- Proofread
- (If you do not want to read your paper, why should I?)
- Spelling
- Look up words about which you are unsure, or at least use the
spell checker.
- Contractions
- Avoid them (don't, won't, it's).
- Possessives
- Do not confuse with plurals and vice versa. Examples:
singular possessive -- society's
plural possessive -- societies'
plural -- societies
possessive -- its (no apostrophe)
contraction -- it's (meaning "it is") |
singular -- hero
plural -- heroes
singular possessive -- hero's
plural possessive -- heroes'
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- Pronouns
- Number (singular or plural) must agree with its antecedent
(singular or plural). It is therefore wrong to write: "Each
person has their biases" or "Everyone has their quirks." The
antecedent ("person" or "everyone") is singular and therefore
the pronoun deriving it must be singular: "Each person has his
(or her) biases" or "Everyone has her (or his) quirks."
- Tenses
- Do not switch back and forth from past to present tense; be
consistent. When writing about literature always use the present
tense.
- Paragraphs
- For practice be certain each paragraph has at least four
sentences. Most should have more; but do not run paragraphs
together. Paragraphs should flow logically from one topic to
another utilizing transitions.
- Sentences
- Every sentence must be a complete sentence. Do not run complete
sentences together. When a sentence is complete, end it.
- Narrative voice
- Use active-voice verbs as much as possible and do not refer to
yourself with personal pronouns such as I, we, my, our, etc.
- Quotations
- Introduce all quotations with a colon (:) unless it is a short
quotation integrated into the body of your sentence. Block quote
more than four lines of quoted material. Only quote when you
cannot use your own words.
- Margins and fonts
- Avoid large margins and fonts. They make it appear as if you are
short on words and that you think you can slip a short paper past
your professor.
- Plagiarism
- Do not borrow quotations or conclusions or paraphrase another
person's work without identifying the source. Class lectures do not
need to be cited, but do not regurgitate class lecture material
either -- I know my own stuff.
- Conclusion
- Write a good one summarizing your findings, adding general comments
that include a larger significance.
- Proofread again.
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