Most common writing mistakes

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 2

This week we'll be looking into...

...the most commonly made mistakes. 

Objectives

• You are aware of the most common writing mistakes and are able to avoid them in the future. 

1) Dear Sir or Madam,

If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always advisable to try to find out a name.

2) Dear Mr Jenkins,

If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for married

1) Yours faithfully

If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

2) Yours sincerely

If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

3. With kind regards

Commonly used. 

First paragraph?

Second/Third paragraph

Last paragraph

Report

1. Title: Short and clear

2. Introduction

Say what the report is about

Give basic information (where, when, what)

3. Main Part (Body)

Describe your tasks

Split this into 2–3 small paragraphs

4. Conclusion

Short ending (1–2 sentences)

Article

1. Title

Short and interesting

Tells the reader what the article is about

2. Introduction

Say what the article is about

Try to make it interesting

3. Main Part (Body)

What happened, details, opinion

4. Conclusion : Repeat the main idea or give advice

Review

1. Title

Short and clear

Often includes your opinion

2. Introduction

Say what you are reviewing (film, book, place, etc.)

Give basic information

3. Body

a. Description

Say what it is about

b. Opinion + reasons

c. Extra details

Talk about something specific (actors, food, service, music, etc.)

4. Conclusion

Give a final opinion

You can give a recommendation

Most common mistakes

Articles 

Simple Past Tense

Plural forms

Capitalization

Same sound, different spelling (Homophones)

A vs AN
Do you live in __ house?
No, actually, I live in __ apartment.

A vs AN

• Use "a" before words that start with a consonant sound. For example, "a cat" or "a house."
• Use "an" before words that start with a vowel sound. For example, "an apple" or "an umbrella."

It's about the sound at the beginning of the word, not just the letter. 

A or An?
_____ bed

1. A
2. An

A or An?
_____ online meeting

1. A
2. An

A or An?
_____ funny joke

1. A
2. An

A or An?
_____ expensive purse

1. A
2. An

A or An?
_____ answer

1. A
2. An

Past simple forms

We ______ the computer last night.

1. used
2. use
3. useed
4. uset

He ____ a shower.

1. haved
2. had
3. hat
4. het

Use the past simple tense:
They ______(do) their homework yesterday.

Use the past simple tense:
He already _______(eat) all the cake.

Use the past simple tense:
It _______(be) cold last night.

Use the past simple tense:
I _______(come) to England in 1993.

Use the past simple tense:
I________(buy) some books this morning.

Plural forms

Plural forms
1 have got one dog
he has got two _______

This box has to go to the kitchen and those _______ over there to the bathroom.

Write the plural form:
park

Write the plural form:
copy

Write the plural form:
sheep

Write the plural form:
friend

Which words in the following sentences need a capital letter?

every december, i can hardly wait for santa claus.

Which words in the following sentences need a capital letter?

friday is the best day because we order pizza from domino’s or a sandwich from subway.

Which words in the following sentences need a capital letter?

spring is my favorite season, though I do love the fall because we celebrate thanksgiving.

Which words in the following sentences need a capital letter?

the big ben of london is a clock.

Which words in the following sentences need a capital letter?

kelsey and taylor went to yellowstone national park last july.

Same sound

Different spelling

 Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and, often, different spellings. Despite their identical pronunciation, homophones can be spelled differently.

Spot the mistake and write the sentence the correct way

Your going to love this cake.

Spot the mistake and write the sentence the correct way

Please submit you're report by the end of the day.

Spot the mistake and write the sentence the correct way

The dog wagged it's tail happily.

Spot the mistakes and write the sentence the correct way

I have to cars, but I want to sell one too buy a motorcycle.

Spot the mistakes and write the sentence the correct way

We went to the beach last summer, were we built sandcastles.