In recent years the number of people taking college classes online has grown exponentially. It’s easy to see why. Online classes let you take college classes on your own time, which makes them ideal for people who hold jobs or have other obligations or geographical restrictions that prevent them from attending traditional classes. Most online classes require students to submit homework and class work to the instructor through the class or school website, which means that students will have to use a word processing program to complete their work. While most students use the built in spell checker function, many do not proofread their work, which often leads to mistakes being turned in. Below are ten of the most common typos that are not picked up by a spellchecker.

1. They’re vs. There vs. Their

Spellchecker programs will not pick up the misuse of “they’re” or “there,” since both are spelled correctly. “They’re” is a contraction, meaning “they are,” while “there” is an adverb, which means “in that place.” “Their” is the possessive form of “they.”

2. Its vs. It’s

“Its” is the possessive form of “it,” while “It’s” is a contraction, which means “it is.” Again, these mistakes would not be picked up by spellchecker if they are not misspelled.

3. Your vs. You’re

Like “its vs. it’s” many students confuse “your” and “you’re.” “Your” is the possessive form of “you,” while “you’re” is the contraction form of “you are.”

4. Than and Then

The word “than” is a conjunction that is used to compare two objects or persons. “Then” is an adverb that explains when something happened.

5. Affect and Effect

Many people confuse “affect” with “effect.” “Affect” is a verb, which means to influence something. “Effect” is a noun, which means the result of an action.

6. Weather and Whether

“Weather” refers to atmospheric conditions like temperature, precipitation, and storms. “Whether” is a conjunction that is used to indicate a choice between two things.

7. e.g. vs. i.e.

Many times you may need to use these Latin abbreviations in your papers, but may not know the meaning of either. “E.G.” is the Latin abbreviation for exempli gratia, meaning “for example.” “I.e.” is the Latin abbreviation for “id est,” which means “that is,” and is used to introduce an explanation.

8. Loose vs. Lose

“Loose” is an adjective, which means not tight. Lose is a verb, which means to misplace or to suffer a loss.

9. Accept vs. Except

“Accept” is a verb that means to receive something, while “except” means to leave out or exclude.

10. Addition vs. Edition

“Addition” refers to objects that are summed together. “Edition” is a publication term that indicates when something was published.

Most students feel at loss about how to go about writing a paper for an online college course. This is a step by step guide to writing a college paper.

1. Brainstorm Ideas

Write down the topic name at the top of a piece of paper and write down everything that you know about the topic. Consider pros and cons of the subject matter as you write.

2. Decide on an Argument

After rereading your brainstorming ideas choose an argument about the subject that you can prove through writing. The goal of the paper is decided in the argument and makes it easier to convincingly present ideas.

3. Build on Your Original Ideas

Before starting to do research keep your brainstorming ideas written down earlier because it helps to keep your original ideas on hand so that it won’t be tempting to write a paper full of another person’s ideas which is plagiarism.

4. Research

Research your subject matter using textbooks, encyclopedias, journals, and reliable websites. Pay attention to both pros and cons of your argument. Later on when writing the paper you can provide rebuttals to the cons.

5. Citations

Students avoid plagiarism by using citations. Citations allow the professor to know which sources that you are referring to or quoting in your paper. Your professor should provide a citation method he or she prefers.

6. Write a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a one sentence statement that describes the central idea that will be argued within the paper. It is usually the last sentence in the introductory paragraph before the essay.

7. Create a Outline

Make a outline or an informal list of each paragraph that you are going to write. This helps the paper to be well organized and structured before it is written.

8. Write a First Draft

Use your outline to write your first draft. Use a topic sentence to begin each paragraph and focus on that topic within the paragraph. If a topic is really detailed divide the topic into two or more subtopics.

9. Revise

After writing the first draft take a break from writing if time allows. After a day or two reread the first draft and make sure the first draft is original, uses concise language, and is well organized. Revise the paper to improve on it. There is no limitation to the number of times a paper can be revised.

10. Proofreading for Spelling and Grammar

After an initial spelling and grammar check using a computer spell check program reread the paper sentence by sentence to ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors that the spell check failed to find.

In conclusion, college papers can be simple and easy to write if college students take the time to use a step by step process.

While attending online classes, there will be times when you are required to write papers. There are plenty of resources to assist you in improving your grammar while writing these papers. Some of them are online, while others are books that can be obtained from the library or book store.

Here is a list of some sites that are available to use:

1. Paper Rater: This is an online paper grader that is 100% free. It is super easy to use, just paste your paper into the box and wait for your paper to be analyzed in real-time. It checks for plagiarism, vocabulary usage, grammar and spelling. It also lets you know if you are speaking in passive voice, as well as analyzes your use of transitional words. All of these make a paper better.

2. Daily Grammar: This site offers grammar lessons. It allows you to choose the lesson you need.

3. Englishpage: This online site offers free English lessons in grammar and vocabulary usage.

4. Instant Grammar Checker: This site, Grammarly, checks your paper for proper grammar usage, punctuation and style. It will make suggestions on other vocabulary words to use and will check for spelling errors. This site allows for a trial period, the requires a subscription for continued use.

5. Webgrammar: This is another free site to help with grammar and spelling.

6. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: This is a book that can be purchased or obtained at the library to use as a reference.

7. GrammarNOW: This is another free website to use. There are lots of different resources on this site including different styles used when writing papers, in addition to grammar, punctuation and spelling help.

8. Grammar Bytes: This free site offers exercises that you can complete to improve grammar.

9. Rules of English Grammar: This site just outlines grammar rules. This is a really helpful tool to read.

10. Literacy Education Online: This site explains how to use grammar and other helpful items, like how to use quotations, use transitions and modifiers.

As computers and computer access have become more prevalent, more and more people are finding out the benefits that enrolling in online college classes offer. For one, they can take classes in their own free time, which is vitally important for people that have a job or who live in places where higher educational opportunities are limited. Also, taking a college class online allows people to have a group of peers that are there for the same reasons that they are. Often in traditional classes, students may be forced to take certain classes to meet graduation requirements and often do not want to be there. People in online classes are taking them because they want to be a part of the class. Like traditional college classes, turning in papers and homework for the class is often a requirement for completing the class. However, turning in papers for online classes can be a new experience for a lot of people.

When turning in college papers for online classes, it’s important to avoid text speak. Text speak is a short hand form of communication that has become popular with people that communicate over the computer or from their mobile phones as in text messaging or email. An example of text speak is the familiar abbreviation “lol,” which stands for “laughing out loud.” While it is highly unlikely that you will ever use the phrase “laughing out loud” in a college paper, if you do have to use it, be sure to spell it out instead of writing the abbreviation. Abbreviations and text speak are necessary for text messaging and similar applications where there may be charges per character or where speed is important. However, text speak does not belong in a college paper. It looks unprofessional and lazy. On top of that, many people may not be versed in the intricacies of text speak, which means that they may not be able to understand your paper. Below are ten text speak phrases to avoid:

1. “2″ instead of “to” or “too”
2. “4″ instead of “for,” “four,” or “fore”
3. “b4″ rather than “before”
4. Using “u” in place of “you”
5. Using “R” for “are”
6. Using “B” for the verb “be”
7. Using “C” in place of “see”
8. Abbreviations such as “lol” or “gtg”
9. Combination of text speak e.g. “b4″ for “before”
10. Using “8″ in words like “late,” “hate,” or “mate.” e.g. “l8″for late

This article will explain ten common mistake new college students make when writing papers.

1. Using Spell Check As The Only Method For Proofreading For Grammatical and Spelling Errors

Many new college students make the mistake of believing that spell check is the best way to proofread a paper. Spell check is useful for a first proofing, but then students need to read the paper after it has had a spelling and grammar check to correct mistakes that a computer can’t detect.

2. Writing a Research Paper in the 1st or 2nd Person Point of View

Writing a research paper in an informal point of view such as 1st or 2nd person makes the writing feel informal and like the writer is not an authority on the subject matter. Professors prefer a 3rd person approach for research papers. As a first step students should avoid using the words “I” and “you” to write in 3rd person.

3. Repeatedly Making The Same Spelling Mistakes

When proofreading a college paper for spelling errors students should read each word slowly, moving a pencil under each word as they read. If you are unsure if a word is spelled incorrectly look it up in a dictionary. Homonyms are the most difficult for new college students to grasp. Learn common homonym uses so that they will be used correctly in college papers. An example of common homonyms are there/their/they’re, to/too/two, and your/you’re.

4. Repeating Words or Leaving Out Words

When proofreading a college paper make sure that you haven’t repeated words or left words out all together.

5. Confusing Its and It’s

The word “it’s” with an apostrophe means “it is” or “it has.” The easiest way to check for this error is to substitute “it is” or “it has” in place of the word “it’s” and you will know if you used the word correctly.

6. Not Using Quotation Marks or Using Them Incorrectly

Quotations marks are used for quoting other sources. A professor should let you know whether to use MLA or APA style for quoting and citing sources. Both MLA and APA have writing manuals that explain how to quote and cite sources.

7. Wordiness

Try to make each sentence concise using as few words as possible to accurately convey your ideas.

8. Failing To Plan Enough Time to Write

College papers need to be planned, researched, written, proofread, and revised. Students should plan for enough time to complete all these writing tasks.

9. Misunderstanding the Assignment

If you do not understand the instructions ask your instructor rather than wasting time writing an incorrect assignment.

10. Not Including a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a sentence usually found at the end of the first paragraph that states a claim that can be argued or disputed.