《Essie's Critiques》My Perspective | AdukeZain
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Mom: Why did you fail your test?,why are you joking with your future!
Me: It is not me who failed but the education system which has failed once again!,and even if I failed the test,it doesn't mean I'll fail in life.
Journey with me as I see the world and life from a different perspective and discuss different issues affecting youths
What I appreciate is I can see the relevance of the image you've used. It represents both your story and title. The title, however, is hard to make out. I suggest being more creative with the font, color, and placement of your title so it stands out to your readers. If you have trouble with this, you can also go to a cover shop. I have many fabulous cover designers featured in my reading list for you to check out!
It is straight to the point. I immediately understand the representation it has for your story and genre, and it's short and easy to remember. It also has an underlining theme that will represent all chapters of the story, not just a part of it. Well done!
There are several grammatical errors I spotted right off the bat in your blurb. You can check out the grammar section and apply the suggestions I have there to your blurb, but if you're looking for specifics, please ask! I appreciate that the blurb is short and concise and represents the story, but it only represents a part of it. From what I can see, My Perspective is about discussing many issues affecting youths, and school is only a part of it. Therefore, I'd suggest using a blurb that works to represent all these issues. Instead of providing an example like you did, you could list off several examples (without going too much in depth), then include at the bottom (like you already did) what this story is about. To let potential readers understand the depth of your reasoning, you could include the why and how of all these issues--how are they connected, and how are they affecting us?
I spotted many grammatical errors immediately from the hook, and I'll mention them to you in your chapter reviews below. Your sentences are pretty chunky and on the longer side, which makes it harder for your readers to break them down and absorb all this information. It also gives me that rushed feeling, so I suggest breaking down these sentences to ease me into the first chapter. Otherwise, I appreciate that you jumped straight into the topic.
I noticed that you sometimes tend to leave out punctuation in your dialogues. Just like ending sentences, dialogues need to be ended as well. Just because you add a dialogue mark to the end doesn't mean it's a complete sentence. It isn't complete until you add a punctuation mark at the end. I've pointed out some examples of this below.
You had a lot of comma mistakes. Keep in mind that commas are used to separate different clauses within a sentence, whether they're independent or dependent. An independent clause has a subject (who/what is doing the action) and a predicate (the action being done by the subject). Oftentimes, a sentence has two independent clauses, joined together with a conjunction. In the sentence, "I cried then Billy ran away," there are two independent clauses here. One is, "I cried," and the other is, "Billy ran away." Both have a subject and a predicate, and they're joined together by the conjunction, "then." Because of this, the two clauses still need to be separated with a comma, the correction being: "I cried, then Billy ran away."
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Dependent clauses are just like independent clauses: they also have a subject and a predicate. However, dependent clauses are exactly like what they sound like; they're dependent on another clause. They don't make sense by themselves. For example, the clause, "I decided not to," has both a subject and a predicate, but it needs more context to make sense. There should be another clause attached or a sentence before it that it depends on making sense. When joined to another clause with a conjunction, the dependent clause should still be separated with a comma as well.
Commas are also used to separate an introductory phrase or word before the main clause. In the sentence, "Today I went to work," the independent clause is "I went to work," where the subject is "I," and the predicate/action is "went to work." The word "today" is not included in the clause, and therefore should be separated with a comma. The correction would be: "Today, I went to work." This is a lot of information to take in, but try to keep these rules in mind for the next time you're writing.
I noticed the amount of comma splices used as well. A comma splice is joining two different independent clauses together, and separating them with a comma, but not a conjunction. An example of this is: "I went to work, I drove in my car." These are two different independent clauses, "I went to work" and "I drove in my car." They both have predicates and subjects, and are separated with a comma. However, you must separate them with a conjunction as well. Without a conjunction, this turns into a comma splice. You have two options in this case. You can either replace the comma with a period and turn it into two different sentences, or add in a conjunction. In this case, the correction can be, "I went to work, and I drove in my car," or "I went to work. I drove in my car." You have many cases of comma splices in your writing, which I've pointed out for you. There were many that I haven't pointed out, so make sure to do that.
You included extra spaces where they aren't needed, specifically with your punctuation. I've pointed some out in your chapter review(s) below, so make sure to correct these. You also need to have spaces in certain places. Whether they be after a comma or after a period, a space is necessary.
You often slipped up in your tense. Whether your story is set in past or present tense, you need to pick one and stay in it. If you're in past tense, you should use words such as "didn't" and "wanted." If you're writing in present tense, you should use, "don't" and "want." I've shown a few examples where you slipped up your tense below, so keep this rule in mind for future writing.
I noticed that you had unnecessary capitalization, or you were missing capitalization in certain places. The beginning of a new sentence, a certain person, place, or thing, must always be capitalized. The next time you capitalize (or don't capitalize), keep this rule in mind.
You struggled with apostrophes and contractions. For example, the contraction "let's" and the word "lets" have different meanings, and should be applied appropriate depending on the context of the scene. Before adding an apostrophe, say out the full words "let us" and see if it makes sense.
With your punctuation within dialogue markings, there were a few times you included more than one punctuation. If you end the dialogue with a comma, period, exclamation mark, or question mark, ellipsis, etc, within the dialogue markings, you don't need any other punctuation after the dialogue markings.
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There were several instances where I found spelling errors in your basic vocabulary and diction choice. I suggest brushing up on your vocabulary to avoid these kinds of mistakes. Additionally, you included repetitive filler words and synonyms. For example, tests and exams are the same thing (I'm sorry, but you're probably going to be sick of seeing that by the end of this review). You structured most of your sentences in a way so your filler words didn't go together, and I struggled to make sense of what you were trying to say. By proof-reading or thoroughly editing your chapters, you can avoid this and clear up some misunderstandings!
This isn't a story, so the same rules don't apply here. For the most part, I was thrilled with your reflections and thorough explaining. I had a lot of fun going through your reasoning and learning some new things along the way! However, there were times you went off on tangents that were unrelated to the topic. (Check my review on chapter 2). Make sure to stay on topic, as you can address other issues later. You also presented some claims as facts instead of theories. It's important not to do this without presenting evidence, as it can muddle your credibility. For example, is it a fact that all students with an A is unimaginative and obedient? Is it a fact that all students with a C fail their subjects because they are innovative and creative? I'm sure there are too many exceptions for this to be a fact, so make sure to provide statistics if this is true, and if this is what you believe, make sure to present it as that and not a fact.
Obviously, I won't grade you on this.
Some of your sentences were incredibly long. They were about one or two long paragraphs long, and it was hard to break them down and absorb the information you were providing. I highly suggest tackling these sentences to shorten them. This helps with clarity and enhances the reading experience for your audience. You also included lots of repetition with filler words and phrases such as "I think". Get rid of any information that doesn't contribute to the topic, and any filler words that add unnecessary weight to your sentences. This also includes adverbs, such as "actually" and "really."
The same rules don't apply here, as this isn't a story, but I noticed you rushed your explanations near the end of each chapter, as though you were eager to get it finished. I suggest slowing down and expanding on some of your descriptions. That way, you can pack your chapters with more useful information. For example, if students are sleep-deprived because of schoolwork, you can reference an article or provide statistics. You can expand on the why and how this is affecting everyone as a community. Additionally, instead of just listing off what's wrong with the school system, you can also take the time to provide tips for how to individually improve (as it may be hard to start changes as a whole). Change can start with one person, and by providing alternatives, you can help a lot of people who are reading your "story."
"As much as I dislike the school system, i'm still stuck in it and it's so annoying, I really wish I can change something about it, and I think that has to start from people's mindset." (p.1). You must capitalize "I" on "I'm." You also have comma splices here. A comma splice, as a reminder, is joining two (or more) clauses together with a comma, but without a conjunction. To correct this, you can add a conjunction or replace the comma with a period. I'd prefer the latter, as shorter sentences have clearer readability for your audience. Additionally, "people" already means more than one person, and as you're using it as a plural, "mindset" should also be pluralized. Correction: "As much as I dislike the school system, I'm still stuck in it and it's so annoying. I wish I could change something about it, and that has to start from peoples' mindsets." I also corrected your tense slip-ups, removed the unnecessary "I think," and removed the unnecessary adverb, "really."
"By this time last year,I didn't think anything was wrong with the school system. This is how I found out ;" (p.2). This is an incomplete sentence, as the semicolon shows the sentence continues. I suggest replacing it with a period. You also need a space after the comma in the first sentence. Correction: "By this time last year, I didn't think anything was wrong with the school system. This was how I found out." I also corrected your tense slip-up.
"I was fed up with so much assignments one Sunday afternoon which was the 15th of November 2020, precisely, I was working on my computer assignment on data conversation,the sun was shining brightly towards my room,that I left there and moved to the passage, where reflection of the sun couldn't reach." (p.3). This sentence is abnormally long. This makes it hard for readers to absorb this information. I suggest using fewer commas and more periods. Additionally, I suggest replacing "much" with "many," and you're missing several commas and filler words. Correction: "I was fed up with so many assignments one Sunday afternoon. It was the 15th of November 2020, and I was working on my computer assignment on data conversation. The sun was shining brightly towards my room, so I moved to the passage where the reflection of the sun couldn't reach me." Even with these corrections, this still feels a bit chunky, so I also suggest rephrasing certain sentences or experimenting with sentence length.
"In spite of the fact that everyone has different learning methods, brains and gifts, schools have adopted only one way,which is a teacher standing at the front of the class and teaching every student the same way,when we aren't even exact replica of each other,every student is unique and different but still we are constantly compared to students with high logical intelligence." (p.4). Again, this is a long sentence. You need spaces after commas, and I suggest replacing some of those commas with periods for more clarity. You also need to pluralize certain words. Correction: "In spite of the fact that everyone has different learning methods, brains, and gifts, schools have adopted only one way, which is a teacher standing at the front of the class and teaching every student the same way. We aren't even exact replicas of each other. Every student is unique and different, but still, we are constantly compared to students with high logical intelligence."
"Most people would say school is preparing you for the future, which is actually true but is what we are being taught enough to deal with circumstances we might face in the future." (p.5). This is a run-on sentence. I also suggest separating this into different sentences. Correction: "Most people would say school is preparing you for the future. This is true, but is what we are being taught enough to deal with circumstances we might face in the future?"
"Instead of teaching social and communication skills, how to deal with emotional, financial problems, discover your passion, purpose and other important things that would actually be useful in the future students are made to study,study, and study information just to throw them back into tests,exams." (p.5). This is an extremely long run-on sentence, and I'm unclear on what it's supposed to mean. I suggest adding commas, splitting this into several sentences, and removing filler words. Also, tests and exams are the same thing. Correction: "Instead of teaching social and communication skills, teach how to deal with emotional and financial problems. Discover your passion, purpose, and other important things that would be useful in the future. Students are made to study, study, and study information, just to throw them back into exams."
"If only schools could focus more on other types of intelligence and identify the gift in every child, every student will be the best at what they do,we would be truly learning,not just READING ONLY TO PASS EXAMS AND TESTS." (p.6). Again, a long sentence here. You have comma splices, and you need spaces after your commas. I also advise against bolding your words, as it can seem unprofessional towards your audience. Additionally, instead of capitalizing, I suggest italicizing words (this is optional). Correction: "If only schools could focus more on other types of intelligence and identify the gift in every child. Every student would be the best at what they do. We would be truly learning, and not just reading only to pass exams and tests."
"In a way,it's this system that has promoted examination malpractices, because students just want to pass by any means possible as they know they will be judged based on their grades and if they are not caught and end up passing,they're compared to students who did their bests without cheating but failed,since the teacher might not know who cheated,crammed or understood,they just think those who failed are the lazy and not serious ones and compare them to those who passed, even if they don't know the means by which they passed." (p.7). This long paragraph is just one sentence. You're probably beginning to notice a pattern in my suggestions by now. Again, I suggest splitting these into several sentences, adding or removing filler words, and adding spaces after commas. Correction: "In a way, it's this system that has promoted examination malpractices, because students just want to pass by any means possible. They know they will be judged based on their grades, and if they are not caught and end up passing, they're compared to students who did their best without cheating but failed. The teacher might not know who cheated, crammed, or understood. They just think those who failed are lazy and not serious, and compare them to those who passed, even if they don't know the means by which they passed."
"Some students take notes in class,and you think;WOW!,this student wants to learn more,but that's not the case,the real reason some students take notes during an explanation by the teacher is to study them later for the test/exam,so that he or she can PASS!,even teachers do it too,some will tell you that you shouldn't bother studying a topic since it won't come out in the exam." (p.8). You need to capitalize on the beginning of each new sentence. Additionally, you should only have one punctuation ending a sentence. I suggest adding dialogue markings and not capitalizing "wow." You need to add spaces after commas. Correction: "Some students take notes in class, and you think, 'Wow! This student wants to learn more," but that's not the case. The real reason some students take notes during an explanation by the teacher is to study them later for the exam, so that he or she can pass! Even teachers do it too. Some will tell you that you shouldn't bother studying a topic since it won't come out in the exam."
"I think teachers think students don't really have personal lives or things bothering them,maybe they think our lives are just simply;" (p.11). I suggest replacing the semicolon with a colon. You need spaces after commas. You also have a repetition of "think." Correction: "Teachers think students don't have personal lives or things bothering them. Maybe they think our lives are just simply:"
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