Sharpening Your Editing Skills
Directions
In the following three paragraphs, there are fourteen errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Please find as many as you can and be prepared to explain the rule you used in making the correction. When you are finished, click on the answer key to see how you've done. Good luck.
Statement of Facts
On the evening of May 3 2002, a number of first year students from Hudson University gathered at Eli's Pub in Hamden to watch the Boston Celtics play the New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference finals. Most of the students, including Frank Logan, were rooting for the Celtics but Jonas Harper was an avid Nets fan. Before the game began, Harper became the object of some good-natured teasing. "How many championships have the Nets won," Logan asked several times.
As the game continued members of the group became rowdy. Although Harper was not drinking; most of the other students were. By the end of the first half, the groups shouting and pushing had became noticeable enough to attract the attention of Ernie Talbot the owner and bartender. During the second half, Ernie gave the students several warnings. Although the game was close, the Celtics won in the final seconds. The yelling, chanting and shoving became so disruptive that Ernie ejected the entire group from the pub and threatened to call the police.
Once outside, Logan continued to tease Harper. After Logan made a particularly offensive comment about the Nets, Harper walked away from the group. As he prepared to cross the street, Harper saw a rock lying near the curb. He picked up the rock and threw it at Logan, shouting, "Who cares about the Celtics. Their just a bunch of ignorant jerks, just like you". The rock went over Logans head and crashed into a statue of a Revolutionary War hero. The statue, which was the property of Eli's Pub, stood in the entrance to the bar. The rock left a small, almost imperceptible scratch on the statute.
Answers
Click here for the answers to the editing quiz. Click on the yellow comment boxes in the margins for a full explanation of the answer.
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