10
Error ID Technique ..................................................................................
Error IDs require a different technique. Four different parts of the given sentence are underlined. Either 1 of
the 4 is wrong, or none of the 4 are wrong. Don’t be afraid to pick (E) No Error. Approximately 1 out of 5
correct answers is (E) No Error. That does not mean I want you to count and make sure you are meeting
the 1 out of 5 quota. Rather, if you are having trouble on an Error ID and can’t seem to pinpoint an error,
don’t hesitate to pick (E)!
Step 1: Read the sentence in its entirety.
Students tend to “jump” at what they THINK is the right answer. Slow down. Do yourself a favor and read the
ENTIRE sentence before you bubble in your answer. Sometimes when I read a sentence, what I think is an error
is replaced by an even worse error later in the sentence. Had I picked my first instinct, I would never have seen
the glaringly wrong answer choice that followed.
Step 2: Fix and Justify the Error.
You do not get to pick an answer as wrong UNLESS you can JUSTIFY the error with a grammar rule. Ideally
you want to be able to FIX the error AND JUSTIFY.
Option #1: Known Error
If you read the sentence and you catch the error, terrific! Fix it and justify it to be absolutely certain you are correct.
Let’s try one together:
According to the Centers for Disease Control
A
and Prevention, the prevalence of obesityhas risen quite noticeable over the past 20 years.
B C D
No error
EYou might not have caught the error, as you have yet to learn the grammar rules, but let’s say you spotted the
Adjective/Adverb error in answer choice (C). Noticeable is an adjective modifying the verb has risen. But
adjectives don’t modify verbs, adverbs do. Change “noticeable” to “noticeably” and justify it with the grammar
rule Adjective/Adverb.
Here’s what your test booklet should look like:
According to the Centers for Disease Control
A
and Prevention, the prevalence of obesity
noticeably
has risen quite noticeable over the past 20 years.
B C D
No error
EAdjective / Adverb