This sheet clarifies my comments or recurrent writing problems in your paper, with pertinent references to sections in The Little, Brown Handbook. Other circled items or abbreviated comments should be reviewed on this list as well. Amplified discussion available on line.
| Abbr | Meaning | Section | |
| ; | Semicolon problems | 29 | |
| ?? | Unclear, reader confused, etc. | ||
| # | Separate with a space | ||
| AB | Faulty abbreviation | 35 | |
| AD | Misused adjective or adverb | 16 | |
| AGR | Error in agreement | 15 | |
| AP | Apostrophe needed or misused | 30 | |
| APPR | Inappropriate word | 38a | |
| ARG | Faulty argument | 6a-g | |
| AWK | Awkward construction | ||
| CA | Error in case form | 13 | |
| CAP | Use capital letter | 33 | |
| CIT | Citation error, or missing | 44f | |
| COH | Coherence lacking | 2c-4, 4b | |
| COMMA | Comma problems | 28 | |
| CON | Be more concise | 38c | |
| COORD | Coordination needed or faulty | 24a | |
| CRIT | Think or read more critically | 5a | |
| CS | Comma splice | 18a-b | |
| CTR | Spell out contractions | ||
| D | Ineffective diction (word choice) | 38 | |
| DASH | Review dash, colon, or comma for explanatory element | 32 | |
| DES | Ineffective or incorrect document design | 9 | |
| DET | Error in use of determiner | 16i | |
| DEV | Inadequate development | 1-2, 4c | |
| DICT | Check dictionary | ||
| DM | Dangling modifier | 21h | |
| EFF | Ineffective sentence(s) | 23-26 | |
| EMPH | Emphasis lacking or faulty | 23 | |
| EVI | Insufficient evidence | ||
| EXACT | Inexact word | 38b | |
| FP | Faulty predication | 22b | |
| FRAG | Sentence fragment | 17 | |
| FS | Fused sentence | 17 | |
| GDR | Gender, use inclusive language | ||
| GLB | Too global or general a statement | ||
| GR | Error in grammar | 12-16 | |
| HYPH | Error in use of hyphen | 41d | |
| IDIOM | Strange idiom | 38b | |
| INC | Incomplete construction | 22c-e | |
| INDENT | Indent quotes longer than 3 lines | ||
| INF | Split infinitive | ||
| ITAL | Italicize or underline | 34 | |
| LC | Lower case | 33F | |
| LOG | Faulty logic | 6g, 7d | |
| MECH | Error in mechanics | 33-37 | |
| MIXED | Mixed construction | 22a-b | |
| MM | Misplaced modifier | 21a-g | |
| MNG? | Meaning unclear | ||
| NO CAP | Unnecessary capital letter | 33f | |
| NUM | Error in use of numbers, spelling | 36 | |
| P | Error in punctuation | 27-32 | |
| PAR | Paragraphing problems | 4 | |
| PRON | Pronoun problems, inexplicit pronoun subject | 19c | |
| PT | Point | ||
| QUILT | Quilting quotes or paraphrases | Internet links | |
| QUOTE | Problems with quote marks | 31 | |
| RED | Redundant element(s) | ||
| REF | Error in pronoun reference | 19 | |
| REP | Unnecessary repetition | 38c-3 | |
| REV | Revise for better sense or style | ||
| RUN | Run-on sentence | ||
| SER | Series not parallel, add final comma | 23c, 28f | |
| SHIFT | Inconsistency, shift in pronoun | 20 | |
| SP/Circled | Misspellings, use a dictionary! | ||
| SPEC | Be more specific | 1d, 4c | |
| SUB | Subordination needed or faulty | 24b | |
| SYN | Disorder in syntax, garbled syntax | ||
| T | Error in verb tense | 14g-h | |
| T SEQ | Error in tense sequence | 7f | |
| THS | Unclear thesis | ||
| TOP | Paragraph topic unclear | ||
| TRANS | Transition needed | 4b-6, 4e | |
| U | Unity unclear | ||
| UC | Upper case | 33f | |
| UND | Underline foreign language words, underline titles of books | ||
| UND | Underline or italicize | 34 | |
| USAGE | See Glossary of Usage | p. 925 | |
| VAR | Vary sentence structure | 26 | |
| VB | Error in verb form | 14a-f | |
| w/, w/o | With, without | ||
| W | Wordy | 38c | |
| WW | Wrong word | 38b-1 | |
| X | Error, delete |