A question was just asked on ELL, and it needs a lot of work.
Here's a screen shot. There are two problems with this question: first, the way the initial question was asked; second, the way a follow-on question was asked in a comment.
Error Identification
I'll start by addressing the question added in the comments under the answer.
Had ELL received a question that looked like this:
Using "Named"–"A French woman named Jeanne"
I found this exercise in a book with practice English problems:
The (1)oldest person in the world, (2)a French woman (3)named Jeanne calment, (4)she celebrated her 120th birthday on June 1999.
The problem is designed to help us recognize errors in English. I think the answer might be (3), because I'm not sure we can use the word named in that way. Is my hunch correct?
I wouldn't have a problem with that question. The source of the quote is (somewhat) identified, as is the source of confusion. The O.P. has clearly put some thought into solving the problem, and a plea for help on ELL is justified.
As for the first question in its original format:
Error Identification
If a person (1)has more (2)than ten years old and (3)cannot read and write , that person is (4)considered illiterate.plz anyone help me find the error in this sentence.
This is NOT the right way to ask a question on ELL; it's simply a copy-and-paste from a practice exam with no background information, and no source of confusion clearly identified. There is no way to know if the O.P. has wrestled with this problem for 3 days, 3 hours, or 3 seconds.
As for the O.P.'s plea for a "kind soul" to help understand English better, I don't mean to sound callous, but this isn't a matter of kindness, it's a matter of quality. Once anyone can paste a question here and get an answer, there's no impetus to wrestle with the problem, or to expend any effort explaining what how the O.P. tried to solve the problem themselves.
Long-term, this encourages ELL to be used as a crutch, and its regular contributors to be used as a free tutoring service (I'm pretty confident that's why the answer provided has already garnered a delete vote). Shame on the O.P. for trying to invoke sympathy by asking for some "kind" user to invest time answering questions that are not properly asked.
That said, my goal here is not to berate the O.P., but offer guidance that can be used in the future. The message is not that the questions are unwelcomed, but that the questions are welcomed after they have been improved. More guidance is available here:
Lastly, I would caution any would-be O.P.: be leery of asking too many questions from the same book over and over and over again. That will wear on the community; it's also why you should put some effort into solving the problem on your own before asking here. ELL is supposed to be a place where people can get help when they are genuinely stumped, not when they initially encounter a problem. Consult dictionaries and Google first, then ask your question here. The result will be a better question – and a warmer welcome.
