Reverse Key to Codes (for Teachers)

Parts One to Four

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | P | Q | R | S | T | V | W

If a code does not appear here, it may be in Part Five.

 


A

abbreviations: Abb or Abb X
action verbs: Voc apostrophes: Ap or Ap X

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B

brackets: Br or Br X

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C

capitalization: Cap or Cap X comma splice: CS
choppy sentences: Ch comparative, superl degree: Deg
circular reasoning: Circ comparisons, incomplete: Comp
clichés: Cl concrete diction: Voc
colons: Col or Col X connotations, inappropriate: WW

commas: C or CX

contractions, avoid: Cont
comma (additional needed): C2nd

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D

dashes: D, DT or DX

dangling/misrelated modifiers: DM

degree (-er, -est): Deg

double negatives: Neg

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E

ellipses: Ell, Ell T or Ell X

end punctuation: EP

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F

flabby sentences: Fl

fragments: Frag

fused sentences: FS

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G

glossary of usage: G

glossary: write the rule: G1

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H

he or she: h/s

hyphens: Hy, Hy T or Hy X

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I

idioms, idiomatic prepositions: Id

interruptions, artificial: Inter
informal diction: Inf irregular verbs (knowed, etc.): Irr
int, refl pronouns: Intensive, reflexive italics: Ital, Ital T or Ital X
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J

jargon: J

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L

lifeless words: Voc

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M

meaningless words: Voc

mixed constructions: Mix

mixed metaphor: Mixed met

modifiers (dangled, misrelated): DM

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N

numbers: N

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P

parallelism: Par prepositions: Prep or Prep x

parentheses: Paren or Paren X

pretentious language: J
participial endings: Part pronoun case: PC
passive voice: PV pronoun reference: Ref
past perfect tense: Past perf pronoun reference shift: Sh or Pro sh

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Q

quotation marks: QM quotations within quotations: QQ
quotationmarks with dialogue: QMD quotation marks: QMT or QMX
quotation marks and punctuation: QMP

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R

redundancy: Red

regional expressions: Inf

repetition: Rep

run-on sentence: RO

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S

semicolons: SC or SC X slang: Inf
shifts, mixed constructions: Mix spelling list: SPL
shifts of reference: Sh or Pro sh split infinitives: SI
shifts of verb tense: Sh or VT sh subject-verb agreement: SV or Agr
simplify complicated sentences: Sim subjunctive mood: VS

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T

titles ("Birches," Emma): T

transitive, intransitive verbs: VTR or VI

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V

vary sentence patterns: Var

verb tense: VT

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W

who, whom: Wh

wordiness and repetition: Wdy

wrong word: WW

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Part Five

MF: MANUSCRIPT FORM

THE ESSAY

WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE

QUOTING LITERATURE

CW: CREATIVE WRITING

DOCUMENTATION

 

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MF: Manuscript Form

1. margins: Mrg  7. punctuation: MFP
2. heading: Hdg  8. quotations: MFQ
3. title: MFT  9. citations: Cit
4. spacing, typeface: Spacing, Typeface 10. materials: Mat
5. indentation: Ind 11. handwriting: Hwtg
6. pagination: Pg

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The Essay

titles: ET conclusion: EC
introduction: EI outlines: EO
paragraphs: EPara thesis, topic: ETh or ETop
transitions: ETrans

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Writing aobut Literature

1. avoid mystery openings: LO 10. terms for their own sake: L Terms
2. place commas carefully: LC 11. repeating what was said in class: L11
3. make your thesis interpretative: L Th 12. maintain an objective tone: L Tone
4. avoid plot summary, paraphrase: L Sum 13. avoid mechanical organization: L Org
5. provide context: LCon 14. refer clearly to the author: LA
6. use present tense: LVT 15. unnecessary background: L15
7. avoid dull titles: LT 16. secondary sources: L16
8. avoid the irrelevant "I": LI 17. avoid in/of the poem/story/play: LR
9. do not boast (the deeper meaning): LB 18. avoid (this) shows that: LSh

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Quoting Literature

1. documentation: QLD 7. introducing quotations: QLI
2. enumeration: QLN 8. variety in handling quotations: QLV
3. extracted quotations: QL Ex 9. punctuation: QL Punc
4. quoting poetry: QLP 9a. comma: QLC
5. ellipses: QL Ell 9b. colon: QL Col
6. changes [brackets, etc.]: QL Changes 9c. no punctuation: QL No punc

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CW: Creative Writing

General Rules

1. obey basic writing rules: CW1 4. use modifiers with restraint: CW Ad
2. show, don't tell: CW Show 5. vulgar language: CW Vul
3. consistent style and tone: CW Con 6. use archaic language correctly: CW6

Fiction and Drama

7. action: CWA 10. introducing dialogue: CWD
8. plot: CWP 11. verb tense: CW VT
9. characterization: CWC

Poetry

12. theme and idea: PT 16. punctuating poetry: PP
13. diction: PD 17. rhyme: PR
14. line endings: PLE 18. meter: PM
15. sentence structure: PSS 19. formatting poetry: PF

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Documentation

responsibility: Doc Resp

parenthetical citation form: Doc Form

bibliography: Doc Bib

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