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The Graduation Writing Proficiency Examination
is not primarily concerned with grammar, spelling, and usage, but
an excessive number of errors in these areas can lower an essay's
score enough to mean the difference between a pass and a fail. The
following list, while by no means complete, contains a few of the
most common errors found in GWPE essays and in English composition
generally. For a fuller treatment of these and other errors, consult
a handbook of English--there are several available in the HSU Library.
The most common errors in basic sentence construction are the sentence
fragment, the run- on sentence, and the comma splice.
A sentence fragment is a word, a phrase, or a dependent clause presented
with the capitalization and punctuation appropriate to a sentence.
Although sentence fragments are sometimes acceptable, they should
usually be avoided. There are several causes of sentence fragments--lack
of a subject, lack of a proper verb, presence of a subordinating
conjunction, and so on:
 And for several hours
worked on the car. (Lacks subject.)
Running down the street.
(Lacks subject and complete verb.)
Although he wouldn't do
it. (Begins with a subordinating conjunction.)
A run-on sentence consists of two independent clauses run together
and punctuated as one
sentence:
I thought the paper was
due tomorrow nobody told me it was due today. (Period or semicolon
required after "tomorrow.")
A comma splice occurs
when two independent clauses are separated by only a comma:
I thought the paper was
due tomorrow, nobody told me it was due today. (Period or semicolon
required after "tomorrow.")
The possessive indicates ownership or possession. The inflected
possessive (as opposed to the of-phrase possessive) is formed in
English as follows:
The possessive singular is formed by adding an apostrophe and an
s(') to singular nouns and most pronouns which do not end in s.
If the noun does end in s, add either an apostrophe and an s, or,
if the additional s makes pronunciation awkward, add the apostrophe
only:
the
moon's beams
Charles's brother or Charles'
brother
the princess' slipper
The possessive of plural nouns ending in s (added to form the plural)
is formed by adding an apostrophe only. If the plural form does
not end in an s add an apostrophe and an s ('s):
five dollars' worth
women's clothing
Errors in usage are often caused by the confusion of homophones--words
that sound alike are different in both spelling and meaning--or
near-homophones. The most frequently confused homophones and near-homophones
are:
advice--A noun meaning
"helpful information."
advise--A verb meaning
"to give helpful information."
affect--A verb meaning
"to influence" or "to display." Used as a noun
in psychology to mean "a
feeling, an emotion."
effect--A noun meaning
"result." Used as a verb to mean "to cause or bring
about."
As a general rule, remember that usually affect is
a verb and effect is a noun.
all
ready--An adjective meaning "prepared."
already--An
adverb meaning "prior to a certain time. "
cite--A
verb meaning "to quote and refer to."
sight--A
verb meaning "to see" or "to aim," and a noun
meaning "an extraordinary visual perception."
site--A
noun meaning "a place," or a verb meaning "to place."
its--The
possessive form of it.
it's--The
contracted form of it is.
knew--The
past tense of the verb "to know."
new--An
adjective meaning "recently created, unused."
know--A
verb meaning "to have knowledge of."
no--The
negative.
loose--An
adjective meaning "free, unconnected."
lose--A
verb meaning "to misplace, to be defeated."
principal--An
adjective meaning "chief or main," and a noun meaning
"the head of a school, a leading performer, or a sum of money."
principle--A
noun meaning "theory, concept, rule."
their--The
third person plural possessive pronoun.
there--An
adverb designating "place."
they're--The
contracted form of "they are".
to--A
preposition meaning "in the direction of."
too--An
adverb meaning "also or excessively."
two--The
number 2.
whose--The
possessive form of "who"
who's--The
contracted form of who is.
existence
leisure
receive
forty
lose
separate
friend
misspell
studying
grammar
ninety
truly
independent
noticeable
writing
indispensable
occurrence
written
led
precede
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