You will write two article reviews based on a designated article located in the Reading & Study folder of the corresponding module/week. Each review will summarize and critique the author’s position

Rosalind Mabry

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The student paper “The Purpose of Government” by Anon Muss contains a numerous amount of basic errors. For the purposes of this discussion board, I will address the issues at hand along with corrections to each error.

I will begin by pointing out the spelling and diction errors as these are typically the first thing people notice. To be clear, diction errors are incorrect word choices in which you have confused one word with another that it closely resembles (Rosenwasser and Stephen, 358).

In the first paragraph, the second sentence, Anon makes the mistake of using the incorrect verb affective at the end of the sentence. Based on the trajectory of the sentence, I believe the verb should be switched to effective. This is a very common mistake that can easily be corrected when the meanings of the verb are explained. According to our text, “ In their most common usages, “affect” is a verb meaning “ to influence,” and “effect” is a noun meaning “the result of an action or cause.” (Rosenwasser and Stephen, 359). Anon makes this mistake in the paragraph above the conclusion by confusing its with it’s. Yes, this is a very simple mistake that is probably made too often; however, with a little proofreading, these mistakes can be prevented. “It’s is a contraction for “it is”. “Its” is a possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it” (Rosenwasser and Stephen, 359).

The second error refers to pronoun reference. Anon begins the second sentence with the word This which is an unclear antecedent. It is unclear as to who or what “this” refers to. The best option would be to remove the antecedent in order to prevent confusion and allow better sentence flow. A possible correction could be, “It is important to question the purpose of government in order to ensure that each branch is effective.”

The third error refers to comma splices and fused ( run-on) sentences. In the very last sentence, Anon has a run on sentence.  Two independent clauses exist with a coordinating conjunction in between them; however, there should be a comma in front of the word “and” in order for it to be correct. In my opinion, this sentence should be condensed all together or making them into two separate sentences which is another way to fix a run on sentence. As possible correction could be “Government is in control of its laws. Those in government can increase laws to ensure that everyone is treated with equality.”

The fourth error refers to subject-verb agreement. The first sentence of the third paragraph mentions the single noun “government” however uses the plural verb “do”. The correct singular verb “does” is going to make more sense; however, the whole sentence may need to be corrected in order for it to make sense.

The final error refers to sentence fragments which is a group of words punctuated like a complete sentence but lacks the necessary structure (Rosenwasser and Stephen, 343). The sentence reads “This is so the president can make congress make laws that do what the people want them to do”. This sentence can easily be corrected by removing “This is. By including the unclear antecedent, we are left wondering what “this is” refers to.

Rossenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. “Writing Analytically.” Amazon, Amazon, www.amazon.com/Writing-Analytically-David-Rosenwasser/dp/1337559466.

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Chloe Edwards Response to Module Four

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I hope all is well with each of you. In Discussion Forum Three, we are to find five BWEs (Basic Writing Errors) to further avoid in our own research papers. Authors Rosenwasser and Stephen outline nine of the most common mistakes.1 According to Rosenwasser and Stephen, these nine errors include the following: “sentence fragments, comma slices and fuses (run on sentences), errors in subject-verb agreement, shifts in sentence structure, errors in pronoun reference, misplaced modifiers and dangling participles, errors in using possessive apostrophes, comma errors, and lastly, spelling and diction that interfere with meaning.”2 While grammar can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, I understand the pertinence of proper grammar as improper grammar can impact the reader’s experience when viewing our research papers in a negative manner. In addition, it also ruins the credibility of our papers.

In completion of this assignment, I have outlined the following errors in the following sentence below: 

1. Comma Errors 

2. Spelling/diction errors that interfere with meaning 

3. Errors in subject-verb agreement

4. Apostrophe error 

In the essay, “The Purpose of the Government,” the author, Anon A. Muss, has several grammatical errors in this sentence, “Its a good thing that it’s purpose are written in the constitution so that the people can tell the government that it is supposed to do what the prople want for it to do.”1

Corrections:

It’s  [apostrophe added to create a contraction] a good thing that its[apostrophe dropped from possessive and added to contraction] purpose is [verb made singular to match noun] written in the constitution so that the people can tell the government that it is supposed to do what the people[corrected spelling of people] want for [extra word] it to do. 

In completion of this assignment, I have outlined the following errors in the following sentence below: 

1. Comma Splices and Fused (or Run-On) Sentences 

In the essay, “The Purpose of the Government,” the author, Anon A. Muss, has several grammatical errors in this sentence, “I think this is a huge idea because this is the reason that the constitution doesn’t let the president or the senators or the people in congress or the lobbyists have too much power.”2 

Corrections: 

I think this is a huge idea, [added comma to separate two sentences] because this is the reason that the constitution doesn’t let the president, [added comma to separate list of things] orthe senators, [added comma to separate list of things] orthe people in congress, [added comma to separate list of things] or the lobbyists have too much power.

In conclusion, after reading the essay, “The Purpose of the government,” I echo Rosenwasser and Stephen’s sentiments on the overwhelming aspect of error correction.2 However, in reality, we may find patterns of mistakes.2 With this being said, I am pleased to have a guide on BWEs in order to avoid these mistakes. I can be conscious of my own trends and patterns when writing and editing to be productive and analytical in that manner. 

1. Muse, Anon. A. 2009. "The Purpose of the Government." Personal Essay. Liberty University. 

2. Rosenwasser, David, and Stephen, Jill. 2012 Writing Analytically. Cengage Learning Inc. 

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