Marking System
Ever been puzzled by the markings and shorthand feedback on your graded paper? This marking system is a crude attempt to provide a standard of sorts based on commonly used shorthand professors have begged, borrowed, or stolen, mostly from editors, and then passed on as haphazard conventions from one generation of teachers to the next.
When you receive detailed feedback on your work, why not take the paper to the Writing Center and go over one or two paragraphs at a time with a tutor? Working on your own writing with the added benefit of expert guidance from a tutor is a very effective strategy to improve one's writing skills.
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AGR [agreement error]
Problem: Subject-verb or subject-pronoun agreement is incorrect.
How to fix: Check for number (singular/plural) and person (third person especially).
Reference: Thurman 66
ART [article missing or wrong article]
Problem: Article is missing or incorrect.
How to fix: Insert/replace determinate (the) or indeterminate (a/an) article.
AWK [awkward wording/phrasing]
Problem: Phrasing does not sound like a natural English sentence.
How to fix: Read the sentence out loud. Try simplifying to subject-verb-object structure. Arrange claims or information in logical order.
CHOPPY [choppy prose]
Problem: Too many short, declarative sentences in a row. Does not flow.
How to fix: Consider joining sentences with the appropriate connectors; consider making some sentences longer.
Reference: Thurman 125-128
CITE [citation required]
Problem: Missing source citation. Quotes and summaries require parenthetical citation in MLA format.
How to fix: Add citation in the required format (MLA, APA, etc.)
CLICHÉ [cliché or truisms]
Problem: The expression or idea is commonplace and worn out; unoriginal.
How to fix: Replace or delete.
Reference: Thurman 129
CM [comment]
Description: This is an anchor for a comment in a your word processor. The instructor added [CM] at the end of a section or sentence that they wished to comment on, and then attached a comment bubble to the anchor. This is to avoid highlighting long passages with the "comment" function, which might cover yellow highlighting added to mark errors.
COH [coherence]
Problem: The sentence is incoherent. It does not make sense as an English sentence.
How to fix: A complete rewrite of the sentence is necessary. Read it out loud. Simplify to subject-verb-object structure.
COLL [colloquialism]
Problem: Too close to spoken English. Acceptable in informal conversation, but not in formal writing.
How to fix: Make more formal by choosing different vocabulary or by eliminating or substituting colloquial expressions.
Link: 4 Ways to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing - wikiHow
CONT [contraction]
Problem: You are using a contraction.
How to fix: Avoid contractions in formal writing. It's => it is ; won't => will not etc...
Reference: Thurman 87
CS [comma splice or comma fault; a form of run-on sentence]
Problem: Two independent clauses (sentences) joined incorrectly with a comma.
How to fix: Consider replacing the comma with a period, semicolon or conjunction such as and, because, but etc.
Reference: Thurman 124
Link: Comma Splice | Grammar Girl (quickanddirtytips.com)
DM/MM [dangling or misplaced modifier or verbal phrase]
Problem: Word or phrase for which the logical referent being modified cannot be found easily within the sentence
How to fix: Reposition the modifier close to the referent. Add an explicit referent close to the modifier.
Reference: Thurman 113-114
Link: What is a Dangling Modifier? Definition, Examples of Dangling Modifiers - Writing Explained
FP [faulty predication]
Problem: Subject and verb don't make sense together.
How to fix: Change subject to match verb or change verb to match subject.
Reference: Thurman 118
FRAG [sentence fragment]
Problem: incomplete sentence; may be missing the subject or verb; standalone subordinate clause.
How to fix: Add subject or verb; join to a nearby sentence, if appropriate.
Reference: Thurman 122
Link: Sentence Fragments // Purdue Writing Lab
JOIN [join two sentences]
Problem: The two sentences are very short but could be easily joined. One of the two sentences (usually the second) is a fragment (FRAG) and cannot stand alone.
How to fix: Join the two sentences with a comma, a conjunction, or a minor rewrite.
MLA [violation of MLA guidelines]
Problem: Failure to respect MLA guidelines in quoting, citing, or formatting.
How to fix: Conform to MLA guidelines in quoting, citing, or formatting.
PAR [parallelism in writing/parallelism error]
Problem: A Lists or sequence of words, phrases, or clauses do not follow the same grammatical structure.
How to fix: Revise the list/sequence to follow the same grammatical structure (all nouns, all adjectives, all verbs…)
Reference: Thurman 115
Link: Parallel Structure // Purdue Writing Lab
PL [plural]
Problem: Word should be in plural form.
How to fix: Correct to plural form.
Reference: Thurman 90, 133, 2-4, 86-90
POSS [possessive]
Problem: Incorrect use of the possessive.
How to fix: Apply the correct possessive form; could be a mix-up with the plural form,
Reference: Thurman 87
Link: Apostrophe Introduction // Purdue Writing Lab
PUNCT [punctuation error]
Problem: Punctuation is wrong or missing.
How to fix: Correct punctuation.
Reference: Thurman 79
REF [unclear pronoun referent]
Problem: Pronoun referent is unclear
How to fix: Consider replacing pronoun with noun or rephrasign sentence.
Reference: Thurman 69
Link: Unclear Pronoun Reference - EnglishComposition.Org
RUN-ON/RO [run-on sentence]
Problem: Two or more complete sentences that could/should stand on their own are merged into one.
How to fix: Split into two or more separate sentences. Insert a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or...) after the comma. Insert a semicolon. Insert semicolon and transitional word (therefore, in fact...). Insert a colon if second clause clarifies first clause.
Reference: Thurman 124
Link: What Are Run-On Sentences? | Grammar Girl (quickanddirtytips.com)
SING [singular]
Problem: Word is not in the singular form.
How to fix: Revise to singular form.
SP [spelling]
Problem: Incorrect spelling.
How to fix: Check and correct spelling. Some words, when misspelled, change meaning so errors not caught by spellchecking software.
T [abrupt/missing transition between paragraphs or topics]
Problem: Transition from topic to topic, or from paragraph to paragraph, is too abrupt.
How to fix: Use verbal or logical transitions by echoing, at the beginning of the following paragraph, language or ideas from the end of the preceding paragraph. Use transition words.
Reference: Thurman 125-128
TC [failure to maintain verb tense consistency]
Problem: The passage mixes present and past tense incorrectly.
How to fix: Maintain the same tense throughout the sentence.
TENSE [faulty verb tense]
Problem: Wrong tense is used.
How to fix: Change tense as needed.
VAGUE [Idea or claim is vague]
Problem: An idea or claim is not expressed in precise terms.
How to fix: Try not to overgeneralize; be specific. Use concrete language. Replace vague words like "thing" or "people" with more precise terms; who or what exactly do you mean?
VF [verb form]
Problem: Verb form for the tense used is incomplete or incorrect.
How to fix: An auxiliary may be missing or the wrong auxiliary is used.
WC [word choice]
Problem: Word fits the meaning of the sentence but is not the best choice. Might be a connotation problem.
How to fix: Find a better word.
WF [word form]
Problem: You are using the wrong form a word (for ex. a noun instead of a verb or an adjective).
How to fix: Replace with the right form.
WW [wrong word]
Problem: Word does not fit the meaning of the sentence. Word is used incorrectly.
How to fix: Replace with correct word.