Comment Decoder:
A Key for Interpreting those Mysterious Capital Letter Abbreviations on Your Paper
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AWK |
Your writing here is awkward; rewrite it so that it flows more smoothly and the reader doesn't need to struggle to follow you. |
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You need to indicate where you found this text or idea. |
| CLARIFY | You need to take this sentence or paragraph and rewrite it for clarity. Make sure that your syntax is clear and straightforward. |
| EXPLAIN | You need to slow down and carefully spell out what you're trying to say here. Take the reader through your reasoning more carefully, or else you're at the risk of losing them. |
| FLUFF | What you've written here is just hot air: It doesn't really help you to make your point. |
| GR | Grammar problem. |
| HOM | This is a special type of spelling problem. You've used a homophone here in place of the word you want (a homophone is different word that sounds just like it). |
| INTRO | There are some serious problems with your introduction. Either you don't have one, it goes on too long. |
| HUH? | I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say here. |
| LEAP | You've made a leap in reasoning here: you need to back up, slow down, and explain why you think the conclusion follows. |
| OVERQUOTE | You're relying too much on quotation here. Typing is easier than explaining, but you need to help the reader understand the text. |
| PARTS MISSING | You haven't answered all of the parts of the paper topic. This is a serious problem. |
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You have an interesting point here, but it requires further attention. Push harder on the idea: discuss the reasons why you think it's true, consider potential objections. |
| SIGNPOST | You need to add some signposting material here, so that your reader can more clearly make out the structure of your project. (For more on signposting, see the Writing Clearly page.) |
| SP | Spelling error. |
| TITLE | Something's amiss with your title. Perhaps it's a-missing altogether, or perhaps it's awkward, hard to follow, etc. |
| TMSP(Too Many Separate Points) | You've tried to take on too many separate points. You should choose one to focus on and drop the rest, or else struggle to make them more intimately connected. |
| TONE | Your tone here is a little inappropriate. |
| WISHY WASHY | You're being too cagey or wimpy here. Avoid cop-outs like "Who am I to say ...?", or "It depends on your point of view ...", or "We will never know the right answer ...". Try your best to answer the question; that's the point in writing philosophy in the first place. (Alternatively, if the topic permits it, you might try to construct an argument showing that there is no right answer, or that the right answer is unknowable. But those are hard arguments to develop!) |
| WORD | Poor word choice.
"This word, I do not think it means what you think it means."—Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride |