LanguageTeach

San Jose City College

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Word choice errors include use of wrong words | wrong verb, auxiliary verb, verb particle, preposition, or relative pronoun | nonspecific or imprecise, vague words | empty phrases, unnecessary repetition, and wordiness | cliches, slang, and informal word use.

The sentences in the table below are based on sentences written by ESL writers who used nonspecific or imprecise words. When words are too general and vague, they're basically meaningless. Use concrete, precise words that keep your ideas specific and clear throughout your essay.

	Part III: Select the sentence that uses specific, concrete words and avoids imprecise, vague words.
1.	By working with others people can learn good or bad points, perfect of imperfect things. By working with others, students can gain new perspectives and problem-solving skills.
2.	An educational institution requires a large budget to hire teachers, purchase computers, and equip science and physics labs. Hiring teachers costs a lot of money, and schools need to buy a lot of stuff; such as computers, books, and other things chemistry and physics labs.
3.	Money is very important because money can help schools improve their quality. It is necessary for schools to raise money and get grants in order to improve the quality of their educational programs and services.
4.	When parents teach their children moral values, they will be able to show their best feelings to other people. When children are taught moral values, they learn to be honest, kind, and respectful toward others.
5.	Children will know how to avoid getting involved in bad situations. Children will be able to resist negative peer pressure.
6.	My colleague in Vietnam was good at knowledge and helped our company develop. My colleage in Vietnam was an excellent data analyst who made good business decisions that helped our company prosper.
7.	In 1955, an African-American child, Emmett Till, was murdered by two white men because he did a disrespectful thing. In 1955, Emmett Till, an African-American child from Chicago, was murdered by two white men in Money, Mississippi for being disrespectful to a white woman.
8.	In Maycomb, black people stayed in the lowest class level whereas white people often strengthened their class rules. In Maycomb, whites enforced the rules of segregation and kept blacks poor and apart.
9.	In my opinion, in his position in Maycomb in the 1930s by three main causes that I have noted, most people would not have done what Atticus did. Most Lawyers working in Maycomb in the 1930s would never have defended a Negro as Atticus did.
10.	Another disadvantage of home schooling is that parents often lack the training and skills to give the best education to their children. A shortage of training of parents is also a disadvantage of home schooling.
11..	I was already at a fairly advanced age when I was forced to leave my homeland and move to another country. I was already in my mid-fifties when I had to leave Russia and come to the United States.
12.	Students have other school-related expenses, such as textbooks, fees for health and parking, and transportation costs. Students have other dues to pay like books, parking permits, and transportation.
13.	The media of communication started to publish the story in magazines, radio, and TV reports for all the world. The communications media started to broadcast the Emmett Till case to a worldwide audience.
14.	It is valuable to know that a life-in-prison sentence is way cheaper than the death penalty. In fact, a life sentence costs the state far less than the death penalty.
15.	Urban blacks, especially women, suffered under segregation and its consequent socio-economic inequalities. For blacks and women, especially those of city way of living, the socio-economic and political consciousness seriously affected their whole life.
16.	For most students the final exam for writing classes is a threat for them. Many students fear the final writing exam.

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