The corrected sentence is: "To leave school on time, we had to do the following: turn off our computers, lock the front doors, and get our coats."
Explanation of Changes:
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Punctuation: I added a comma after “on time” to separate the introductory phrase from the main clause for clarity.
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Colon Usage: I used a colon after “the following” to introduce a list of actions. This helps organize the items that follow and signals to the reader that a list is coming.
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Parallel Structure: I changed "locking the front doors" to "lock the front doors" and "got our coats" to "get our coats." This ensures that all the items in the list follow the same grammatical structure (infinitive form). Maintaining parallel structure improves readability and coherence.
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Clarity: This corrected version clearly indicates that these are the actions required to leave school on time, making the sentence easier to understand.