Writing Rules
These are considered grievous offenses by college professors and other professionals. Please take this list seriously. Use it carefully, and commit the information to memory. This will be used in grading all writing assignments.
1. NEVER use first or second person possessive pronouns:
Example: I, me, my, our, us, we, you (or any version of you) This includes the use of the terms: one/one’s and the reader.
2. NEVER use contractions:
Example: Can’t, don’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t, doesn’t, it’s, hasn’t, and others.
3. DO NOT use the words: ever, never, or very.
4. DO NOT ask rhetorical questions! Instead, answer the question you wanted to ask. You will find that the answer (when worded correctly) fits in the essay, sounds less conversational, and can support the argument.
5. Authors speak, state, explain, etc. This is not a magical world in which inanimate objects speak.
6. Conversational/Slang language. A scholarly essay is not a chat between friends or a story. Write like a scholar.
7. Do not quote in the introduction or conclusion, and do not begin a paragraph with a quote.
8. Do not quote for emphasis. If you quote it – you must CITE IT!
9. When quoting, introduce the text and the author. Do not throw in a quote without introduction.
a. In the article “Gremlins and Film,” Mark Levin posits, “Gremlins are aggressive creatures” (142).
b. It is “difficult to live with Gremlins” in a civilized society (Levin 142).
10. Numerals: Zero – Ten are spelled out. Dollar amounts are always numeric ($5.25). Do not begin or end a sentence with a digit.
11. The following titles are quoted:
Articles – chapters – editor’s notes/inserts – TV episodes – songs – web documents – poems
12. The following titles are italicized (underlined when handwriting):
novels/books/anthology plays long poems/epics albums movies
newspapers magazines/journals names of ships web sites TV series