How to avoid conflicts in grammar?

Are there any grammar errors in this paragraph?

• I am not picky, I have never rated anyone with less then 5-stars, I just really need help on this. All I really need is a corrected paper, but any tips you could give me would be great. Need a corrected paragraph in 1 hour...you will get 5 stars and a tip. Chances are that you have gotten (or will get at one point) a speeding ticket, maybe you were late to work or school, maybe you didn?t see the speed limit sign, whatever the case, before you know it, you can see lights flashing from a police car signaling you to pull over. No one wants to fork over their weekly allowance or paycheck to pay a costly fine, so you might want to know that there are several steps you can take to help avoid getting a speeding ticket; don?t drive a vehicle that stands out, change the way you drive, and, if you do get pulled over, know how to interact with the officer. One way to avoid a speeding ticket is to drive a non-flashy automobile. The car?s color, modifications, condition, cleanliness, and stickers may get you some unwanted attention. Police usually target sport cars. For example, a speeding red Dodge Viper with neon lights eliminating the road is more likely to be noticed then a black stock Toyota Corolla that blends in to the rest of the traffic. Make sure all your lights work, a broken tail light or turning signal will be noticed and make your car stand out. Do not have stickers on your car, such as ?Don?t pull me over, I don?t have donuts,? as that will most likely offend the officer, instead buy a sticker that says ?I support the KC Police Department.? The cleanliness of your car also makes a definite impression with the officer. Keep your vehicle clean, interior and exterior, the vehicle is a reflection of who you are, never have your vehicle in the condition that it looks like you need a ticket. However, if your automobile can?t blend in, then you can still avoid a ticket by changing the way you drive. Speeding in the fast lane is sure to get you pulled over; you are better off in the slow lane as most police target the faster lanes. Another tip is to follow truck drivers; they know where most of the speed traps are and are good at spotting them a mile away. If you drive next to someone that is speeding you can lower the chance of getting pulled over by fifty percent. Try to avoid speeding near the end of the month as most officers have a quota system that they have to meet by the end of the month. If you do get pulled over it is not over yet, you can still try to plead your way out of the ticket. Always be polite to the officer, acting rude will only put the officer on defense and you chances of avoiding the ticket are slim to none. Always address the officer as ?Officer,? never ?Pig?, ?Chopper? or ?Dude.? Crying might work for a teenage girl, let those tears roll and the police officer might have sympathy on you and let you go. If all else fails just plead with the officer and let him or her know that you can?t afford the ticket and you might be let off with a warning or at least a lower fine. Getting a ticket can be expensive and no one wants to spend their money paying it off, it is much easier to not put yourself in a position to get one. Driving a car that doesn?t catch the office?s attention, changing a couple bad driving habits and knowing how to interact with the officer are will help you to avoiding that dreaded ticket. However, even with theses tips, chances are that if you keep getting pulled over repeatedly you will eventually get a ticket, so the best method to prevent a speeding ticket is to stop speeding. However, for the perpetually late lead-footed types it?s good to know that there are a couple ways to improve your odds of avoiding a ticket

• Answer:

  Hi Jack, Actually, you?ve done a pretty good job here. Your thesis statement is clear, your supporting paragraphs follow in good order, and your conclusion wraps things up nicely. I like your use of detail, e.g. a red Viper vs. a stock black Corolla, and examples of dialog. You also give some pretty good advice! But you?re wise to ask for some proofreading, which is a good idea for anyone! There are a few minor errors in spelling, which I?ve corrected. For your reference, those corrections are in brackets next to the erroneously spelled ones, around which I?ve put parentheses. I?ve also included some suggestions in brackets next to words that may be technically correct, but are a little awkward. Another problem you seem to have is a common one, i.e. the overuse of some words like ?that? or ?then.? I?ve bracketed the places where I feel you can eliminate them to make your piece a little smoother. One other difficulty I see you having, also very common, is continuity, especially with verb forms, throughout a sentence or paragraph. Again, I?ve put in brackets the corrected verb form. Always put punctuation, such as commas or periods, INside quote marks. As for construction, one thing to pay attention to is long paragraphs. Yes, your organization by thesis points is good, but sometimes, if a paragraph runs on for a long time, it?s better to look for a logical breaking point, and split it up. Makes your piece read a little easier. Also, you do have a slight tendency toward run-on sentences, and I?ve broken them up, supplying appropriate capitalization and punctuation. It?s usually better to write in short, succint sentences, rather than long, unwieldy ones connected with a lot of commas or ands. But it would have been too confusing I think to use the same bracketing technique with the construction errors, so I just changed them. When you compare the revision to the original, I?m pretty sure you?ll see where they were, but if not, let me know, and I can retype it another way. Thanks for the chance to help you out with this. As I said, I think over all you?ve done a fine job! Best regards, byrd-ga ===================== ESSAY WITH REVISIONS ===================== Chances are [that] you have gotten (or will get at one point) a speeding ticket. Maybe you were late to work or school, or maybe you didn?t see the speed limit sign. Whatever the (case) [cause], before you (know) [knew] it, you (can) [could] see lights flashing from a police car signaling you to pull over. No one wants to fork over their weekly allowance or paycheck to pay a costly fine, so you might (want) [be interested] to know [that] there are several steps you can take to help avoid getting a speeding ticket: don?t drive a vehicle that stands out; change the way you drive, and; if you do get pulled over, know how to interact with the officer. [Another way to handle this so as to clarify your list could be with numbers, e.g.: No one wants to fork over their weekly allowance or paycheck to pay a costly fine, so you might want [be interested] to know [that] there are several steps you can take to help avoid getting a speeding ticket: 1) don?t drive a vehicle that stands out; 2) change the way you drive; and; 3) if you do get pulled over, know how to interact with the officer.] One way to avoid a speeding ticket is to drive a non-flashy automobile. The car?s color, modifications, condition, cleanliness, and stickers may get you some unwanted attention. Police usually target sport cars. For example, a speeding red Dodge Viper with neon lights (eliminating) [illuminating] the road is more likely to be noticed then a black stock Toyota Corolla that blends (in to) [into] the rest of the traffic. Make sure all your lights work. A broken tail light or (turning) [turn] signal will be noticed and make your car stand out. Do not have stickers on your car, such as ?Don?t pull me over, I don?t have donuts,? as that will most likely offend the officer. Instead buy a sticker that says ?I support the KC Police Department.? The cleanliness of your car also makes a definite impression (with) [on] the officer. Keep your vehicle clean, (interior and exterior,) [inside and out]. The vehicle is a reflection of who you are. Never have your vehicle in (the) [such] condition that it looks like you need a ticket. However, if your automobile can?t blend in, [then] you can still avoid a ticket by changing the way you drive. Speeding in the fast lane is sure to get you pulled over. You are better off in the slow lane as most police target the faster lanes. Another tip is to follow truck drivers, as they know where most of the speed traps are and are good at spotting them a mile away. If you drive next to someone (that) [who] is speeding, you can lower (the) [your] chance of getting pulled over by fifty percent. Try to avoid speeding near the end of the month as most officers have a quota system [that] they have to meet by the end of the month. If you do get pulled over. it is not over yet. You can still try to plead your way out of the ticket. Always be polite to the officer. Acting rude will only put the officer on defense and you[r] chances of avoiding the ticket (are) [will be] slim to none. Always address the officer as ?Officer,? never ?Pig,? ?Chopper,? or ?Dude.? Crying might work for a teenage girl. Let those tears roll and the police officer might have sympathy on you and let you go. If all else fails just plead with the officer. Let (him or her) [him] know [that] you can?t afford the ticket and you might be let off with a warning, or at least a lower fine. Getting a ticket can be expensive and no one wants to spend their money paying it off. It is much easier (to not put) [not to put] yourself in a position to get one. Driving a car that doesn?t catch the office?s attention, changing a (couple of) [few] bad driving habits, and knowing how to interact with the officer are steps that may help you avoid that dreaded ticket. However, even with (theses)[these] tips, chances are, [that] if you keep getting pulled over repeatedly, you will eventually get a ticket. So the best method to prevent a speeding ticket is to stop speeding. However, for the perpetually late, lead-footed types, it?s good to know that there are a (couple) [few] ways to improve your odds of avoiding a ticket.