GENERAL RULES FOR FORMAL WRITING

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GENERAL RULES FOR FORMAL WRITING

• A very useful website for grammar rules as
  relates to the items contained herein is Grammar
  Girl
• Search grammar girl or visit
• grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

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1. AVOID I AND YOU

• Write as general truths not I statements
• Avoid you, prefer one, oneself, a person,
  people, etc.

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AVOID I

• It is preferred practice to avoid I in formal
  writing, especially argumentative or persuasive
  (unless specifically instructed to write as a
  personal opinion paper or in first person.)
• When presenting an argument you want to argue as
  fact-not opinion.
• While your opinion may have been your starting
  point, if your argument is strong enough it is
  based upon facts and evidence to prove its
  correctness, so argue as such.

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2. AVOID CONTRACTIONS

• Write out complete words.
• If necessary re-word the sentence to avoid the
  contraction.
• Generally results in more formal, academic sound
  and better sentence structure.

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3. WRITE OUT ALL NUMBERS UNDER 10

• Reserve digits for 10 and higher.
• Make sure you use commas and zeros correctly to
  create the correct number.

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4. DO NOT USE th and st in dates

• INCORRECT
• February 8th, 2012
• CORRECT
• February 8, 2012

• For a more complete explanation relating to the
  use of cardinal numbers vs ordinal numbers (or
  just because you do not know what those words
  even mean) visit
• http//grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/writing-dates
  .aspx

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5. AVOID PLAGIARISM AT ALL COSTS

• Use Quotation Marks for ALL borrowed language
• Make sure paraphrases are true paraphrases not
  just a word or two changed.
• Must have an in-text cite for paraphrases.

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USE PROPER IN-TEXT CITATION

• The quotation marks for direct quotes come BEFORE
  the parenthetical cite.
• The period comes AFTER the parenthetical cite. No
  punctuation between the quotation marks and the
  in-text citation.
• Example and so on (Smith n. pag.).

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CITATIONS

• In-text MUST match the Work Cited including
• Spelling of authors name
• Punctuation of titles (in quotes or
  underlined/italicized)
• Other punctuation (commas, etc.) not needed
• Exception-use a when separating two citations
  within one set of parentheses
• Example (Smith Anderson 62)

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6. USE SIGNAL PHRASES

• DO NOT DROP IN QUOTATIONS!!
• Introduce the quote within your sentence
• It should flow with what you are explaining

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SIGNAL PHRASES

• Vary the language and placement
• Before As Smith has noted, .. (Smith n.pag)
• As a break within . argues Smith, (Smith
  n.pag.)
• At the end .. claims Smith (Smith n.pag.)

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Altering wording of a quote-use brackets

• If you need to alter a word in a quote to make it
  flow/make sense in your use brackets
• Example
• Numerous studies find that childrens exposure to
  violence has a negative impact on childrens
  behavior (Mowers).
• Original words were a childs

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7. Maintain article title marks!!

• When no author
• Use first 3-4 words of title
• KEEP THE QUOTATION MARKS
• Example (Social Media Strikes)

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Formal Writing Grammar Challenges

• Also refer to the power point Top Ten Words Most
  Often Confused/Misused

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8. THAT VS WHO/WHOM

• WHO is used to indicate or in reference to a
  human.
• Whom is the objective form and should be used
  when it is a direct/indirect object or the object
  of a preposition.
• Example To whom did you give the note?
• In class yesterday the students whom I gave extra
  credit to fully deserved it.
• THAT is used to indicate nonhumans or inanimate
  objects.
• He is the one who deserved recognition. (NOT that
  deserved recognition)

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9. AGREEMENT ISSUES OR THE DREADED SVPs ?

• SVP or singular versus plural, is an all too
  common grammatical/proofreading error.
• As such one must CAREFULLY LOOK FOR IT and
  correct it.
• If the subject is singular THEN ALL verbs and
  pronouns that reference it MUST be singular.
• The same if the subject is plural.

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SVP

• A person should really be careful of how they
  spend their time.
• A person should really be careful of how he/she
  spends his/her time.
• Formal (old school) training suggest always using
  the male gender (he/his) to indicate singular.
  Modern training (and Ms. Schaner) accept female
  (she/her) or the duo indicator as seen in the
  example above.

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SVP EXAMPLE

• It could also simply be that as one grows older,
  their interests change.
• It could also simply be that as people grow older
  their interests change.
• It could also simply be that as one grows older
  ones interests change.
• Use words search feature for the common error
  words (their, everyone, one, etc.)

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Searching for common errors in a word document

• 1. Open essay
• 2. Hit control f
• A search bar will open on the left hand side
• Enter the word you want to check. For example,
  their to check for singular versus plural.
• Enter an apostrophe to check for contractions.

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10. NEVER START A BODY PARAGRAPH WITH A DIRECT
QUOTE

• Body paragraphs MUST be your topic sentence
  (minor claim)
• Direct quotes are EVIDENCE to support that claim.

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Check your originality report

• 20 or less
• Check that everything highlighted has an in-text
  citation
• Check that there is not more words from sources
  THAN YOUR OWN WORDS!
• Number one fix-EXPLAIN MORE!!

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MLA FORMAT QUICK CHECK

• 1 margin all around
• 12 pt. Font
• Times New Roman
• Double-spaced
• Header-last name and page
• Heading
• Your Name
• Instructors Name
• Class Name
• Date-in MLA Format

• Works Cited Page
• Works Cited-centered
• Alphabetical Order
• Hanging Indent
• ALL DATES in MLA Format
• Medium stated in each entry
• URL-if required