ParaPro Writing Study Guide: Editing Skills

Editing Skills for the ParaPro Assessment

Editing is a critical skill assessed in the writing section of the ParaPro exam. This involves identifying and correcting errors in grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. As a paraprofessional, you’ll need to help students improve their writing through effective editing.

What is Editing?

Editing is the process of reviewing and correcting written work to improve accuracy, clarity, and quality. It involves:

Identifying and correcting grammatical errors
Fixing punctuation mistakes
Correcting spelling errors
Ensuring proper word usage
Improving sentence structure

Common Grammatical Errors

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs must agree in number (singular or plural).

Examples:

❌ The group of students are going to the museum.
✓ The group of students is going to the museum. (Group is singular)

❌ Each of the books have a different story.
✓ Each of the books has a different story. (Each is singular)

Key Rules:

Collective nouns (group, team, committee) generally take singular verbs
With “either/or” or “neither/nor,” the verb agrees with the noun closer to it
Words like “each,” “everyone,” “everybody,” “anyone,” and “nobody” are singular
Don’t be fooled by words between the subject and verb

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents (the nouns they replace) in gender and number.

Examples:

❌ Each student must bring their own lunch.
✓ Each student must bring his or her own lunch. (Traditional rule)

✓ All students must bring their own lunches. (Plural form avoids the problem)

❌ The committee made their decision.
✓ The committee made its decision. (Committee is singular)

Key Rules:

Singular antecedents require singular pronouns
Plural antecedents require plural pronouns
Indefinite pronouns like “anyone” and “everyone” are singular
In modern usage, “they” is increasingly accepted as a singular gender-neutral pronoun

Verb Tense Consistency

Maintain consistent verb tenses within sentences and paragraphs unless there is a logical reason for a shift.

Examples:

❌ Yesterday, I go to the store and bought some groceries.
✓ Yesterday, I went to the store and bought some groceries.

❌ When I visited Paris, I see the Eiffel Tower and ate at a café.
✓ When I visited Paris, I saw the Eiffel Tower and ate at a café.

Key Rules:

Use past tense for completed actions
Use present tense for current actions or universal truths
Use future tense for actions that will occur later
Shift tenses only when necessary to show a change in time

Common Punctuation Errors

Comma Usage

Use commas:

To separate items in a series: I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.
Between independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so): She wanted to go to the beach, but it was raining.
After introductory elements: After the storm, we assessed the damage.
Around non-essential elements: My brother, who lives in Boston, is visiting next week.

Common Comma Errors:

❌ I bought apples oranges and bananas.
✓ I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.

❌ She wanted to go to the beach but it was raining.
✓ She wanted to go to the beach, but it was raining.

❌ After the storm we assessed the damage.
✓ After the storm, we assessed the damage.

Apostrophes

Use apostrophes for:

Possessives: The student’s book, the students’ books
Contractions: isn’t, don’t, you’re, it’s (meaning “it is”)

Common Apostrophe Errors:

❌ The books cover is torn.
✓ The book’s cover is torn.

❌ The childrens toys were everywhere.
✓ The children’s toys were everywhere.

❌ Its going to rain later.
✓ It’s going to rain later.

❌ The bird lost it’s feathers.
✓ The bird lost its feathers. (No apostrophe for possessive “its”)

Semicolons and Colons

Semicolon (;) Usage:

To join closely related independent clauses: The test was difficult; many students failed.
To separate items in a series when the items contain commas: I’ve lived in Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Madrid, Spain.

Colon (:) Usage:

To introduce a list: I need three items: milk, bread, and eggs.
To introduce an explanation: I have one goal: to finish this project by Friday.

Common Semicolon/Colon Errors:

❌ The test was difficult, many students failed. (Comma splice)
✓ The test was difficult; many students failed.

❌ I need three items; milk, bread, and eggs.
✓ I need three items: milk, bread, and eggs.

Common Spelling Errors

Frequently Misspelled Words

accomodate → accommodate
acheive → achieve
accidently → accidentally
beleive → believe
concious → conscious
definately → definitely
existance → existence
foriegn → foreign
grammer → grammar
independant → independent
occured → occurred
posession → possession
seperate → separate
suprise → surprise
tommorow → tomorrow

Spelling Strategies:

Learn common spelling rules and their exceptions
Memorize frequently misspelled words
Use mnemonic devices to remember tricky spellings
Be aware of homophones (their/there/they’re, your/you’re, its/it’s)

Commonly Confused Words

accept (verb meaning “to receive”) vs. except (preposition meaning “excluding”)
affect (usually a verb meaning “to influence”) vs. effect (usually a noun meaning “result”)
than (used for comparison) vs. then (related to time)
their (possessive) vs. there (location) vs. they’re (contraction of “they are”)
to (preposition) vs. too (also/excessively) vs. two (the number)
your (possessive) vs. you’re (contraction of “you are”)
its (possessive) vs. it’s (contraction of “it is”)
lose (verb) vs. loose (adjective)
principal (school leader or “main”) vs. principle (rule or standard)
stationery (paper products) vs. stationary (not moving)

Examples in Context:

I will accept all packages except the damaged one.

The weather affects my mood; the effect is usually positive when it’s sunny.

She is taller than her brother. First we’ll measure her, then we’ll measure him.

They’re taking their books over there.

I’m going to the store too, and I’ll buy two apples.

Improving Sentence Structure

Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that lacks a subject, a verb, or both, or is a dependent clause standing alone.

Examples:

❌ Walking to the store. (No subject)
✓ I was walking to the store.

❌ The dog in the yard. (No verb)
✓ The dog is in the yard.

❌ Because it was raining. (Dependent clause alone)
✓ We stayed inside because it was raining.

Run-on Sentences

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are improperly joined.

Examples:

❌ I like to read books I also enjoy movies. (Fused sentence)
✓ I like to read books. I also enjoy movies. or
✓ I like to read books, and I also enjoy movies.

❌ The weather was beautiful, we went for a walk. (Comma splice)
✓ The weather was beautiful, so we went for a walk. or
✓ The weather was beautiful; we went for a walk.

Ways to Fix Run-on Sentences:

Separate into distinct sentences with periods
Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)
Use a semicolon
Use a semicolon with a transitional expression (however, therefore, consequently, etc.)
Make one clause dependent on the other

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Modifiers should be placed as close as possible to the words they modify.

Examples of Misplaced Modifiers:

❌ I only saw two birds. (Implies you did nothing else but see two birds)
✓ I saw only two birds. (Clarifies that you saw no more than two birds)

❌ The teacher discussed the problem with the principal walking to her car.
✓ Walking to her car, the teacher discussed the problem with the principal.

Examples of Dangling Modifiers:

❌ Running late for school, the bus was missed. (Who was running late?)
✓ Running late for school, I missed the bus.

❌ Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.
✓ Having finished the assignment, she turned on the TV.

The Editing Process

Steps in the Editing Process

Read the entire text for overall meaning and flow
Check grammar: subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb tense
Check punctuation: commas, semicolons, apostrophes, quotation marks
Check spelling using spelling rules and dictionaries as needed
Examine sentence structure: fix fragments, run-ons, and misplaced modifiers
Look for clarity: are ideas expressed clearly and logically?
Read aloud to catch errors your eyes might miss

Editing Tips for Working with Students

Focus on patterns: Look for recurring errors rather than marking every mistake
Prioritize errors: Address errors that interfere with meaning first
Use editing marks: Teach students standard proofreading symbols
Encourage self-editing: Give students checklists to review their own work
Model the process: Show students how you edit a sample text
Make it positive: Present editing as improving communication, not just fixing “mistakes”
Separate editing from revising: Edit for correctness after revising for content

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Identify and Correct the Errors

Each sentence below contains one or more errors. Identify and correct them.

1. The group of students were excited about there field trip.

The group of students was excited about their field trip.

Corrections: “was” (subject-verb agreement with singular “group”) and “their” (correct possessive pronoun)

2. After finishing the test many students rushed too turn in they’re papers.

After finishing the test, many students rushed to turn in their papers.

Corrections: comma after introductory phrase, “to” (the preposition), “their” (possessive pronoun)

3. Neither the teacher nor the students was able to solve the difficult equation.

Neither the teacher nor the students were able to solve the difficult equation.

Correction: “were” (verb agrees with “students,” the noun closer to it)

4. The principle announced that all student’s would recieve an award.

The principal announced that all students would receive an award.

Corrections: “principal” (school leader), “students” (plural, not possessive), “receive” (correct spelling)

5. Walking through the park the children saw ducks, swans and geese.

Walking through the park, the children saw ducks, swans, and geese.

Corrections: comma after introductory phrase, comma before “and” in a series (Oxford comma)

Exercise 2: Run-on Sentences and Fragments

Identify each of the following as a complete sentence (C), a fragment (F), or a run-on sentence (R), then correct the errors.

1. The movie was excellent everyone enjoyed it.

Run-on sentence (R)

Correction: The movie was excellent; everyone enjoyed it. or The movie was excellent, and everyone enjoyed it.

2. Because the bus was late.

Fragment (F)

Correction: Because the bus was late, we missed the beginning of the show.

3. The teacher collected the papers and graded them.

Complete sentence (C)

This is already a correct, complete sentence with a compound verb.

4. Running all the way to the station.

Fragment (F)

Correction: He was running all the way to the station. or Running all the way to the station, she arrived just in time.

5. I forgot my lunch at home my friend shared hers with me.

Run-on sentence (R)

Correction: I forgot my lunch at home, so my friend shared hers with me. or I forgot my lunch at home. My friend shared hers with me.

ParaPro Editing Skills Quiz

Key Takeaways

Editing involves identifying and correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.
Common grammatical errors include subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and verb tense consistency.
Pay attention to proper punctuation, especially commas, apostrophes, and semicolons.
Watch for commonly confused words and frequently misspelled words.
Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and misplaced/dangling modifiers.
Follow a systematic editing process to catch and correct errors effectively.
When working with students, focus on patterns of errors and prioritize those that interfere with meaning.