Common Sentence Composing Errors - Prepositional Phrases
1) Not understanding what a preposition is and what a prepositional phrase is.
>> You can’t perform on an assessment on an idea if you don’t know what that idea is.
>> Prep phrases always begin with a preposition and end with a noun (called the object of the preposition).
2) Not understanding what a simple sentence is.
>> A common misperception is that a simple sentence has only 1 subject and 1 predicate. In reality there can be more -- but there’s always only one clause.
>> A clause is a pairing of one group of subjects affecting an action in the form of one group of predicates.
3) Not paying attention in class to instruction.
>> The ability to be actively engaged and focused is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will be.
>> Don't rush just to "get it done." Take your time to think, listen, and learn.
4) Not being critical of your own writing by analyzing it deeply.
>> Apply the discussion, models, and student work examples to your own work. Think deeply about how it connects to your own sentence.
5) Failure to identify the correct number of prepositional phrases
>> Use the Prepositions Bank
>> Study and imitate the mentor sentences
>> Use the brackets, colors, and underlines in your models
6) Adding additional subjects and predicates just to “fill space” without imitating the structure of the original mentor sentence
>> Identify the subjects and predicates of the original sentence
>> “Not the pattern”
>> Learn what a run-on sentence is in order to avoid this error
