Spelling and Usage Hit Lists

Mr. Twombley

Spelling and Usage “Hit Lists”

A. Commonly Misused and Misspelled Words: its/it’s beginning passed/past your/you’re embarrassed allusion/illusion whose/who’s until through/threw/thorough who/whom separate does/doesn’t new/knew their/there/they’re our/are/hour similar weird minor/miner we’re/were/where which/witch peace/piece fewer/less bored/board 1980s vs. 1980’s whole/hole than/then elicit/illicit a lot advice/advise emigrate/immigrate receive whether/weather capitol/capital to/too/two write/written/writing principal/principle right/rite quit/quite/quiet toward except/accept know/no/now set/sit chose/choose lose, loose, loss who/which/that cite/site/sight further/farther anyway lay/lie affect/effect climatic/climactic

Words of Warning:

 Avoid meaningless quantifiers: very, really, a lot, totally, way, much, and so (as an adverb = “I’m so over sloppy papers!”)  in order to: cut in order  Don’t begin sentences with this, that, these, those unless followed by an noun  Make sure your pronouns agree  Avoid process language: “In this paper, I will…”; “This means that...”; or In the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury…  Don’t be redundant: “Personally, I believe...”  Know the difference between due to vs. because of  Eschew weak linking verbs: “seems to be”; appears; might be/could be

 Avoid passive voice: This book can be seen as…; not tested on animals; risks were taken.  Shun clichés: light at the end of the tunnel, bumpy road, clear skies ahead…ad nauseum.  (be) able to: use can instead  needs to: use must instead  Know the difference between possessives vs. plurals  Make sure to spell out numbers one through ten. Never begin a sentence with a numeral.

B. Proper Citation Techniques: a. ITALICIZE or Underline something that takes longer than one sitting to read (Novel, Epic Poem, Long Short Story, Newspaper, and Magazine); b. Put “QUOTES” around pieces which you can read or view in one sitting (Poem, Essay, Short Short Story, Article, Painting, Song, Movie, and TV show). c. If your citation is THREE LINES OR LESS, then embed quote in body paragraph:

According to Mr. Twombley’s book, Student Apathy Toward Proper English Usage, “Students today are lazy little rascals, but when five points are on the line, the class suddenly becomes a linguist’s convention” (23). d. If your citation is FOUR LINES OR MORE, then set the quote off in a block. Provide a Lead in: Mr. Twombley, under the influence of a language spell cast by Fate, consults a hairball for advice on how to make his students accountable for their language use:

Is it my fate to have to correct the same silly mistakes over and over? Or can I devise a way to make students more accountable for their editing and grammar mistakes? Hairball, please help me understand my fate. (29)

To show how serious he is, Twombley has resorted to talking to inanimate objects to seek advice on this important issue…(Continue the paragraph in this manner by explaining quote!) e. Periods and commas always go inside quotes: The King and Duke would like us to believe they’re “nice guys.” Or: In the poem “The Raven,” by E. A. Poe, the speaker… f. Colons and semi-colons always go on the outside of quotes: The King and Duke are not “nice guys”; in fact, they are… g. Question (?) and Exclamation (!) marks will either go in the quotes or outside them, depending on whether the question or emphasis is the speaker’s (in) or the quoter’s (outside).