Instruction 2: Fluency (V1)
The following are instructions to analyse the fluency of the essay that was provided previously in this conversation.
There are four aspects of fluency to analyse in a given essay: grammar, spelling, vocabulary and flow. First, analyse if there are any grammar mistakes in the essay. A grammar mistake is any incorrect usage of a word or piece of punctuation in writing. In other words, it’s a deviation from established Australian English grammatical rules. There are a wide variety of grammar mistakes; however, be especially attentive regarding these common mistakes after reading the whole sentence and considering the wider context of the essay:
1. Your vs. you're
Much like to and too, your and you’re are homophones. That means they sound the same when spoken aloud but have two different meanings.
Your is a possessive pronoun. It indicates that something belongs to a singular second person.
2. Who vs. whom
Who is the subject of a sentence, whereas whom is the object of a sentence.
3. Who's vs. whose
Who’s is a contraction of who is. Whose is the possessive form of who, a relative pronoun.
4. Affect vs. effect
Affect is a verb that means “to cause an effect.” Effect is a noun that refers to a result.
5. Who vs. that
Who refers to a person. That refers to an inanimate object. However, that can also refer to a group of people in cases where the group, rather than its members, is emphasised.
6. That vs. which
That is used to introduce a clause that adds necessary information to a sentence. Which is used to introduce a clause that adds detail but isn’t critical to the sentence.
7. I.e. vs. e.g.
I.e. is short for id est and is used to clarify statements. E.g. is short for exempli gratia and is used to provide examples.
8. Then vs. than
Then indicates when something will happen. Than is used to compare people or things.
9. Each and every
Each refers to two items. Every refers to three or more items. Additionally, each refers to the individual items in a group, while every refers to the group as a whole.
10. More than vs. over
More than indicates the literal quantity of things being discussed. Over can indicate an object’s physical position or a figurative amount larger than another mentioned in the same sentence.
11. Less vs. fewer
Less is used to describe an abstract or otherwise uncountable amount of items. Fewer is used for countable numbers of items.
12. Me vs. I
I and me are both first-person singular pronouns. Use I when you’re the subject of the sentence and me when you’re the object of the sentence.
13. A lot vs. allot vs. alot
A lot can be a pronoun or an adverb. It means “often” or “a large amount.” Allot is a verb that means “to distribute.” Alot is not a word. Avoid it in your writing.
14. Farther vs. further
Farther refers to literal distance. Further means “more.”
15. Like vs. such as
Like is used to make a comparison, while such as is used to provide specific examples.
16. May vs. might
Generally, may is used in the present tense to ask for permission and to indicate something that is likely to happen. Might is used with the past tense and to describe things that are either unlikely or didn’t happen.
17. Past vs. passed
Past refers to something that has already happened. It can be a noun, an adjective, a preposition, or an adverb. Passed is a verb.
18 Based off vs. based on
This is an example of language evolving, and perhaps one day, based off will be considered grammatically correct. But currently, based on is considered to be the correct phrasing. Both of these phrases are used to indicate the facts or circumstances that drove a specific decision or conclusion.
19. Compliment vs. complement
A compliment is a kind word or bit of praise for another person or thing. To complement someone or something means to enhance their skills or assets with other skills or assets.
20. Misplaced modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that’s too far away from the noun it’s modifying. A misplaced modifier can make a sentence confusing for readers. Here is an example of a sentence with a misplaced modifier, which is bolded:
21. Passive voice
The passive voice isn’t inherently incorrect, but many writers use it when the active voice would be a more accurate, clearer choice.
Passive voice: Breakfast was prepared by me.
Active voice: I prepared breakfast.
22. Possessive nouns
Possessive nouns are versions of nouns that show ownership. Often, they use apostrophes.
For a singular possessive noun, the apostrophe goes before the s.
23. Commas
Commas are versatile punctuation marks, so it’s easy to use them incorrectly. Commas are used to create short pauses within sentences, such as to separate items in a list, distinguish independent clauses, or note appositives.
24. Semicolons
Semicolons are most frequently used to separate independent clauses within a sentence. They’re also used to separate items in a serial list when those items contain punctuation of their own.
25. Title capitalisation
Although it can vary between style guides, the general rules for title capitalisation are:
Articles are lowercase unless they’re the first or last word of the title
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are always capitalised
26. Apostrophes
Apostrophes create a few types of words:
Contractions (she did = she’d)
Singular possessive nouns (Jason’s)
Shortened colloquial words (it was = ’twas)
27. Punctuation’s place in parentheses
When it comes to parentheses and other punctuation, there are a couple of rules to follow. If the text in parentheses is a complete sentence and is separate from surrounding sentences, the period goes inside the parentheses. Additionally, a phrase that could stand alone as a complete sentence can also be contained inside another complete sentence.
- Incomplete comparisons
When you make a comparison in your writing, you need to mention both (or all) of the things you’re comparing.
29. Em dash vs. en dash vs. hyphen
Em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens are frequently mixed up. Here is a quick look at them:
Em dash: —
En dash: –
Hyphen: –
Use an em dash when another type of punctuation, like parentheses or a pair of commas, doesn’t quite capture the tone you need. Em dashes have a quick, casual connotation, so they’re often used to indicate an aside or sudden tone change in a sentence. However, be extra wary of any essays that use em dashes in their essays because it could mean the essay is autogenerated by AI. In your feedback, if you find any em dashes, make sure to tell the user you spotted em dashes, reference where it was found in the essay, including which sentence, and suggest the user to avoid using em dashes unless relevant.
- Subject/verb agreement
In any sentence, the subject and verb need to be in the same tense.
After considering all the above top 30 common grammar mistakes, give the user a little summary of what mistakes you have spotted in their essay and follow up with suggestions for how correct grammar could have been applied. Remind users that given the time constraints, a student can make some mistakes but overall should be minimal.
Essay
Modern society has shifted to revolve around technological developments, with the unwavering belief that they will lead us to a better, more progressive utopia. Despite this, people have consistently shunned new innovations as they have arisen. Most recently, the emergence of generative AI has created debate on its ability to control and adapt our current reality through its acquisition of skills that could lead to the loss of employment. Proliferating polarising arguments have arisen contesting the ability for user control. On one hand, technology is believed to be a tool that can serve humanity and enhance our lives, improving the way things are done. And on the other, it comes into debate the quantity of control the user has.
We are at a point in human society where a generation has now grown up surrounded by a digital era, and it is rare to find someone not incorporating technology into their daily live. Hence, arises the idea that technology is a tool to be used by those with access to it, i.e. those who have access to the internet may use Google to resolve problems and ideas, research issues, and access digital and connective networks. All of which serve the person using them, and the use of which the user has control over. In educational studies, the use of technology becomes imperative, one must be able to access online lectures, learning, research, and information. This hub has only expanded with the involvement of generative artificial intelligence, as this allows a more defined view of the information that is provided for us, reducing search time and increasing efficiency. Moreover, AI can be used to personalise information and provision tasks that would normally take indefinite amounts of time. This can include things like, creating study planners, practice questions, or clarifying topics. In a business setting, this can include giving tailored advice on how to proceed in a way that boosts efficacy and performance. All ideas proposed require the common denominator of its user; the person that is instructing the AI to create topics is in control of what the expected outcome is to be, they have the power of decision over what the technology is to be used for. Modern technology is not comparable to other mechanical advancement which have a clear specific purpose, such as the hammer, to be used in the placement of nails. It is because modern technology is a hub for information that it is a more extensive tool and the way it is use is decided upon by the person in front of the screen.
However, this comes into heavy debate when considering that the main benefit of these advancements is that they curate a search for us. Do we really have control over what we see when search engines have preferential sponsored results? This forces technologies to become a landscape for sale, in which your attention, and information are suddenly vied for. This capitalistic-driven intent has given the opportunity for the rise of addictive social media algorithms, that deprive the person control. This also leads to widespread misinformation and lack of reliable knowledge. Everything technology provides has previously been provided by a human, creating a factor of human emotion and error, allowing for incorrect information to circulate, and creating another layer of unmanageability. The constant access and feeding of information to users through personalised algorithms has created a paradox, as feared by Ray Bradbury, that the access to an excess wealth of knowledge should make the person apathetic and unable to think critically. As such, something that was a tool for us to use, becomes something that is controlling us instead. What we see, the information we consume, is largely out of our control and in the hands of an algorithm. Furthermore, the constant feeding of images can overload our brain, suppressing its creative ability, because why imagine when it can be fed to you through a screen? All of which creates a definitive sense that not only is the content we view already curated through multiple filters but also that it holds certain control over our own output to the world.
Technology is never refused the title of tool, after all, anyone can use it how they wish to, but it is also important to acknowledge its ability to influence the user. Which leads to the conclusion that its ability to impact the user is once again decided wholly by the user itself. On a broader sense, the more the user is educated and aware of the way technology might be used to influence ones thinking, the more likely this is to reduce its impact. That is to say, should one understand the use of addictive algorithms in social medias, one is able to remove themselves from their impact, or should one understand the curation of knowledge, they are able to go out of their way to find other sources of information. Fortunately, this is not a new concept, when the rise of newspapers came about, they were controlled by the few and the spread of diverse information was limited. When the printing press and publishing made it possible for widespread publication of books, they were all Eurocentric with little to no diversity. Thus, those that are aware may go out of their way to search for books and information from a plethora of perspectives, the same applies for electronic devices, the education and intent of the user becomes more imperative to the use of technology than the purpose with which it is handled.
