Copy this file and paste it into your word processor. Find 8 subject-verb agreement (sva) errors in paragraph 3A. Find 12 agreement errors in paragraph 3B; both nouns and verbs need to be corrected. Using the following symbols, show how the errors should be edited.
Refer to Correction Symbols, as necessary. After editing the paragraphs, check the answer key.
1 Skimming is a technique that take a reader through a reading passage much faster than usual. 2 It is not just rapid, casual reading; it is a careful reading of selected parts of paragraphs. 3 Instead of reading every word in a paragraph, a reader look at the first and last sentences and tries to identify key words in between. 4 Skimming in this way concentrate a reader's attention on certain parts in each paragraph. 5 Because most textbooks explains a procedure, a situation, an event, or a technique, their expository paragraphs usually begins with a topic sentence. 6 If the topic sentence is not the first sentence of a paragraph, it may be the last sentence. 7 Key words, synonyms, and transitions between these two sentences expands and support the main idea. 8 Identifying the expected organization of paragraphs also help the reader to find the important ideas. 9 Whether readers want to identify the main points of a relatively simple passage or read a complicated passage with greater understanding, skimming can help. 10 In general, skimming before reading aid comprehension and speed during the reading stage. 11 Skimming can also be useful as a review technique before an exam.
1 Our solar system is composed of the sun, its planets, and object such as meteors, asteroids, satellites, and comets. The sun itself is a giant, self-luminous body that contain 99.9 percent of the mass of the entire system. 3 Its temperature of about 6,000 degree determine the warmth of the rest of the solar system. 4 The five planets observed since ancient times are named Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn; Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were identified more recently. 5 These planets revolves eastward around the sun. 6 The time for one revolution around the sun varies from 248 year for Pluto to 88 day for Mercury. 7 Humans have long used the regular movements of the planet and the moon around the fixed stars for measuring time. 8 Explanations from the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews reveals an early interest in the origin of the solar system. 9 Currently, many astronomer accept the theory that the solar system was formed from a giant cloud of dust and gas. 10 However, there is still no acceptable theory that account for all of the observed characteristic of our solar system.
From Improving the Grammar of Written English: The Editing Process, Beverly Benson and Patricia Byrd
[Answer Key] [Go to class at cvc.blackboard.com] [marsha_chan@wvmccd.cc.ca.us]
Marsha Chan
English as a Second Language Department
Mission College
3000 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054-1897
(408) 855-5314
URL: http://www.missioncollege.org/depts/esl/