WRITING REMINDERS

1

• WRITING REMINDERS
• Do not rely too heavily on pronouns.
• IncorrectThey thought it was bothering her, but
  she didnt mind it.
• Do not use the word you.
• IncorrectYou would be shocked by the amount of
  violence on television.
• Use such as instead of like.
• CorrectI eat foods such as rice, pasta, and
  chicken.

2

• 4. Do not use words such as stuff, a lot,
  and things.
• Do not begin sentences with the words but or
  and.
• Do not use contractions. Write out the two words
  instead.
• Example did not instead of didnt
• Do not use fragments in your writing.
• IncorrectQuestions parents do not want to
  answer.

3

• Use the same tense throughout your entire essay
  or story.
• IncorrectMrs. White gives Mr. White the paw and
  then said, Yes, it is magical.
• Avoid using awkward sentences in your writing.
• IncorrectThe reason is because Sarah did not do
  her homework.
• Do not use run-on sentences in your writing.
• IncorrectThese three shows can give children
  nightmares and cause other problems this can lead
  to bigger problems in their lives.

4

• Use possessives correctly.
• Singular nouns apostrophe before the s
• ExampleThe mothers concern for her child was
  overwhelming.
• Plural nouns an apostrophe after the s
• ExampleThe cheerleaders routines were very
  impressive.
• Exceptions to the ruleWords such as women, men,
  children, and people are already plural, even
  though they do not end in s. Therefore, the
  apostrophe is placed before the s in these
  words in order to make them possessive.
• ExampleThe childrens department is packed.

5

• Use words instead of numbers.
• IncorrectI will go to college for 4 years.
• CorrectI will go to college for four years.
• Capitalize only proper nouns (the specific
  names of people, places, and things).
• IncorrectMy favorite season is Fall.
• When dealing with school subjects, only
  capitalize those that are languages and those
  that are followed by a number.
• ExampleCapitalize Spanish and History 101, but
  not history, economics, accounting, geometry, etc.

6

• Always check for spelling errors.
• Write clear topic sentences when beginning a
  paragraph, and always end a body paragraph with a
  concluding sentence.
• Incorrect Topic SentenceMy first reason is
  because of the news.
• Correct Topic SentenceParents should limit
  television due to the inappropriate nature of the
  news.

7

• Do not end a sentence with a preposition.
• IncorrectWhat did you do that for?
• CorrectWhy did you behave that way?
• IncorrectI saw him drive by.
• CorrectI saw him drive by the house.
• IncorrectWho did you give the paper to?
• CorrectTo whom did you give the paper?

8

• Utilize parallel structureUse the same patterns
  of words to show that two or more ideas have the
  same level of importance
• Not parallelMary likes hiking, swimming, and to
  ride her bike.
• ParallelMary likes hiking, swimming, and
  bicycling.

9
Not parallelThe coach told the players that
they should get plenty of sleep, that they should
not eat too much, and to do some warm-up
exercises before the game. ParallelThe coach
told the players that they should get plenty of
sleep, that they should not eat too much, and
that they should do some warm-up exercises before
the game.