Common Errors found within student submitted papers-

Please look out for the proper use of contractions, e.g.,  can't, don’t, isn’t, etc. As a general rule, we do not use contractions within formal writing.

• The pronoun "I" must be capitalized when used in a sentence. ("i" is incorrect)

• Its - is an adjective; it’s (it is) - is a noun.

• "alot" is not found in the dictionary

• Quotes usually begin with a capitol letter, e.g., Shermer (2006) said, "Once the research..."

• Unless you start the quote with 3 periods- Shermer (2006) said, "…research begins with…"

• Please remember to "Spell Check" your work.

• Check the proper use of subject verb agreement.

• When citing two author's- "Hastings and Johnson (2000) stated..."

• For in-text cites, for three, four or five authors, list all names followed by commas the first time, and only first author followed by et al. and date for subsequent cites; for six or more authors, use the abbreviation et al. following the first author name for all cites.

• When citing more than two authors- "Hastings et al. (2010) found that most..."

• Do not directly quote another author's work unless you use quotations with a citation including the page number.

• Example- (p. 124). for a single page, or  (pp. 124-125). for multiple pages.

  It is always best to paraphrase another author's idea; however, make sure that you properly cite the author.