39
T
T
he majority of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization mistakes are just a few dozen
common ones. If you learn these common errors and how to avoid or correct them,
your writing will greatly improve. Therefore, the focus of this chapter is on those errors
that occur most frequently.
No matter how original an idea you come up with, the inability to express yourself clearly
and accurately through the written word will hinder the success of your essay. The rules of
mechanics are complex; in fact, they sometimes confuse even professional writers. How-
ever, you do not need to become a strict grammarian in order to write well.

P
ARTS OF
S
PEECH
Some parts of speech are more difficult than others. Following are the four most challeng-
ing ones as they pertain to your essay: pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions, with
usage explanations and examples.
If you feel your writing would benefit from a more in-depth review of grammar, check
the resources at the end of this book for websites and books that contain grammar lessons,
practice exercises, and quizzes to reinforce the material.
CHAPTER
Mechanics
4
4
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS

HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS


good for him.
(What isn’t good for him? Reading, playing soccer, or both?)
Correct:
Kim spends all his time reading and playing soccer. Too much soc-
cer isn’t good for him; he should play some basketball, too.
Incorrect:
It has been years since they spent money on new textbooks.
Who is they?
Correct:
It has been years since the school board spent money on new
textbooks.
Incorrect:
I went on the trip with Emily and Nancy, and we took her
laptop.
(Whose laptop?)
Correct:
I went on the trip with Emily and Nancy, and we took Nancy’s
laptop.
40
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS

41
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns. Adjectives add information by describ-
ing people, places, or things in a sentence. These words, more than any others, make your
essay a unique piece. Use them to describe people, objects, and situations to make the reader
understand your point of view and see things the way you have seen them. Too few adjec-
tives will make a personal statement a boring play-by-play that doesn’t tell the reader any-
thing about the writer.

behind below beneath beside between by except for
from in inside into like of off on
outside over to under up upon until with
within
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
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CHAPTER 4 Mechanics
42
The two most common problems with prepositions are:
1.
Using them unnecessarily
Because it is so important in your essay to get to the point concisely, unnecessary
prepositions should be avoided. Remember that when two or more prepositions
are used together, chances are at least one is unnecessary.
Poor form:
I cleaned up under the kitchen cabinets.
Good form:
I cleaned under the kitchen cabinets.
Poor form:
She likes all sports except for soccer.
Good form:
She likes all sports except soccer.
Poor form:
They looked outside of the house for the lost cat.
Good form:
They looked outside the house for the lost cat.
2.
Confusing prepositional phrases
Certain words must always be followed by certain prepositions. These necessary
prepositions are always used in combination with their respective supported

by dropping the preposition at the end.
Good Form
Does he have anything to worry about?
What did you use to make it with?
What is the report comprised of?
Poor Form
Is the extra-credit project over with?
Where is the stadium at?
Where do you want to go to?

D
ANGLING
P
ARTICIPLES
AND
M
ISPLACED
M
ODIFIERS
Dangling participles and misplaced modifiers, though sometimes difficult to recognize, are
easily fixed by rearranging word order. A
dangling participle is a phrase or clause with a
verb ending in
-ing that does not refer to the subject of the sentence it modifies. Since it is
so critical that your reader understand your point easily and exactly, dangling modifiers (and
indeed any ambiguous language) must be avoided.
Incorrect:
While working on his English assignment, Tony’s computer crashed.
(Was the computer working on the assignment?)
Correct: