✏️ Sentence Improvement - Formula Sheet

🎯 Common Error Areas

Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular subject + Singular verb Plural subject + Plural verb Examples: The list of items is long. ✓ The list of items are long. ✗

Tense Consistency

Maintain same tense throughout Past events → Past tense Present facts → Present tense Future plans → Future tense

Pronoun Usage

Clear antecedent reference Correct case (subject/object) Agreement in number and gender

📊 Structure Improvements

Parallel Structure

Incorrect: She likes cooking, to dance, and swim. Correct: She likes cooking, dancing, and swimming.

Active vs Passive Voice

Active: Subject performs the action Passive: Subject receives the action Prefer active for clarity and conciseness

Dangling Modifiers

Incorrect: Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful. Correct: Walking down the street, I saw beautiful trees.

🔢 Word Choice Enhancement

Precise Vocabulary

Instead of: good/bad Use: excellent/outstanding/poor/inadequate Instead of: thing/stuff Use: specific object name Instead of: went Use: walked, ran, traveled, journeyed

Redundancy Elimination

Incorrect: return back, repeat again Correct: return, repeat Incorrect: basic fundamentals Correct: basics/fundamentals

Conciseness

Wordy: Due to the fact that Concise: because/because of

Wordy: In order to Concise: to

Wordy: At this point in time Concise: now/currently

⚡ Common Sentence Patterns

Cause-Effect

Use: because, since, due to, as a result Example: Because it rained, the match was canceled.

Contrast

Use: although, however, but, despite Example: Although it was cold, he went swimming.

Addition

Use: and, also, in addition, furthermore Example: She studied hard and passed the exam.

Condition

Use: if, unless, provided that, in case Example: If you study, you will succeed.

📝 Improvement Strategy

Step-by-Step Analysis

1. Read original sentence carefully
2. Identify grammar/mechanical errors
3. Check for clarity and conciseness
4. Evaluate word choice
5. Consider sentence structure
6. Compare with improvement options
7. Select best alternative

Self-Correction Checklist

□ Subject-verb agreement □ Tense consistency □ Pronoun reference □ Parallel structure □ Word choice □ Conciseness □ Clarity □ Punctuation

🔍 Specific Error Types

Modifier Errors

Misplaced: I almost ate the whole pizza. Correct: I ate almost the whole pizza.

Squinting: Students who skip classes often fail exams. Correct: Students who often skip classes fail exams.

Preposition Errors

Common confusions: in/on/at for/since among/between to/at/from

Article Errors

a vs. an definite vs. indefinite countable vs. uncountable

⚡ Quick Fixes

Common Problems

1. Double negatives → Remove one negative
2. Run-on sentences → Add conjunction or split
3. Sentence fragments → Add subject/verb
4. Comma splices → Add conjunction or period

Style Improvements

1. Use active voice
2. Choose strong verbs
3. Eliminate redundancy
4. Vary sentence structure
5. Use precise vocabulary

📚 Practice Areas

Grammar Focus

• Tense consistency
• Subject-verb agreement
• Pronoun usage
• Preposition choice
• Article usage

Style Focus

• Active vs passive voice
• Conciseness
• Clarity
• Word choice
• Sentence variety

🔍 Test-Taking Strategy

Approach

1. Read original sentence
2. Identify what needs improvement
3. Evaluate each option
4. Select best improvement
5. Reread to confirm

Priority Order

1. Grammar errors (must fix)
2. Clarity issues (important)
3. Style improvements (if needed)
4. Word choice (enhancement)

Master Sentence Improvement - Clear, correct, concise! ✏️