Common Mistakes

These are common mistakes that students make on their papers
  1. Spell check and proof read your paper. In Word: Tools > Spelling and Grammar…
  2. Be sure to answer all the questions.
  3. Be sure to complete all assignment requirements. In paper 2 for example, if the assignment requires you to list out a full URL you used for your paper, don’t put usnews.com, but the full URL like http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/09/12/black-womens-burden-an-epidemic-of-hiv.html
  4. Elaborate on your answers enough so I understand your position. One sentence answers are not adequate.
  5. Remember to include your Name, Date, Assignment, Class, Class time, Title
  6. Remember to upload the correct format of .doc or .docx but .rtf and .txt are acceptable if you don't have Microsoft Word
  7. Don’t turn in the paper late
  8. Indians are people from India or whose parents, grandparents, etc are from India. Don't confuse Asian Indians with Native Americans or Indigenous People often referred to as American Indians.
  9. Failure to cite correctly. There are several ways to provide a citation: Yang's distinction between a narrow and broad definition of "ethnic group" raises some questions for me (pp. 9-11)
  10. The paper may make good points and have some interesting stories, but grammar and sentence structure needs a lot of work. Didn't mark you down for this, but please go to the WRC Writing, Reading, Center at ATC-309 if you need help with writing mechanics
  11. Verb tense and subject are not in agreement. I were, they was...
  12. They're, their, there, are used incorrectly
  13. Effect and affect used incorrectly
  14. Don’t say: I think, I would say, it is my opinion, I truly believe that... Just say what you want to say and leave these types of phrases out.
  15. Didn't apply definitions of racism correctly.
  16. Inferior confused with subordinate, superior confused with dominant. They are not the same
  17. Do not use contractions, spell out don't to do not etcetera.
  18. If you refer to a webpage or blog, include the URL web page address or a screen shot of the dialog
For papers about a news article showing racism or racial inequality:
  1. Didn’t look for their own articles. Those who did got a better grade.
  2. Used an article that was commenting or referred to another article that I couldn't find.
  3. Used a blog entry instead of a news article
  4. Used a source that wasn't mainstream.


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