Edit and proofread your draft.
A Note on Grammar and Spelling Checkers
These tools can be helpful, but don’t rely on them exclusively to catch errors in your text: Spelling checkers cannot catch misspellings that are themselves words, such as to or too. Grammar checkers miss some problems, sometimes give faulty advice for fixing problems, and can flag correct items as wrong. Use these tools as a second line of defense after your own (and, ideally, another reader’s) proofreading and editing efforts.
Two kinds of errors occur often in concept explanations: mixed constructions and missing or unnecessary commas around adjective clauses. The following guidelines will help you check your essay for these common errors.
Avoiding Mixed Constructions
What Is a Mixed Construction? A mixed construction in a sentence is a combination of structures that don’t work together properly according to the rules of logic or English grammar. Mixed constructions often occur when a writer attributes information to a source, defines a term, or provides an explanation. In particular, watch out for definitions that include is when or is where and explanations that include the reason...is because, which are likely to be both illogical and ungrammatical.
The Problem Sentences are logically or grammatically incoherent.
The Correction Replace when or where with a noun that renames the subject or with an adjective that describes the subject.
Delete either the reason...is or because.
Check subjects and predicates to make sure they are logically and grammatically matched, and delete any redundant expressions.
Using Punctuation with Adjective Clauses
What Is an Adjective Clause? An adjective clause includes both a subject and a verb, gives information about a noun or a pronoun and often begins with who, which, or that:
Because adjective clauses add information about the nouns they follow—defining, illustrating, or explaining—they can be useful in writing that explains a concept.
The Problem Adjective clauses may or may not need to be set off with a comma or commas. To decide, determine whether the clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. Essential clauses should not be set off with commas; nonessential clauses must be set off with commas.
The Correction Mentally delete the clause. If taking out the clause does not change the basic meaning of the sentence or make it unclear, add a comma or commas.
If the clause follows a proper noun, add a comma or commas.
If taking out the clause changes the basic meaning of the sentence or makes it unclear, do not add a comma or commas.
