1.

Missing comma after an introductory element

When you begin a sentence with a word or group of words that provides some
background, introductory, or otherwise preliminary information, put a comma between
this word or phrase and the rest of your sentence. The comma here tells your reader to
pause, take the background information into consideration, and get ready to move on to
the main part of the sentence.

To help you recognize places in your sentences where you are missing commas after
introductory clauses, read your writing out loud. Chances are good you'll naturally pause
after introductory phrases. You can also check the beginning of each sentence to look for
words or phrases that add information about time, place, or manner or for words that
serve as transitions; these are all common introductory elements.

EXAMPLES
Incorrect: Before the budget passed several lawmakers filibustered to stop it.
Correct: Before the budget passed, several lawmakers filibustered to stop it.

Incorrect: However supporters saw the legislation through.

Correct: However, supporters saw the legislation through.

Successful Cover Letters

So what exactly is a successful cover letter, and how do you go about writing one? A
good cover letter is one that produces results - plain and simple. As we'll demonstrate
later on, your cover letter and your resume should be working together to increase your
chances of getting a job interview. The two documents need to complement one another.

If you're applying to the right jobs (ones that you're qualified for) and you're not getting a
call back, then either your resume or your cover letter is not telling the right story. Time
is a problem: hiring managers, human resources personnel, and recruiters are all short on
time. As job candidates, we need to help them to quickly identify why we're a qualified
candidate, and the first item that most of these individuals look at is your cover letter.

2. vague pronoun reference

You can improve your writing a lot by taking care not to use vague pronoun references.
One pronoun may refer to one noun. A plural pronoun may refer to more than one noun.
But no pronoun may refer to a whole sentence or a whole paragraph. Consider the
following scenario:

Lulu likes to arrive at school around 11 each day because she thinks that getting up at
any hour earlier than 10 is barbaric. The principal, not surprisingly, thinks that arriving
two hours late each day is not a good idea. This is a problem.
This certainly is a problem, and not because of Lulu’s sleeping habits or the principal’s
beliefs. This is a problem because the antecedent of the word this is unclear. What does
this mean? The fact that Lulu arrives around 11? That Lulu thinks getting up before 10 is
out of the question? Or that the principal and Lulu are not, to put it mildly, in sync? Or all
of the above?

The writer probably intends this to refer to all of the above, a perfectly good answer on
those horrible multiple choice tests you have to take far too often these days.
Unfortunately, all of the above is not a good answer to the question, “What does the
pronoun mean?”

Thus
Wrong: The new orange dye Lola’s hairdresser selected looks horrible, and the cut
looks as though it were done by a kindergartener. This persuaded Lola to attend the dance
wearing her purple wig.
Why it’s wrong: This is referring to the 21 words of the preceding sentence, not to one
noun.
Right: Because the new orange dye Lola's hairdresser selected looks horrible and the
cut looks as thought it were done by a kindergartener, Lola decided to attend the dance
wearing her purple wig.
Also right: The fact that the new orange dye her hairdresser selected looks horrible and
the cut looks as though it were done by a kindergartener persuaded Lola to attend the
dance wearing her purple wig.
Why they're right: Eliminating this eliminates the problem.
As you see in the preceding example, sometimes the only way to avoid this sort of
pronoun error is to write a sentence that needs no pronoun at all.
In ordinary speech (conversational English) you may use this, which, or that to refer to
more than one word, as long as your meaning is clear. For example:
Roger refused to defuse the explosive postage stamp, which angered all the postal
workers.
The pronoun which in the preceding example refers to the fact that Roger refused to
defuse the explosive stamp. Your audience grasps the meaning easily. However,
grammatically, the sentence is incorrect because which should replace only one noun.
Bottom line: In formal writing you should follow the rule and reject the sentence. In
informal situations, go ahead and use it.
In both conversational and formal English, avoid vagueness. Never use a pronoun that
may refer to two or more ideas; don’t leave your reader or listener wondering what you
mean.
For example:
Lulu’s history research paper was ten days late and ten pages short. That earned Lulu an
F on the assignment.

What convinced the teacher to fail Lulu? The lateness or the fact that she wrote exactly
34 words on “The French Revolution: Its Causes and Effects in Relation to the Concept
of Democracy”? One of these factors? If so, which one? Or both? Inquiring minds want
to know, and the pronoun that doesn’t tell. Possible corrections include the following:
 Because Lulu’s history research paper was ten days late and ten pages short, the
teacher failed Lulu. (Now you know that both factors influenced the grade.)
Lulu’s history research paper was ten days late, so the teacher failed Lulu. Even if it
had arrived on time, the fact that it was ten pages short would have earned her a low
grade on the assignment anyway. (The lateness is primary, but the length mattered also.)
Lulu's teacher was willing to overlook the fact that Lulu handed in her history research
paper ten days late. However, the teacher failed Lulu for writing only 34 words instead of
ten pages. (The teacher doesn't care about lateness but objects to the length.)
Lulu's teacher didn't mind the shortness of Lulu's history research paper, but the
teacher failed Lulu anyway because the paper was ten days late. (In this version
promptness matters and length doesn't.)

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-avoid-vague-pronoun-

references.html#ixzz1KGQvW9VR

3. Missing comma in a compound sentence

If the sentence is compound, underline the two sentences that make up the new
compound sentences.
If the sentence is NOT compound, underline the part that IS compound.
EXAMPLE: Dale and Todd tried out for football together.
Dale made the football team, but Todd did not.

In the United States, approximately 2,500 radio stations play country music but only
about fifty radio stations play jazz. Foreign-language stations are becoming more
prevalent and they have
increased by about thirty-three percent in the past decade. No comedy stations exist on
radio. even though ,comedy programs are among the most popular on television.
Sales of compact discs of gospel, rock, and rap have grown in the last decade but sales of
country, pop, and classical CDs have declined. Approximately forty-four million,
compact discs are sold in the United States annually and sometimes I believe they’re
scattered on my son’s bedroom floor. Some music fans now prefer CDs to live concerts
since the recordings are usually clearer.
To earn platinum status, an album must sell at least one million cassettes or compact
discs and must make at least $2 million. Multi-platinum status indicates sales of two
million units and at least $4 million in sales. New albums by Metallica, Toni Braxton,
and Hootie and the Blowfish have already attained multi-platinum and their fans continue
to buy more copies. Michael Jackson and a trio of opera tenors share the honor of having
multi-platinum CDs and some observers find that fact amusing. Reggae legend Bob
Marley has been dead for more than a decade yet a recent release of his music managed
to sell over a million copies. It is now possible to create one’s own CDs consisting of
songs taken from other CDs and recording companies are uncertain about the effect of
this innovation on their sales. Further, breakthroughs in the recording industry are
inevitable and will undoubtedly increase our listening pleasure.