Some Abbreviations on Returned Papers
last updated: Jan 2013
AB autobiography: this is irrelevant autobiography. Talk about the topic, not about yourself or your experience writing the paper.
Agr agreement: there is a pronoun-antecedent or subject-verb agreement problem here.
Ap apostrophe: you have made an apostrophe error. (Apostrophe errors are inexcusable!)
Awk awkward: this sentence or construction is awkward; it should be written differently.
Cit citation: a citation is required here.
CS Comma splice – See the following handout from Dr. L. Kip Wheeler at Carson-Newman College.
CSC Comma/Semi-colon error (circled). You chose the wrong one.
DM dangling modifier
EL exclusive language: your word choice or phraseology is sexist.
etc. I will not keep correcting this error, so just follow the pattern!
Gr A grammatical error that isn't covered by one of the other abbreviations.
Imp imprecise formulation or characterization.
MQ misquotation.
MW missing word
NN not necessary this sentence or these words are not necessary to what your are saying
NS non sequitur: the transition in your text is abrupt or in some other way does not follow.
OQ offset this quote: lengthier quotes should be inset by about one-half inch and have single line-spacing. (This is also my Tip #20 in my Tips on Writing Philosophy Papers)
Pct punctuation: flawed punctuation.
Pg page reference: you do not cite the page from which this quote or reference is drawn.
Qu this paraphrase or wording is too close to the actual wording of the text. Either make it a quote, or rephrase it.
Red redundant: your phraseology or word choice is redundant.
Rep repetitive: your exposition is repetitive.
RO run-on sentence.
SF sentence fragment: this sentence is an (inappropriate) sentence fragment.
Sp spelling: a misspelling.
SS split this into two sentences (at the place circled, if any)
TOR short for "thesis-objection-response"
Unc unclear: your expression or phraseology here is unclear.
Vag vague: your phraseology or thought is vague here.
WC word choice: your choice of words is inappropriate here (e.g., you write "proves" when you should write "suggests").
//¶ paragraph break: you should break the paragraph into two at this point.
Tip #x refer to the cited tips on my Tips for Writing Papers.
Inclusive Language! : You do not make an effort to write with inclusive language in this paper. This may reflect a political view-point, a stylistic assumption, or nothing at all. Because it is possible that you do this deliberately and for political reasons, I do not require students to write in inclusive language. If, however, you believe that you are stylistically required to use "man," "mankind," and "he" as generic words, you are wrong. Contemporary usage now leans towards inclusive language. In my view, moreover, it is respectful of your reader to do so, and do know that you will actively alienate some of your readers by not writing inclusively. Please see the excerpts from the Amer. Philosophical Association guidelines on the non-sexist use of language.
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