S.6 EnglishCommon Mistakes

Composition 1

Title

OUTLINE!

• Why didn’t you follow the outline exercise????????????

• No counter-argument

Contents: not specific enough

• Good to have work experience…

• But is it timely for sixth formers to have such experience in view of the heavy workload?

• Age? School work?

codes

• Grammatical Mistakes

• Big grammatical mistakes

• Stylish mistakes

• Good points

• Can not cannot

Redundant• Many jobs require a good working

experience, although high educational background is equally important. For example, we find in the classified-ads that many jobs require someone with a good working experience like one or two years of experience but not a high educational background.

Re-write• Many jobs require a good working

experience, although high educational background is equally important. For example, we find in the classified-ads that many jobs require someone with a good working experience at least one or two years of experience but not a high educational background. do not specify on academic qualifications.

Not enough substance….

• We need money to study.

• We need much money to study. (wrong)

• We need a large amount of money for our tuition fees and reference books.

• Quite a hefty sum is needed every year to pay for the tuition fees and to buy reference books.

Sentence structure

• They take part time jobs. They have a variety of skills.

• As they take part-time jobs, they learn to have a variety of skills.

• Because they take part-time jobs, they (learn to) have a variety of skills.

• By taking part-time jobs, they (learn to) have a variety of skills.

Vocab

• To learn skills

• To master knowledge

• To acquire knowledge

• To attain qualification

• To be qualified in ….

Vocab

• I want to get experience.

• I want to gain experience.

• I want to gather experience.

• I want to acquire experience.

Vocab

• Do part-time jobs

• Engaged in part-time jobs

• Take up part-time jobs

• Work part-time (adv)

• Involved in part-time jobs

• Part-time employment / occupation

• Do part-time (wrong)

vocab

• No time left for studying.

• Time-consuming

• Time-wasting.

• Much time is wasted.

Same subjects

• They will have no time to review their textbooks. They have no time to meet with their friends. They spend little time to go to church or to do sports.

• Their time to review their textbooks will decrease drastically. They have no time to meet with their friends. Furthermore, not much time can be spent on going to church or sports.

Wrong subject

• Doing part time jobs can learn many things.• Doing part time jobs can help them learn many

things. • Doing part time jobs is an excellent way for

students to learn many things. • Doing part time jobs is a good means for students

to learn many things. • Doing part time jobs is a good opportunity for

students to learn many things.

• Doing part time jobs can give the students many experiences.

• Doing part time jobs can allow them learn many things

Wrong subject

• Students who do part time jobs affect their own studies.

• Students who do part time jobs have their studies affected.

• I cut my hair. (I did it myself.)

• I have my hair cut. (Somebody else did it for me.)

So???

• I should study hard so I can get into university. (hopeful result)

• I am studying hard so that I can get into university. (my purpose)

• I studied hard so I got into HKU.• I studied hard so that I got into HKU.• It rains so I bring my umbrella.• It rains so that I bring my umbrella.• I bring my umbrella so that I won’t get wet.• I brought my umbrella so I did not get wet.

So???

• I should study hard so I can get into university. (hopeful result)

• I am studying hard so that I can get into university. (my purpose)

• I studied hard so I got into HKU. correct• I studied hard so that I got into HKU. wrong• It rains so I bring my umbrella. correct• It rains so that I bring my umbrella. wrong• I bring my umbrella so that I won’t get wet. correct

• I brought my umbrella so I did not get wet. correct

Cannot learn

• Cause: Doing part time jobs

• Effect: One cannot concentrate at class

• Doing part time jobs makes one cannot concentrate at class the next day.

• Doing part time jobs makes one unable to concentrate at class the next day.

By doing

• He hurt himself by cutting down a tree.

• He hurt himself while cutting down a tree.

• He learnt his English by listening to BBC every night. (He did it on purpose.)

• He learnt his English while listening to BBC. (He didn’t do it on purpose.)

• Let’s consider how they use the salary by doing part-time jobs.

• Let’s consider how they use the salary from doing part-time jobs.

• Let’s consider how they use the salary by examining the following case study.

Comma and full stops

Pay attention: The line on the page is too short

. What is that full stop doing there? Never, never

, start a line with a punctuation.

“Except quotation marks!”

Don’t don’t

Do not use short forms in essays.