Hello Schulich International Students,

My name is Michael Power and I am one of the team of Student Peer Support Workers here in Schulich’s International Relations Department.  We are here to help any students wishing to gain insight into proper business style writing as well as proper grammar, punctuation and overall flow for your papers.

With the semester winding down and the next one right around the corner, the group here would like to outline for everyone the top ten most common mistakes that we are helping students with.  These aspects are crucial to consider for ALL of us, so even if you have mastered the art of writing, ignoring the following when reviewing what your paper may result in a costly mistake.  These mistakes can affect your mark here at Schulich and more importantly your creditability when entering the business world.

I hope this helps as a reference list of some of the important things to look for when proof reading your paper.

Enjoy!

Michael

Schulich School of Business Academic Peer Support

Top 10 English Mistakes

 1. Misuse of articles

Indefinite articles like “a” or “an” are used to refer to a general noun, where the specific identity is unknown. “A” is used for words that begin with a consonant sound and “an” is used for words that begin with a vowel sound.

There is only one definite article in the English language (“the”) and it is used in front of singular or plural nouns and adjectives to refer to something specific.

e.g. “A duck” refers to a single unspecified duck but “the duck” refers to a specific duck.

2. Watch your adjectives

Adjectives are used to describe nouns and can be challenging if you use more than one to describe a specific noun. If you are using more than one adjective, they usually follow a specific order: 1) article, 2) judgment, 3) size, 4) shape, 5) age, 6) color, 7) nationality, and 8) material.

e.g. “He wants a white new bike,” is incorrect. “He wants a new, white bike” is correct.

3. Plural possessives

To show possession of a plural noun, just add an apostrophe at the end of the word (the brothers’ bike). If the noun is singular, add an apostrophe plus the letter “s” at the end of the word (the cat’s toy).

4. Wordiness

Don’t be unnecessarily wordy. “Suzie believed, but could not confirm, that Bill had feelings of affection for her,” is the same as “Suzie assumed Bill liked her,” but one uses five words and one uses 14. When writing an essay, it’s important to avoid wordiness and to be as precise as you can when constructing sentences.

5. Coordinating Conjunctions

When you write a sentence that contains a number of conjunctions (and, but, if, or), it’s best to review it and see where you can separate it into two or three sentences.

6. Case writing

For case writing, keep one timeline throughout – in the past tense if it is reflective of past events and in present tense if it is in current events

7. Lists, Lists and more Lists

Lists are very valuable tools to maintain structure in a paper, however be careful not to have 50%+ of your paper explaining lists, as it bores the reader and erodes the integrity of the paper.  Should you still insist on an abundance of lists, use variety in how you introduce them (First=Primarily, Second=Secondarily), look online for all of your options for list introductions.  As well ensure that if you start with one introduction, it is consistent throughout the list (Second always follows first, etc)

 8. Count/Noncount nouns

A noun is either countable or uncountable. An uncountable (noncount) noun generally cannot be taken apart as individual units. It is easiest to simply memorize which nouns are countable and which are uncountable. Noncount nouns are always accompanied by a singular verb “is,” “need” and singular determiners “this” or generic terms like “some” or “a lot of.” Do not put a number in front of a noncount noun.

e.g. Incorrect: He had a lot of moneys. à money is a noncountable noun

Correct: He had three cats. à cat is a countable noun

9. Tenses

Keep your tense consistent throughout your writing, i.e. past, present or future.

 10. Third/first person

Academic writing is generally in the third person (“one” instead of “I”, “we”; “the company” instead of “our company”). Before writing in the first person (“I”, “we”) check with your professor if this is acceptable for the particular assignment.

 Web Resources

http://www.scribendi.com/advice/the_10_most_common_esl_mistakes.en.html

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_faigley_penguinhb_1/0,7325,506655-,00.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/

Sign-up online!

Use the “Academic Peer Support Appointment” link under the “Useful Links” section of your student portal to book your appointment. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Lan Yu at lyu@schulich.yorku.ca.