Paragraph: Proofing and Editing | Printable Writing Worksheets - Free Printable
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Step-by-step solution for: Paragraph: Proofing and Editing | Printable Writing Worksheets
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Show Answer Key & Explanations
Step-by-step solution for: Paragraph: Proofing and Editing | Printable Writing Worksheets
Let’s go through the paragraph step by step and fix all the errors — spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.
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Original Paragraph (with errors):
> The pursuit of independance in the later half of the 19th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were exposed by the British crown and parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774 the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1875 at Lexington and Concord, and at the battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington named Commander of the Continental Army in March, 1776 and representative of each colony met in Philadelphia in June, 1776 to draft the historical Declaration of Independance.
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1. “independance” → “independence”
Spelling error. Correct spelling is *independence*.
2. “later half of the 19th century” → “latter half of the 18th century”
- “Later” should be “latter” when referring to the second part of something.
- Also, the American Revolution happened in the 1700s, which is the 18th century, not the 19th (which is 1800s). So this is a factual + word choice error.
3. “exposed by the British crown and parliament” → “imposed by the British Crown and Parliament”
- “Exposed” doesn’t make sense here — they didn’t reveal the laws, they imposed them.
- “Crown” and “Parliament” are proper nouns here — should be capitalized.
4. “In 1774 the colonists...” → Add comma after year: “In 1774, the colonists...”
Standard punctuation rule: use a comma after introductory time phrases.
5. “Boston Massachusetts” → “Boston, Massachusetts”
City and state need a comma between them.
6. “After military conflicts in 1875...” → “After military conflicts in 1775...”
Typo! It was 1775, not 1875. That’s over 100 years off!
7. “at the battle of Bunker Hill” → “at the Battle of Bunker Hill”
“Battle” is part of the proper name — capitalize it.
8. “George Washington named Commander...” → “George Washington was named Commander...”
Missing verb — needs “was” to make it passive voice correctly.
9. “Commander of the Continental Army in March, 1776” → Keep comma, but check fact: He was appointed in June 1775, not March 1776.
Wait — let’s double-check history:
➤ George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775.
So “March, 1776” is wrong. Should be June 1775.
But since this is an editing task based on what’s written, we’ll correct the grammar first — and if we’re being historically accurate, we’d change the date too. Since the instruction says “correcting all the errors,” including facts, we should fix the date.
However, looking again — maybe the original meant to say he was confirmed or something else? But no — standard history says June 1775. Let’s assume it’s a typo and correct to June 1775.
ALSO — add “the” before “Continental Army”? Actually, it’s fine as is.
And: “named Commander” → better to say “appointed Commander” or “named Commander-in-Chief”. But since the text says “Commander”, we can leave it — just add “was”.
Revised: “George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775”
Remove comma after “March” since we’re changing the month anyway.
10. “and representative of each colony met...” → “and representatives of each colony met...”
Subject-verb agreement: “representative” should be plural — “representatives” — because multiple colonies sent people.
11. “Declaration of Independance” → “Declaration of Independence”
Again, spelling: *Independence*, not *Independance*.
12. Add periods where missing?
The last sentence ends with a period — good. First sentence has one — good. Second sentence — yes. Third — yes. Fourth — yes. Fifth — yes. All seem to have ending punctuation.
13. Capitalization consistency:
- “British crown and parliament” → “British Crown and Parliament” (proper nouns)
- “battle of Bunker Hill” → “Battle of Bunker Hill”
- “Continental Army” — already correct
- “Declaration of Independence” — correct once spelled right
14. Comma usage:
- After “In 1774,” — added
- Between city and state: “Boston, Massachusetts” — added
- In dates: “June 1775” — no comma needed unless day is included (e.g., June 15, 1775) — so remove comma if we write just month/year.
Original said “March, 1776” — that comma is incorrect without a day. So even if we kept March, we’d remove the comma. But we’re changing to June 1775 — no comma needed.
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The pursuit of independence in the latter half of the 18th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were imposed by the British Crown and Parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774, the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston, Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, and at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, and representatives of each colony met in Philadelphia in June 1776 to draft the historic Declaration of Independence.
Wait — one more thing: “historical” vs “historic”
- “Historical” = related to history (neutral)
- “Historic” = famous or important in history
The Declaration of Independence is historic — so “historic” is better.
Also, added comma before “and representatives...” because it’s joining two independent clauses.
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Final Answer:
The pursuit of independence in the latter half of the 18th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were imposed by the British Crown and Parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774, the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston, Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, and at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, and representatives of each colony met in Philadelphia in June 1776 to draft the historic Declaration of Independence.
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Original Paragraph (with errors):
> The pursuit of independance in the later half of the 19th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were exposed by the British crown and parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774 the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1875 at Lexington and Concord, and at the battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington named Commander of the Continental Army in March, 1776 and representative of each colony met in Philadelphia in June, 1776 to draft the historical Declaration of Independance.
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Step-by-step corrections:
1. “independance” → “independence”
Spelling error. Correct spelling is *independence*.
2. “later half of the 19th century” → “latter half of the 18th century”
- “Later” should be “latter” when referring to the second part of something.
- Also, the American Revolution happened in the 1700s, which is the 18th century, not the 19th (which is 1800s). So this is a factual + word choice error.
3. “exposed by the British crown and parliament” → “imposed by the British Crown and Parliament”
- “Exposed” doesn’t make sense here — they didn’t reveal the laws, they imposed them.
- “Crown” and “Parliament” are proper nouns here — should be capitalized.
4. “In 1774 the colonists...” → Add comma after year: “In 1774, the colonists...”
Standard punctuation rule: use a comma after introductory time phrases.
5. “Boston Massachusetts” → “Boston, Massachusetts”
City and state need a comma between them.
6. “After military conflicts in 1875...” → “After military conflicts in 1775...”
Typo! It was 1775, not 1875. That’s over 100 years off!
7. “at the battle of Bunker Hill” → “at the Battle of Bunker Hill”
“Battle” is part of the proper name — capitalize it.
8. “George Washington named Commander...” → “George Washington was named Commander...”
Missing verb — needs “was” to make it passive voice correctly.
9. “Commander of the Continental Army in March, 1776” → Keep comma, but check fact: He was appointed in June 1775, not March 1776.
Wait — let’s double-check history:
➤ George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775.
So “March, 1776” is wrong. Should be June 1775.
But since this is an editing task based on what’s written, we’ll correct the grammar first — and if we’re being historically accurate, we’d change the date too. Since the instruction says “correcting all the errors,” including facts, we should fix the date.
However, looking again — maybe the original meant to say he was confirmed or something else? But no — standard history says June 1775. Let’s assume it’s a typo and correct to June 1775.
ALSO — add “the” before “Continental Army”? Actually, it’s fine as is.
And: “named Commander” → better to say “appointed Commander” or “named Commander-in-Chief”. But since the text says “Commander”, we can leave it — just add “was”.
Revised: “George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775”
Remove comma after “March” since we’re changing the month anyway.
10. “and representative of each colony met...” → “and representatives of each colony met...”
Subject-verb agreement: “representative” should be plural — “representatives” — because multiple colonies sent people.
11. “Declaration of Independance” → “Declaration of Independence”
Again, spelling: *Independence*, not *Independance*.
12. Add periods where missing?
The last sentence ends with a period — good. First sentence has one — good. Second sentence — yes. Third — yes. Fourth — yes. Fifth — yes. All seem to have ending punctuation.
13. Capitalization consistency:
- “British crown and parliament” → “British Crown and Parliament” (proper nouns)
- “battle of Bunker Hill” → “Battle of Bunker Hill”
- “Continental Army” — already correct
- “Declaration of Independence” — correct once spelled right
14. Comma usage:
- After “In 1774,” — added
- Between city and state: “Boston, Massachusetts” — added
- In dates: “June 1775” — no comma needed unless day is included (e.g., June 15, 1775) — so remove comma if we write just month/year.
Original said “March, 1776” — that comma is incorrect without a day. So even if we kept March, we’d remove the comma. But we’re changing to June 1775 — no comma needed.
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Final corrected paragraph:
The pursuit of independence in the latter half of the 18th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were imposed by the British Crown and Parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774, the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston, Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, and at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, and representatives of each colony met in Philadelphia in June 1776 to draft the historic Declaration of Independence.
Wait — one more thing: “historical” vs “historic”
- “Historical” = related to history (neutral)
- “Historic” = famous or important in history
The Declaration of Independence is historic — so “historic” is better.
Also, added comma before “and representatives...” because it’s joining two independent clauses.
---
Final Answer:
The pursuit of independence in the latter half of the 18th century in the American colonies developed slowly. As punitive and onerous laws were imposed by the British Crown and Parliament, resentment grew among the American colonists. In 1774, the colonists established a separate shadow government and began training troops near Boston, Massachusetts. After military conflicts in 1775 at Lexington and Concord, and at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the independence movement gained momentum. George Washington was named Commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, and representatives of each colony met in Philadelphia in June 1776 to draft the historic Declaration of Independence.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of 5th grade editing worksheet.
