Writing

A) LISTEN to the sentence as you read it ALOUD in your head! Zero in on any part that sounds WRONG! Trust your ear, your instinct. B) A short answer is usually better than a L O N G one! Look at the shortest answer first - if it's not that one, move to the next shortest, then the next shortest, etc. C) A person is a **WHO** not a **which** or a **that**! (My saying, "people are HOs not witches!") D) Avoid Passive Voice (The ball was kicked by the boy.); look for ACTIVE VOICE (The boy kicked the ball.)

** FREQUENTLY ASKED (these are on EVERY test!):**

 * **Subject-Verb Agreement** (usually they separate the subject from the verb so far, you forget what the subject is. So, find the verb and figure out WHO is DOING the VERB?). "Charter flights, even though we don't realize it, **is/are** easier to arrange." WHAT **is** or **are**? FLIGHTS! So "flights **ARE** easier."
 * **Verb Tense** (stay consistent and make sure something in the past is actually in past tense)
 * **Pronoun matching** (consistency - they often test this with you/one, as in "If one eats well, you are healthy" - not! If one eats well, ONE is healthy!)
 * **Correct Pronoun.** "Jane gave the shoe to Suzie and **I/me** ." Remove the extra person and you can see the answer more easily: "Jane gave the shoe to Suzie and **ME** ."
 * **Parallel Structure** (often in a pattern of three - "I like ** to sing **, **to dance** and ** running" ** ... No! **to run** ! Stick with the pattern!)
 * **Idioms** . You "agree with" someone but "agree to" a decision. You "comply WITH" a rule; you don't "comply TO" a rule. There are gazillion of these so you just have to hope you catch them and try to read a lot so you'll be exposed to more idioms. Good luck. :)
 * **Comparisons** that make sense, a.k.a., "Delgado's dilemma." Example: This year's tomato crop is better than last year. The crop is better than LAST YEAR? No, it's better than the CROP of LAST YEAR!
 * **Intro Phrase** followed by person who does it. Example: "Going to the store, the dog was seen by Sam" (Was the DOG going to the store? - Who was going to the store?) "Going to the store, Sam saw the dog.")
 * **The Southerner!** Example: //cannot hardly, ain't got, hardly never// ... that kind of thing. Lucky you live Hawaii! :) //These should make you laugh, especially if you read them to yourself in an ol' Hick accent and call yourself Elmer!//