Common Errors to Spot in Editing
Part of speech
Let’s recall the functions of the four major word classes:
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
1. She spoke so confident during the debate that even the judges were impressed.
Correct word: confidently
Explanation:
2. The success of the festival depended largely on the enthusiastic of its volunteers.
Correct word: enthusiasm
Explanation:
3. The ancient manuscript was wrote in a language no one could decipher.
Correct word: written
Explanation:
singular
4. The number of applications submitted online have increased dramatically over the past decade.
Correct word: has
Explanation:
5. He decided to bring an umbrella despite it was raining heavily outside.
Correct word: because
Explanation:
3
Editing Exercise 1 (Guided)
Carefully read the text below, consisting of 12 lines. The first and the last lines are correct. For
eight of the lines, there is one grammatical error in each line. There are two more lines with no
errors.
If there is NO error in a line, put a tick (✓) in the space provided.
If the line is incorrect, circle the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided.
The correct word you provide must not change the original meaning of the sentence.
Examples: I arrived to my destination at 2 p.m. at
My mother always wears sensible clothes. ✓
Every experiment brought a peek into the personalities of song birds.
being eager or quick to argue/fight /
There were the pugnacious tufted titmice, which seemed as if they were 1 …………
eagerly awaited an opportunity to fight, given how quickly they came in to 2 awaiting
…………
investigating the apparent intruder and the nonchalant American robins, 3 investigate
…………
which take their sweet time in responding, only briefly peering at the speaker 4 took
…………
before returning to their daily routines. Our adorable feathered friends 5 /
…………
is not afraid to get up close and personal with anything they deem a 6 are
…………
threat, either, including any gadgets. Much times we would see small Many
7 …………
birds such as sparrows scrapping with a speaker twice their size. The its
8 …………
birds focus at the song and it can take birds a while before they realise the speaker
9 on
…………
is not, in fact, a rivalry bird. So, the next time you hear birds singing as you walk rival
10 …………
around your neighborhood, listen closely to what each voice is really saying and
who is doing the singing.
Adapted from [Link]
defending-the-nest-279998
Errors:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
✓ verb form verb form tense ✓
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
SVA quantifier pronoun preposition part of speech
4
Editing Exercise 2 (Independent)
Carefully read the text below, consisting of 12 lines. The first and the last lines are correct. For
eight of the lines, there is one grammatical error in each line. There are two more lines with no
errors.
If there is NO error in a line, put a tick (✓) in the space provided.
If the line is incorrect, circle the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided.
The correct word you provide must not change the original meaning of the sentence.
Examples: I arrived to my destination at 2 p.m. at
My mother always wears sensible clothes. ✓
The major nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi
release radioactive materials into the atmosphere as tiny particles. 1 released
…………
Winds carried these particles across countries and even between continents. 2 /…………
Rain and snow brought it out of the air and down to the ground. 3 them
…………
Soil plays an very important role in what happens next. Some radionuclides 4 a
…………
stick strong to soil and do not move very much. Others move 5 strongly
…………
more easy and travel slowly downward through the soil toward 6 easily
…………
groundwater or get washed at rivers, lakes and oceans. Radioactivity also moved 7 into
…………
through water. Despite the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, radionuclides 8 After
…………
water from rain/melting snow entered
enter the ocean through directly releases and runoff. Scientists monitored 9 …………
seawater, fish and seaweed to track how radioactive materials moved and 10 /
…………
changed over time.
Adapted from [Link]
materials-move-in-the-environment-280007
Errors:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
5
Editing Exercise 3 (Independent)
Carefully read the text below, consisting of 12 lines. The first and the last lines are correct. There
is one grammatical error in eight of the lines. There are two lines with no errors.
If there is no error in a line, put a tick (✓) in the space provided.
If the line is incorrect, circle the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided.
The correct word you provide must not change the original meaning of the sentence.
Examples: I arrived to my destination at 2 p.m. at
My mother always wears sensible clothes. ✓
Data centers produce large amounts of heat, which must be removed
of the computer chips. A data center gives off enough heat to potentially keep 1 from
…………
nearby buildings warm. Many cities plural
around the world already had what are 2 have
…………
called “district heating systems,” in which a group of buildings are connected 3 /
…………
with a pipe network and receive its heat from a central heat source. Data 4 their
…………
plural as
centers could serve for a heat source for these systems. Recent improvements 5 …………
in these systems, called a “thermal microgrid” or an “ambient loop,” 6 /
…………
does not require steam or extremely hot water, but rather use cooler 7 do
…………
temperatures in water to transporting heat between the buildings. Efficient 8 transport
…………
electricity heat pumps in each building use that water loop to adjust the 9 electric
…………
building’s air temperature of both winter and summer, creating combined 10 in
…………
district heating and cooling systems.
Adapted from [Link]
even-support-them-by-generating-power-and-repurposing-waste-heat-276729
Errors:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
6
Visual Text Skills
Visual texts (Paper 2 Section A) test specific reading skills. You need to consider both the visual
and linguistic aspects in order to answer the questions.
Visuals
Images in a visual text may contain
❖ People, animals or objects participating in an action,
❖ Flow charts, maps or labelled images that demonstrate concepts or ideas,
❖ Symbols or icons.
How these images are placed in the visual texts usually convey some relation between them. Where
they are placed is also important. For instance, the most eye-catching places tend to be the top and
bottom. Top lines are generally headers or headlines meant to attract readers’ initial attention
whereas bottom lines generally contain additional information, elaboration and even terms and
conditions. Bear in mind that these are not established rules and they do change according to text
types and design.
Here is the typical format for visual text comprehension questions:
Question Text What the question wants Sample question
type involved
Identify the: – Tick the sentence that best
• overall message conveys the overall message
Q1 MCQ Text 1 • purpose of the poster.
• most suitable caption
or label
Text 1 Explain how the image – How does the image of the
Open-
Q2 (specifically, supports the purpose of the iceberg support the overall
ended
the image) text message of the poster?
Give a quote from Text 2 – Identify the sentence or
which supports the: phrase from Text 2 which
Open- • overall message supports the aim of Text 1.
Q3 Both texts
ended • aim
• a certain idea
from Text 1.
Identify the text’s / texts’: – The tone of the language
Either text • tone used in both texts is…
Q4 MCQ or Both • purpose – The most likely context for
texts • likely audience / Text 1 is…
context
Of course, the format may vary slightly from school to school, but the underlying
concepts/ideas tested will be about the same.
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Visual Text Exercise 1 (Guided)
Text 1 is taken from a poster about marine debris.
Marine debris (mostly net) that looks like a fish
that is served as food in 2050. This suggests that
by 2050, there would be so much debris in the
oceans that it becomes quite impossible to
catch anymore real fish
______________________________________
______________________________________
Text 2 is taken from a social media post.
Heaps of plastic trash on Singapore’s beaches are a common sight during the
country’s two main monsoon seasons. Most of the debris originates from
offshore sources, according to a new study. A key finding was that 97 per cent of
the plastic waste on Singapore’s recreational beaches came from sea-based
sources, such as ships, or were transported across boundaries by marine currents.
On microplastics, the study found that plastic particles smaller than 5mm in
diameter mostly came from larger post-consumer plastic products, like food
containers or takeaway cups.
8
1 Look at Text 1. Tick (✓)the sentence that best describes the overall message of the image.
[1]
Plastic waste has already made ocean fish unsafe to eat.
Marine life will be replaced by plastic if ocean pollution continues.
The fishing industry is the main cause of plastic pollution in the ocean.
Thought process
2 How does the way the fish is displayed in Text 1 support the campaign’s message? [1]
The image shows marine rubbish that resembles a fish, emphasising
that if we do not stop marine debris, there will be no more fish left to eat.
3 Identify the phrase in Text 2 which supports the idea in Text 1 that everyday consumer
items contribute to ocean plastic pollution. [1]
4 Look at Texts 1 and 2 and statements (a) and (b) below.
Tick (✓) the correct answer for each statement.
(a) Both Text 1 and Text 2 are intended to… [1]
criticise governments for failing to act on plastic pollution.
raise awareness of how serious the plastic pollution problem has become.
explain the science behind how microplastics form in the ocean.
(b) The most likely source of Text 2 is… [1]
a news report on an environmental study.
a travel website about Singapore’s beaches.
a government campaign to reduce littering.
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Visual Text Exercise 2 (Independent)
Text 1 is taken from a poster about fighting mosquitoes.
The lady is wearing a beekeeping
suit in a bid to keep mosquitoes
away from her while being in her
_______________,
home which is an
overkill.
Text 2 is taken from a social media post.
Project Wolbachia multi-site field study (2022–2024) has been
published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This milestone
represents a decade of rigorous research in dengue control,
demonstrating the power of science, policy and community
collaboration in advancing public health. The study showed a significant
drop in Singapore’s primary dengue vector population - the Aedes
aegypti, and more than 70% reduction in dengue risk among residents.
10
1 Look at Text 1. Tick (✓) the sentence that best conveys the overall message of the image.
Wearing protective clothing is the safest way to avoid getting dengue.
Simple measures at home are more effective than extreme protection.
Aedes mosquitoes are a serious threat that should not be underestimated.
[1]
2 How does the woman’s clothing and setting support the message of the campaign?
The image shows the woman overly dressed in her home to deal
with a mosquito, suggesting that there are other easier ways to deal with
mosquitoes. [1]
3 Identify the hrase in Text 2 which supports the idea in Text 1 that dengue mosquitoes
can be effectively controlled.
“The study showed a significant drop in Singapore’s primary dengue
vector population”
[1]
4 Look at Texts 1 and 2 and statements (a) and (b) below.
Tick (✓) the correct answer for each statement.
(a) Both Text 1 and Text 2 suggest that dengue…
can only be addressed by scientists and medical experts.
is a problem that can be effectively managed through the right approach.
requires people to make major changes to their lifestyle.
[1]
(b) The most likely source of Text 2 is…
a health awareness brochure for the general public.
an online forum discussion about dengue prevention.
a press release announcing the findings of a scientific study.
[1]
11