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Annotating Essays for Turnitin.

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What is this all about? I am implementing this process to help curb some of the silly mistakes that appear frequently in student work. Through these annotations, you will need to consciously recognize trouble spots by color code and correct them if they do not appear to be written correctly. What are these color codes? 1. This + a Noun = The word this is used to point at a specific example of something (i.e., this paper, not that one). When the word this stands alone, the audience has no clear point of reference to understand to what this refers. Oftentimes in speech, we say This is the best; however, that spoken use of this works because you are speaking to someone, usually near you, who is embedded in the context of the conversation. If you say This is the best to your friend as you are sitting down and eating dinner, the point of reference is fairly clear. This conversational familiarity does not carry over to written work. Highlight both the word this and the noun that follows it; if you do not have the word this followed by a noun, do not turn your work in without correcting the error first. 2. It and the Antecedent = The word it and its antecedent must be highlighted in the same sentence. The popular opening phrase It is is a weak subject construction mostly because the audience does not know to what it you are referring. Highlight both the word it and its antecedent in your papers; if there is no antecedent in the same sentence, do not turn your work in without correcting them first. 3. Passive Voice and Being Verb Usage = Being verbs are weaker and less specific than active verbs. To communicate more clearly, use as few of these verbs as possible. The other problem that arises when you use being verbs is the passive voice. Passive voice constructions have a purpose in writing, but that purpose is one that is not needed often. The only time you should use the passive voice is when an abstract concept is the subject of your sentence. Highlight all being verbs (is, am, are, were, was) in your paper; if there is a greater than 40% usage of being verbs in your work, do not turn in your work until you change some of them using the idea of populated prose. 4. Placement of punctuation within quotation marks = Punctuation marks usually go inside the quotation marks. There are a few notable exceptions (semi-colon, colon, and question mark [if the question mark affects the meaning of the quotation]). Periods and commas go inside the quotation marks. The only exception to this rule arises when you cite outside sources in a synthesis or research paper. In the case of synthesis and research papers, the closing quotation mark is placed before the parenthetical citation and the period is placed after: ------------- (Citation 1). Highlight all quotation marks and punctuation around them; if the punctuation is not placed properly, do not turn in the work until you have adjusted it. 5. Commonly Confused or Misspelled Words = Highlight any of the following commonly confused words in your paper; do not turn in your work until you are certain the correct word is present. You can go to www.noredink.com to get quick explanatory information about these different pairings. a. A vs. An n. Because vs. Cause b. A lot vs. Alot o. Desert vs. Dessert c. Accept vs. Except p. Everyone vs. Every one d. Advice vs. Advise q. Everyday vs. Every day e. Affect vs. Effect r. Farther vs. Further f. Allusion vs. Illusion s. Fewer vs. Less g. Already vs. All ready t. Good vs. Well h. Altar vs. alter u. Into vs. In to i. Altogether vs. All together v. Know vs. No j. Among vs. Between w. Later vs. Latter k. Anyone vs. Any one x. Loose vs. Lose l. Anyway vs. Anyways y. Maybe vs. May be m. Biased vs. Bias z. Morning vs. Mourning

aa. bb. cc. dd. ee. ff.

Knot vs. Not Passed vs. Past Prejudice vs. Prejudiced Principal vs. Principle Quiet vs. Quite Right vs. Write

gg. hh. ii. jj. kk.

Scene vs. Seen Cite vs. Sight vs. Site Than vs. Then Their vs. There vs. Theyre To vs. Too vs. Two

Do I really have to do this? Yes, you must. These errors have become too frequent in the work coming in on due dates. In turn, time is dedicated to point out these errors that could easily be identified ahead of time. Doing this highlighting now will make the grading move more quickly after work is submitted. More importantly, grading is about demonstrating mastery of a subject. If you are consistently turning in work that contains repetitive, easily corrected errors, you are not demonstrating mastery. This lack of mastery affects the grade you receive on your work. Finally, these skills are necessary for the PSAT, SAT, and AP exams. In each of these exams, you will be evaluated on both the content and style of what you write. Developing a consciousness of these mistakes will help you do better on these exams as well. What happens if I do not do this to my papers? If you do not highlight the five things mentioned above, you will 1) receive the paper back without any assessment (feedback or grade), 2) you will be asked to resubmit the paper by the next class period with the highlights added and the errors changed, and 3) you will be assessed a late grade of one letter grade less (or 10 points). This awareness of your writing is important; this skill is something you will need in your future assessments, studies, and careers.

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