Editors' Resources

Should you use that, which, who, or whom? A comma or a period? Why should you choose one word over another, and what are some ways to make sentences and paragraphs stronger?

The links on this page lead to information to help with editing decisions.

On this page:

Grammar and punctuation reference
Specific grammar difficulties
Specific punctuation difficulties
Common spelling and word choice mistakes
Clichés
Composition and style

Grammar and punctuation reference

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
The Clause	How to "[r]recognize a clause when you see one."	A clear explanation of the four types of sentence clauses: independent (main), dependent (subordinate), relative (adjective), and noun clauses
Style and Usage	Explanations of common grammatical mistakes and examples of incorect and correct sentences	Grammar points include sentence fragments (incomplete sentences), run-on sentences (comma splices), subject agreement with the verb, and tricky plurals
Grammar Guidelines	Common grammar and punctuation errors with rules and examples	Commas, dangling modifiers, different from, its vs. it's, many vs. much, meantime, meanwhile, nevertheless, nonetheless, number vs. amount, numbers: words vs. numerals, oftentimes, quotation marks, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, than vs. then, who vs. that, who vs. whom
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation	"Jane Straus's easy-to-use reference guide and workbook is now available as an online resource."	Explanations, examples, and exercises for grammar and punctuation
Brief Overview of Punctuation	Explanations and examples	Semicolon, colon, parenthesis, dash, quotation marks, and italics

Specific grammar difficulties

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
Amount, Degree, or Quantity	Definitions and examples of some words that express amount, degree, or quantity	Amount vs. number, farther vs. further, fewer vs. less, less vs. lesser
Relative Clauses	"Relative clauses are clauses which modify what they are attached to."	An explanation of restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses and examples
Relative Clauses: Defining (Restrictive) and Non-Defining (Non-Restrictive)	When and how to use each type of relative clause	Examples with sentence dissections and charts showing when to use who, whom, whose, that, which, where, when, why, or no relative pronoun
Subject-Verb Agreement	When to check for subject-verb agreement	Reasons and examples
Subject-Verb Agreement	"While short clauses provide for an easily identifiable subject, longer clauses with extensive phrases can make proper subject verb agreement more of a challenge."	How to establish if the verb agrees with the intended number of the subject
Parallel Form	"This principle, that of parallel construction, requires that expressions of similar content and function should be outwardly similar. "	Faulty parallelism with series, correlative expressions, and comparisons; examples and self-test quizzes

Specific punctuation difficulties

Apostrophes and possessives

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
The Apostrophe	Explains the three uses of the apostrophe with examples	Forming possessives of nouns, showing omission of letters, forming plurals of lowercase letters, when not to use apostrophes
The Possessive Singular	"Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's."	Examples and exceptions with this rule

Commas, semicolons, and periods

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
Using Commas	Rules for commas and when the rules can be broken	Commas to separate or set off words, phrases and clauses; mistakes to avoid
Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences	When to use a comma and when to use a semicolon	Definition of sentences and independent clauses, examples of commas with coordinating conjunctions, examples of semicolons linking independent clauses
Semicolons	Charts with rules for and examples of sentences with semicolons	When to use a semicolon, rules for using semicolons, common mistakes to avoid
Run-On Sentences, Comma Splices	"When two independent clauses are connected by only a comma, they constitute a run-on sentence that is called a comma-splice."	Examples of typical types of run-on sentences and how to correct them

Hyphens and dashes

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
Using Hyphens	Rules about when to use a hyphen to join words	Adjectives before and after nouns, compound numbers, confusion avoidance, prefixes, line breaks
Hyphens	Situations in which hyphens are used with examples	Numbers written out using hyphens, hyphenated prefixes and suffixes, hyphenated compound words, hyphens in words for clarity, dividing words at the end of the line (for print publications)
GSC Guide to Authors: Punctuation	The hyphen contrasted with the en dash and the em dash	Explanations of when to use the en dash and em dash, with examples

Common spelling and word choice mistakes

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
Words Often Misspelled	A list of over 50 words that are commonly misspelled	Accidentally, advice, affect, beginning...tries, undoubtedly, until
Commonly Misspelled Words	A long list of words that are commonly misspelled	Absence, abundance, accessible, accidentally...yacht, yield, zoology
Top 10 Spelling Errors	"Use it as a beginning checklist to eliminate spelling and grammar errors from your own pages."	Errors with apostrophe placement, words that sound similar, and the wrong pronoun (me, myself, I)
Common Errors in English	Common errors and supplementary pages	Words with similar spellings that are often confused, words that are often misused or misspelled
Words and Expressions Commonly Misused from Elements of Style	"Many of the words and expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style, the commonplaces of careless writing."	Wordy structures, redundant words, and misused words such as effect, less vs. fewer, and whom
A Dictionary of Usage	A long list of commonly misused words and confused word pairs, organized alphabetically	Examples: accept vs. except, bad vs. badly, then vs. than, your vs. you're

Clichés

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
'At the end of the day' named most irritating cliché	An article discussing why clichés are irritating; includes a short list of common irritating clichés	"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message — assuming there is one."
Plain Text: Clichés	"...if a phrase springs to mind easily, chances are it's a cliché."	"Take a pause before tapping the keyboard and see your writing improve noticeably."

Composition and style

Site/Page Name	Description	Details
Writing Concise Sentences	How to omit unnecessary words	Pruning the redundant, shortening sentences, constructions and phrases to omit, eliminating clichés and euphemisms
Elements of Style	An online version of the famous book Elements of Style	Rules of usage (possessive nouns, comma placement, sentence structure), principles of composition (sentence and paragraph structure, active voice, verb tense, form (headings, numerals, parentheses, quotations, references, titles), words commonly misspelled