Response to Ryan

My good friend Ryan asked about the top 20 errors listed in The Everyday Writer. I found them on this link.

He also asked if there was anything he could do to help the high school students at his school avoid making these mistakes.

My first thought, make the students aware of the list.
After that, instructors should continue to stress that writing is a process. In relation to this list, that means we should stress that our students will make these mistakes on the first draft or two. The reason the list is valuable is this: When proofreading, knowledge of what to look for is going to be helpful.

One last note, this list is the result of an updated study conducted by Andrea A. Lunsford and Karen Lunsford. They did the research in 2005/6, aiming to update a 1986 study. Perhaps not surprizingly, there were a lot of changes, most of which are related to the rise of the PC. Students should be aware that the "where and how" of writing affects the whole process.