Accuracy in Writing

Student Introduction Accuracy is only one aspect of the total fabric of good writing. Few teachers will be concerned by one minor mistake with a preposition or a plural in a sentence. But if a student is making mistakes in every other word there is likely to be serious loss of meaning, and their teacher may be unable to mark the work fairly. Many of the most common errors are highlighted in Part 1 Unit 16 (Proof-Reading). Non-native speakers of English tend to have problems of accuracy which relate to their mother tongue. Japanese speakers, for example, find it difficult to use articles because these are not found in Japanese. It is clearly unrealistic for such students to aim at 100% accuracy in their written work, but equally it is important to aim to improve accuracy in order to compete with native-speaker classmates. The components of Accuracy in Writing have been chosen on the basis that they regularly cause difficulties and confusion in students’ writing. These units are not intended to replace a standard grammar reference book; instead they assume a good basic knowledge of English grammar and focus on those areas of concern to the writer, rather than the speaker, of English. As in Part 2, the units are arranged alphabetically. Students may already be aware of their weaknesses and want to focus on the relevant units, or they may seek specific assistance after getting feedback on an essay. There are also two tests of accuracy in the Writing Tests which students can use to pinpoint their weak areas.