Editing: The Ten Errors That Come Up Almost Every Year
Editing is the most predictable thing in the whole paper. The passage changes; the error types barely do. Learn the ten below and you are reading the passage looking for something specific rather than hoping a mistake jumps out.
Every example here is a repair. Cover the green line and try the fix yourself first.
1–3: Verb errors
She walk to school every morning.
She walks to school every morning.
They has finished their project.
They have finished their project.
Yesterday he buy a new bag.
Yesterday he bought a new bag.
4–6: Agreement and number
Each of the students were given a form.
Each of the students was given a form.
There is many reasons for this.
There are many reasons for this.
He bought two loaf of bread.
He bought two loaves of bread.
7–10: Word choice and form
The weather had a bad affect on the crowd.
The weather had a bad effect on the crowd.
She spoke very confident to the class.
She spoke very confidently to the class.
I look forward to meet you.
I look forward to meeting you.
He is more taller than his brother.
He is taller than his brother.
How to read the passage
Do not read for meaning. Read for grammar. Those are different jobs and the second one is faster.
- Pass one — verbs. Point at every verb. Check tense, then check it matches its subject.
- Pass two — small words. Articles, prepositions, plurals. This is where the easy marks hide.
- Pass three — read it aloud in your head. Anything that sounds wrong usually is.
The trap
Some lines are correct and are there to catch you. If you cannot name what is wrong with a line, leave it. Inventing an error costs you a mark you already had.
Ten minutes a day for two weeks and this section stops being a lottery. It is the single most improvable block of marks in Paper 1.
In preparation
The Sentence Repair Kit
Four editions built separately for Lower Secondary N(T), N(T), N(A) and O-Level — every error type in this article, drilled with worked repairs and exam-style practice. Ready in time for prelims.
Browse the Secondary range →
