The following hardly represent all the errors, careless or otherwise, that crop
up in a student's writing from exam to exam, but they are a good representative
sample of the ones most frequently encountered. Give them a good once-over, do
your best to remember them, and improvement will follow should you be
A.
1. Proper Names:
2. Verb Tenses: (Use past tense in history essays.)
3. Subject/Verb Agreement: (Singular subjects require singular verb
forms. Plural subjects require plural verb forms.)
4. The Apostrophe* ( ' ) to denote possession.
5. Form Plurals properly:
6. Be Aware of Common Misspellings:If you are writing an essay at home
and using a word processor, use the spell checker (and the grammar checker if
possible) before printing out your work.
B.
7. Avoid slang & Avoid writing in the first person: Use the narrative
style of the textbook.
8. Avoid superfluous phrases such as:
9. Avoid Abbreviations:
10. Use definite articles: A, An, The before nouns.
11. Be careful with homonyms (words that sound the same but have
different meanings and are spelt differently)
12. Format: Remember to format properly.
C.
13. When organizing an essay/answer in class:
Take your time and collect your thoughts before putting anything in writing.
Rushing is often the source of many errors that could have been easily avoided
and it invariably lowers grades.
14. Essay organization:
-Give the essay a title.
In general, your essay, irrespective of length or number of paragraphs, should
have an introductory statement, a central section incorporating narrative and
analysis and end with concluding remarks on the historical significance of the
topic in question.
(a) Introduction :
(b) Development:
(c) Conclusion:
If you need additional help with writing, consult the CUNY Write Site at
http://writesite.cuny.edu . It will provide you with a variety of practice
exercises and advice on grammar and style in writing.
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE
Incorrect Usage Correct Usage
europe, asia Europe, Asia
france, china France, China
bismarck, leopold II Bismarck, Leopold II
queen Victoria Queen Victoria
Prussia attacks France. Prussia attacked France.
The treaty is signed. The treaty was signed.
Prussia seeked victory.* Prussia sought victory.
*Be careful in forming the past tense of irregular verbs.
China and Japan was at war. China and Japan were at war.
Russia were an ally of France. Russia was an ally of France.
Russias situation was grave. Russia's situation was grave.
The emperors army was defeated. The emperor's army was defeated.
The nation mobilized it's* army. The nation mobilized its army.
*[it's = it is, a contraction for a verb; incorrect in this case]
countrys countries
treatys treaties
recieve receive (Remember the old rule:
i before e except after c)
develope develop
foreing foreign
Britian Britain
where (place) were (past tense verb)
controled controlled (Remember the rule:
double the consonant before adding on a suffix that begins with a
vowel)
At the top you had... The government was headed by...
"I am now going to relate the story of..."
"I forgot to mention that . ."
Incorrect Correct
gov. the government
a/c on account of
d/w dealing with . . .
b/c because . . .
Treaty was signed in ... The treaty was signed in...
He reported to tsar He reported to the tsar
The proposal was thrown out. The throne of Belgium was occupied..
They knew about the crisis. The new government was...
It was their army that lost. It was there (place) that the battle
was fought.
-number the pages
-number the question being answered as it appears on the exam paper
-leave the margin blank
-leave a line between paragraphs
-use a spell/grammar checker where possible
If you have time, reread the essay to catch and correct errors before you
submit it.
-You may wish to spend a few moments outlining what you want to state.
-Study the question carefully and address each part of it in orderly
sequence.
-Take as much guidance as you can from the question and be sure to ask for
clarification if in doubt.
-Don't ramble off onto unrelated topics--stick with the question.
-Do not assume that you do not have to mention something because the professor
already knows it. Give background information because he wants to be sure you
also know the basic facts.
Give a brief background to the individual and/or event; for example, the
personality, status or position of 'major players' or circumstances preceding
or leading to a particular event.
This part of the answer will require narrative (detail and description of
events) as well as explanation (the reason and purpose behind events, i.e., why
things happened as they did). Be sure to separate different topics with
paragraphs that fully explore that topic. Also, begin with sentences that
clearly introduce the subject of the paragraph or serve as good transitional
sentences that will impart elegance to your writing.
Your conclusions, based on class lectures and reading, will generally offer the
consensus of historians on the significance of the events and personalities
under discussion.