherry tree"

WRONG: "It is important for hospitals to treat their employees well."

RIGHT: "Hospitals should . . ..

Other

8. USING THE WRONG WORD

WRONG: "Their efforts were laudatory."

RIGHT: "Their efforts were laudable."

9. MISSPELLINGS

10. MISCELLANEOUS TYPOS (E.G. EXTRA SPACES BETWEEN WORDS, WORDS BROKEN BY EXTRA SPACE, MISSING WORDS, REPEATED WORDS, ETC.).

The Bottom Line

A. Proofread your paper carefully. NEVER turn in it without fully proofing it. If possible, get someone else to proof it for you.

B. If in doubt regarding spelling, grammar, meaning, etc., LOOK IT UP or ask.

C. You should have access to a dictionary, a thesaurus, a style manual (e.g. APA), and Strunk and White's Elements of Style (or a similar book).