
Illusion means “an erroneous perception of reality.” In the context of this sentence, allusion was needed because it means "reference.”Įdmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is a magnificent sixteenth-century allergy.Ī spell checker replaced allegory with allergy. Here are a couple of wrong word examples: If prepositions and idioms are tricky for you, look up the standard usage. If you select a word from a thesaurus without knowing its precise meaning or allow a spell checker to correct spelling automatically, you may make wrong-word errors. Use your thesaurus and spell checker with care. They may also be as simple as a wrong preposition or other type of wrong word in an idiom. They may convey a slightly different meaning than you intend ( compose instead of comprise) or a completely wrong meaning ( prevaricate instead of procrastinate). Wrong word errors take a number of forms. Before handing in your papers, proofread them carefully for these errors, which are illustrated below in the sentences in italics. However, a large-scale study by Andrea Lunsford and Karen Lunsford (2008) found that these errors are the most likely to attract readers’ negative attention.

Some instructors may even see the errors listed below as stylistic options. For example, your instructor may or may not mark errors in your paper if he’s more concerned with its argument or structure than he is with sentence-level correctness he could also decide an error is not serious.

Readers judge your writing by your control of certain conventions, which may change depending on your audience, purpose, and writing situation.

Green Library Special Collections and University ArchivesĪ Quick Guide to Troubleshooting Your Writing.Writing and Speaking Tips Videos for Frosh.
