Editing Symbols Used on Graded Assignments
For Students of Patricia Clark


agr error in agreement: e.g. subject and verb or noun and pronoun do not agree
AV use the active voice 
ambig ambiguous, needs clarification
awk awkward phrasing or sentence structure 
Cap use capital letter(s)
cl lack of clarity 
coh lack of coherence: ideas don't hang together 
colloq too colloquial: use more formal English 
cs comma splice 
CSAD give clear statement of action desired
concl weak or missing conclusion 
DA  indicate date/deadline for action
dev idea needs further development or explanation 
dg dangling participle 
dm dangling or misplaced modifier 
EA use easy action device(s)
euph avoid euphemisms 
fs fused sentences 
gd good
gen  too general; be more specific 
gr error in grammar 
intro weak or missing introduction 
jargon avoid jargon 
log confused reasoning: ideas not presented logically 
// str faulty parallel structure/parallelism 
ms  improper manuscript form 
neg  unnecessary negative language
NR needless repetition 
org poor organization 
punctuation incorrect or absent 
start a new paragraph 
pl use the plural 
pos use positive language
pv weak passive voice: wordy, inappropriate
poss use the possessive form correctly 
prep incorrect or misused preposition 
PRI put the reader in
RB show reader benefit
Reo reorganize for greater effectiveness and clarity
ro run-on sentence: break idea into separate sentences 
ref faulty or unclear reference: e.g. subject-verb or noun-pronoun 
reo reorganize for greater clarity and coherence 
rew reword for clarity and correctness 
sf sentence fragment: the verb and /or subject is missing 
sig explain the significance of this detail 
sp faulty spelling 
< SP increase or double space between lines
ss sentence sense: revise sentence for clarity and grammatical correctness 
T poor or incorrect choice of verb tense: e.g. don't shift tenses inappropriately,
use the proper tense in this context 
tone use a more appropriate tone
trans transition word or phrase needed to link sentences or paragraphs for coherence 
u paragraph content is not unified 
UA strengthen the "you attitude"
usage not a conventional, acceptable usage in English
V wrong verb form 
wdy  wordy: be more concise and precise 
wm word missing 
wk weak 
ww wrong word or nonexistent word 
insert something here 
insert something here 
? idea unclear: what are you trying to say?
wk ¶ weak paragraph 
X incorrect detail 
X ¶ inappropriate paragraph or paragraph break
e.g. doesn't develop idea appropriately or sufficiently, or new paragraph breaks up related ideas

 
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