How Well Did I Edit My Paper?

Grammar/Mechanics Checklist

1) Capitalization

  • Capitalize the first letter of each sentence.
  • Capitalize proper nouns such as the White House and Yankee Stadium.

2) Place the titles of poems and short stories within quotation marks.

  • e.g. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost (poem)
  • e.g. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (short story)

3) Underlineoritalicizethe titles of plays and novels.

  • e.g. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • e.g. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

4) Punctuation

  • Apostrophes indicate a missing letter (e.g. it’s = it is) or possession (e.g. Derek’s Ford Mustang).
  • Commas are used to separate phrases or a series of items. IMPORTANT: Commas are NEVER used to end complete sentences.
  • Periods are used to end complete sentences.
  • Semicolons are used to join two closely related, complete sentences into one sentence.

e.g. Despite the severe thunderstorm warning, the three avid hikers ventured into the depths of the wilderness; minutes later, the same three men raced back to the safety of their Jeep, hoping to avoid the low lightning.

5) Sentence Construction

  • Use complete sentences. A complete sentence is a sentence that can stand on its own and make sense.

e.g. Summer is my favorite time of year.

e.g. With its miles of warm sands and refreshing waves, IslandBeach may be the perfect spot in New Jersey.

  • Eliminate sentence fragments. A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that cannot stand on its own and make sense.

e.g. With its miles of warm sands and refreshing waves.

e.g. Because Dad said that I’m grounded.

  • Eliminate run-on sentences. A run-on sentence is an unusually long sentence that requires punctuation (periods, semicolons, etc.) to separate each complete idea.

e.g. All of my friends keep telling me to watch The Jersey Shore on MTV but I haven’t seen an episode yet until today I finally watched an episode of The Jersey Shore and all I can say is whoa Snooki and the Situation are so annoying!

6) Fix common homophone errors. A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning.

Homophone / Meaning / Sample Sentence
They’re / They are / They’re traveling to the Bahamas next week.
There / In that location / What time will you arrive there this afternoon?
Their / Possession / Their golden retriever is the cutest dog on the block.
Homophone / Meaning / Sample Sentence
Then / Next in sequence / If you do not submit your own original writing, then you should expect severe consequences.
Than / In comparison / He spends much less time on facebook than his teammates.
Homophone / Meaning / Sample Sentence
It’s / It is / Since I am a devoted NY Rangers fan, it’s impossible for me to root for the NJ Devils.
Its / Possession / Even though the puppy was friendly, its tail beat so quickly that it knocked over everything in its path.

7) Subject-Verb Agreement

  • Plural subjects take plural verbs.

e.g. The cross-country runnerseat a big pasta dinner the night before a big meet.

  • A singular subject takes a singular verb.

e.g. Because of her dedication to the orchestra, the musician arrives at rehearsal thirty minutes early every day.