A few things that I struggle with are using commas too often, creating run-on sentences due to my issue of using commas too often and using colons and semi-colons. When I am writing, I tend to create too many pauses by inputting to many commas. If my readers were to read my text as literally as they should, it seems that it would be very awkward, as they would be pausing a few times per sentence. I believe that I can overcome this habit by creating more than one sentence or simply using semi-colons to bring in a new thought without having to create a new sentence. In regard to this issue, I then fall victim to my second issue, creating run-on sentences. In a lot of my works in the past, it seems that I create these very elaborate sentences that seem to go on forever. This is definitely not something that I should get in the habit of as a future journalist, as I will not attract very many readers with my style of writing. I believe that the steps that I listed for my first issue will also help me with this issue, but it also seems that I may benefit from the phrasing that I choose. Instead of creating a very long sentence, I can definitely think of ways to reduce it or re-word it by eliminating redundant words, not using too many amplifiers and using active voice. I am a serial passive voice user in my writing and it definitely needs to stop. As for my last issue, I believe that it runs hand in hand with my first two issues. As I mentioned, it seems that I would benefit by using more semi-colons in my writing, but I do not use them very often because I am afraid that I will be using it wrong and I will come off as unprofessional. I know how to use semi-colons, but I have definitely used them wrong in the past and I believe that in a weird way, my confidence with using them is not as great as it used to be. I believe that if I can master semi-colons, that aspect of my writing will improve immensely! 

As for some examples of errors in my own writing or other writing that I have seen, my first example is from an column that I wrote for The Signpost a few years ago. In going back and re-reading my columns, I definitely see things that I overlooked in the writing process. Case in point, this sentence was used in one of my columns: 

"While it can be argued that he did throw two interceptions on the day, one of them was not entirely his fault, and he was in fact playing against Alabama, arguably the best defense in the country." 

As you can see, it seems that I should have broken this sentence up or rephrased it, as it just seems very lengthy. I used three commas to present one idea. I definitely could have re-arranged this sentence to make it work a lot better. 

Another example that I found of a grammatical error is from Twitter. The tweet that I read states:

"It is semi formal like last year. But don't forget to bring a change of clothes." 

This is an easy one, as there should definitely have been a hyphen in between "semi" and "formal."