A few notes on plurals, commas and apostrophes.

When should you drop the 's'?
When a plural ending in 's' (e.g. “elephants”, but not “formulae” or “sheep”) possesses something, the 's' following the apostrophe is omitted (elephants', formulae's, sheep's). However, there is no strict rule on this in the case of singular proper nouns ending in 's'. Therefore, 'James's' and 'James'' are both correct, but many people opt for the latter spelling. In the case of nouns ending 'ss' (mass, princess etc.), an apostrophe followed by an 's' is used to denote possession (princess's, mass's etc.).

Should I use there, their, or they’re?

The simple misuse of ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ is one of the most common, clear and costly grammar mistakes in essay writing. An experienced professor will spot incorrect usage from a glance. To avoid sounding like your work has been written by a child, a few simple mental markers can be employed to erase the problem for good.

10 tips to proofreading your paper

1. Take time away from your work, and unwind from 'essay mode' before proofreading. If possible, leave any proofreading until the next day. Most people find that reading a paper once the next morning is more effective than checking it over 3 or 4 times immediately after finishing.
2. There are 2 main parts to checking a typed document; firstly, reading a hard copy, and then secondly going back to the document on the computer for the final stages. Print off a double spaced (to allow more room for corrections), black and white copy, and use a coloured pen to make alterations. Both red and light blue inks stand out well.

Attain vs. Obtain

These two words are often used incorrectly by the writer. Both can be applied as transitive and intransitive verbs, and although having similar meanings to one another, each has, essentially, a mutually exclusive application. Although both possess the identical suffix 'tain', the etymology of the two words is somewhat different, with 'attain' being derived from the Latin 'tangere' (to touch), and 'obtain' from the Latin 'tenēre' (to hold).