The Top Twenty Most Common Errors

This resource, The Top Twenty Most Common Errors, was developed by the Writing Center at Southeastern and submitted by Dr. Cawa Tran from the University of San Diego’s Biology Department.

This document provides examples of the following errors, explaining the effect that they have on readers, and showing how to correct them.

  1. Wrong word
  2. Missing comma after an introductory element
  3. Incomplete or missing documentation
  4. Vague pronoun reference
  5. Spelling (including homonyms)
  6. Mechanical error with a quotation
  7. Unnecessary comma
  8. Unnecessary or missing capitalization
  9. Missing word
  10. Faulty sentence structure
  11. Missing comma with a nonrestrictive element
  12. Unnecessary shift in verb tense
  13. Missing comma in a compound sentence
  14. Unnecessary or missing apostrophe (including its/it’s)
  15. Fused (run-on) sentence
  16. Comma splice
  17. Lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement
  18. Poorly integrated quotation
  19. Unnecessary or missing hyphen
  20. Sentence fragment

 

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