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Grammar & Style Editing Tips

A concise guide to grammar and style editing, covering essential rules, common errors, and practical tips to refine your writing.

Core Grammar Rules

Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular subjects take singular verbs.

He runs (correct)
He run (incorrect)

Plural subjects take plural verbs.

They run (correct)
They runs (incorrect)

Watch out for intervening phrases.

The box of chocolates is delicious. (Not ‘are’)

Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on context.

The team is practicing. (acting as a unit)
The team are arguing. (acting individually)

Pronoun Agreement

Pronouns must agree in number and gender with their antecedents.

Each student should bring his or her book.
Students should bring their books.

Avoid ambiguous pronoun references.

Instead of: John told Bill that he was wrong.
Write: John told Bill that Bill was wrong.

Use the correct pronoun case.

Between you and me (correct)
Between you and I (incorrect)

Common Grammatical Errors

Misplaced Modifiers: Place modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify.
Example: Only I saw the cat. (correct)
I only saw the cat. (ambiguous)

Dangling Modifiers: Make sure the modified word is clearly stated.
Example: Walking down the street, the buildings were tall. (incorrect)
Walking down the street, I saw tall buildings. (correct)

Incorrect Tense: Maintain consistent verb tense.
Example: I went to the store, and I will buy milk. (incorrect)
I went to the store, and I bought milk. (correct)

Punctuation Perfection

Commas

Use commas to separate items in a list.

I need milk, bread, and eggs. (Oxford comma optional)

Use commas after introductory phrases or clauses.

After the game, we went home.

Use commas to set off nonessential information.

My brother, who is a doctor, is very kind.

Do not use a comma between a subject and its verb.

The dog, barked loudly. (incorrect)
The dog barked loudly. (correct)

Semicolons and Colons

Semicolons connect two independent clauses.

The movie was long; I almost fell asleep.

Colons introduce a list, explanation, or example.

I need three things: milk, bread, and eggs.

Use semicolons with conjunctive adverbs.

It was raining; therefore, we stayed inside.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes indicate possession or contractions.

John's car (possession)
It's (contraction of it is)

Avoid confusion between its (possessive) and it’s (contraction).

The dog wagged its tail.
It's a beautiful day.

For plural possessives, place the apostrophe after the s.

The students' desks

Style and Clarity

Conciseness

Avoid wordiness and redundancy.

Replace phrases with single words where possible.

Cut out unnecessary adverbs and adjectives.

Example:
due to the fact that -> because
in order to -> to

Active vs. Passive Voice

Active voice is generally stronger and clearer.

The dog chased the ball. (active)
The ball was chased by the dog. (passive)

Use passive voice when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

The window was broken.

Be mindful to avoid overuse of passive voice.

Try rewriting passive sentences in active voice to improve clarity.

Word Choice

Choose precise and specific words. Avoid vague language.

Be aware of connotations and choose words that convey the intended meaning.

Use a thesaurus to find better alternatives, but be careful about using words you don’t fully understand.

Example:
Instead of big, use large, huge, immense, depending on the context.

Advanced Editing Techniques

Sentence Variety

Vary sentence length and structure to maintain reader interest.

Mix simple, compound, and complex sentences.

Avoid starting every sentence with the same word or phrase.

Use transitions to link sentences and paragraphs smoothly.

Parallelism

Use parallel structure for items in a list or series.

I like hiking, camping, and fishing. (correct)
I like hiking, camping, and to fish. (incorrect)

Maintain consistent grammatical form throughout the list.

She enjoys reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Ensure consistent tense and voice within parallel structures.

He walked to the store, bought some milk, and returned home.

Final Proofreading

Read the text aloud to catch errors you might miss when reading silently.

Use a grammar and spell checker, but don’t rely on it entirely.

Get a fresh pair of eyes to review your work.

Pay attention to detail in the final proofreading stage.
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