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Preparation
Obtain/print out handouts for multiple choice practice questions

Workshop Agenda
Identifying sentence errors
Introduce the instructions for the section
The following sentences test your ability to recognize grammar and usage errors. Each sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. No sentence contains more than one error. The error, if there is one, is underlined and lettered. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice E. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English. The questions in this section are different from most other multiple-choice questions. For Identifying Sentence Errors, you will have to choose the answer that contains a mistake. How to approach this Section

Read each sentence quickly but carefully. The error may be obvious as soon as you see it. Consider each question as a cluster of true-false questions, each to be considered separately. Only one can be false, and that is the one containing the error. If there are no false responses, the answer is (E)—no error. Read aloud, if possible, during your practice sessions. You won’t be able to do this during the actual test, of course. If you read aloud, you may hear the error immediately. Keep in mind, however, that the rules for written English are stricter than those for everyday spoken English. Examine the underlined choices A to D. Consider which kind of correction may be needed for each one. Develop the habit of looking for the most common mistakes people make in grammar: subject/verb agreement, pronoun agreement, and adjective/adverb confusion. Look for errors in idioms—words or phrases that are particular to our language because of what they mean when used together. We say that we listen to someone, not listen at someone or by someone; a song is by a composer, not from a composer. We say at the top of the hill, not at the top on the hill. Remember that some sentences have no error. Don’t spend time looking for what is not there. Mark (E), No error, on your answer sheet if you believe the sentence is correct as written. Correct errors even in questions for which you have only to identify the error. As you practice, correcting the error may help you keep in mind the language principles. Move quickly through questions about Identifying Sentence Errors. The other kinds of questions—Improving Sentences and Improving Paragraphs — will likely take more time. Mark questions in your test booklet that you’ve skipped. Then you can return to them later. Develop the habit of looking for the most common mistakes people make in grammar: subject/verb agreement, pronoun agreement, and adjective/adverb confusion. Spend a few minutes going over examples where the students take time to think about the question and then answer. Examples

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