Writing and Punctuation / Academic Style / Formal Writing style common mistakes

Formal Writing

• Do NOT use I/me/my/we/you etc in formal writing.

Instead: 1) delete it

e.g. The world we live in is becoming increasingly complex

2) use a passive

e.g. As we know, technology is becoming much easier to use.

 It is widely known that technology….

3) Start the sentence with, or change the verb to an –ing verb

e.g. If we study law, we need to spend long hours at the library.

 Studying law requires spending long hours at the library.

4) Use ‘one’ or ‘people’ (don’t use ‘one’ very much though)

• Do not use contractions – e.g. can’t cannot, won’t will not, they’ve they have.

• Do not use abbreviations – e.g. ads advertisements

• Do not use “and so on” or “etc”. It’s better to use “such as” or “including”

• Do not use sexist language. Use a plural subject to avoid he or she:

e.g. a teacher should help his students.  Teachers should help their students.

Besides, (this is informal and only for speaking)

Besides this, or Besides transport, the government should focus on crime.

• Never start a sentence with ‘And’ or ‘But’ or ‘So’

• Do not use general words like: thing, stuff, good, bad, nice, a lot of, get, big, anyway

Instead: use a thesaurus to find a better word - www.dictionary.com – but be careful to only use words you are sure you know the meaning of!

• Make sure your paragraphs are well defined – preferably with a blank line between each paragraph.

• Do not use a lot of questions in essays. A good general rule is 1 per 1500 word essay. Titles are fine and sometimes subheadings – check with your tutor.

• Do not mix British and American English – use only one style – set your language on your computer. Use a spell checker.

• Find and read the marking criteria for your assignment. This will tell you exactly what your tutor wants.

• Don’t plagiarise – paraphrase or quote directly and reference anything from another source. See the Student Learning Support website or the library to look at referencing guides.

Common Grammar Mistakes

1. According to Jones (2006) said that the number of overseas students is rising.

2. There are millions of people in the world are learning English.

3. A five years old boy can easily learn a second language.

4. Chinese people are difficult to speak English

5. I love the weather in Australia – it is too warm.

6. Even he studied hard, he couldn’t pass the exam

7. If global warming will get worse, many species of animals could die.

8. Town Planning affects on people by making the traffic in their city less.

9. It was decided, in 2008, to introduce compulsory preschool into Queensland.

10. Because of students have to study too much, they don’t get enough sleep.

11. I don’t know why do people in Australia always use slang.

12. Neither of the countries want to admit they made a mistake.

Correct Sentences

1. According to Jones (2006), said that the number of overseas students is rising.

2. Millions of people in the world are learning English.

There are millions of people in the world who are learning English.

3. A five year old boy can easily learn a second language.

4. It is difficult for Chinese people to speak English.

5. I love the weather in Australia – it is so warm.

6. Even though he studied hard, he couldn’t pass the exam

7. If global warming will gets worse, many species of animals could die.

8. Town Planning affects on people by making the traffic in their city less.

9. In 2008, it was decided to introduce compulsory preschool into Queensland.

10. Because of students have to study too much, they don’t get enough sleep.

11. I don’t know why do people in Australia always use slang.

12. Neither of the countries wants to admit they made a mistake.

If you do not understand what is wrong with any of these sentences, please ask us and we can explain and give you worksheets for further practice.

Keep a list of your common mistakes and use EDIT  FIND to find them and fix them individually – when you just read your essay you often don’t notice them!