Most Common Freshman Errors

The most common writing errors in the papers of college freshmen are faults that high school students are capable of overcoming before high school graduation.

MECHANICS

DICTION
(word choice)

COMPOSITION

WRITTEN PRESENTATION

sentence fragments
fused sentences
comma splices
incorrect verb use
incorrect pronoun use
incorrect apostrophe use
faulty agreement between subject and verb
faulty agreement between pronoun and antecedent
misspelled basic vocabulary

Categories of words thoughtlessly used:
racist, sexist, ageist usage; cliche, vulgarityWords frequently confused with one another
Unidiomatic use of prepositions

lack of clear beginning, middle, and end
lack of coherent transition between ideas
lack of support for general statements

illegible or extremely difficult-to-read handwriting
confusing layout of handwritten work
inattention to directions for computer formatting

separate, friend, receiving, immediately, all right, minute, forty, fourteen, a lot, old-fashioned, could have

Contextually inappropriate words:
kid, guy, cop, female (as a noun)
mom, human (as a noun), dadFaddish words and phrases:
proactive, enthuse

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Most Common Freshman Errors