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Use this checklist as a list of reminders while you are editing your paper.

  1. Sentence fragments
  2. Sentence sprawl current page arrow
  3. Misplaced and dangling modifiers
  4. Faulty parallelism
  5. Unclear pronoun reference
  6. Incorrect pronoun case
  1. Omitted commas
  2. Superfluous commas
  3. Comma splices
  4. Apostrophe errors
  5. Words easily confused
  6. Misspellings


2. Sentence sprawl

Too many equally weighted phrases and clauses produce tiresome sentences.


Sentence sprawl How to fix it

The hearing was planned for Monday, December 2, but not all of the witnesses could be available, so it was rescheduled for the following Friday, and then all the witnesses could attend.

[There are no grammatical errors here, but the sprawling sentence does not communicate clearly and concisely.]

The hearing, which had been planned for Monday, December 2, was rescheduled for the following Friday so that all witnesses would be able to attend.

 


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