<p> Style and Grammar Rules</p><p>1. Omit unnecessary words. Incorrect: I would like to assert that the author should be considered to be an idiot. Correct: The author is an idiot. a: omit unnecessary words if the notion they convey is implicit Incorrect: Women in society are often treated as lower than men. (Where else are women but “society”?) Correct: Women are often treated as lower than men. b: The word “that” is very rarely needed; only use it when grammatically necessary. </p><p>2. Use the active voice unless you specifically need to use the passive voice. Incorrect: A good score was achieved by the team. Correct: The team achieved a good score. </p><p>3. Use parallel construction to make a strong point and create a smooth flow. Incorrect: He liked to play basketball and riding horses Correct: He liked playing basketball and riding horses.</p><p>4. Comma Splice: Do not join two independent clauses with a comma. Incorrect: I got up late this morning, I didn't have time for breakfast. Correct: I got up late this morning. I didn't have time for breakfast OR I got up late this morning, so I didn't have time for breakfast. OR I got up late this morning; I didn't have time for breakfast. OR Because I got up late this morning, I didn't have time for breakfast.</p><p>5. The subject of a verb of a sentence must agree in person and number</p><p>6. Always use "like" as a preposition, never as a subordinating conjunction (AVOID USING “LIKE” AT ALL) Incorrect: My face felt like it had been set on fire. Correct: My face felt as if it had been set on fire. OR My face felt as though it had been set on fire.</p><p>7. Commas in FANBOYS & non-essential elements: a. Use a comma before FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) when the FANBOYS are followed by a complete sentence. b. Use a commas around non-essential elements in a sentence Example: My brother, who lives in Ohio, is coming to visit next month. </p><p>8. Use commas to separate items of a series (including before the word “and” in a series).</p><p>9. Use a comma between two adjectives that can be interchanged in order. example: The yard was full of romping, running children.</p><p>10. Use a comma to set off introductory elements and/or introductory dependent clauses. example: Screaming for help, the girl wrestled the raging bear example: Yes, he was at the party. A: (dependent clause): Because I was tired, I decided to go to bed. </p><p>11. Use commas to set off the explainers of the direct quotation. example: The girl sighed, “Wait for me.”</p><p>12. Use a comma to prevent misreading. example: Ever since, Frank has been a better boy. example: You would, would you?</p><p>13. Do not use unnecessary commas.</p><p>14. Semicolons are fancy PERIODS, NOT fancy commas—do not use them in place of a comma.</p><p>15. Use a colon to introduce a definition, explanation, or a list, especially with as follows or the following. example: He bought the following fruits: apples, peaches, pears, and grapes. </p><p>16. Enclose a direct quotation with quotation marks. example: “Wait for me,” she yelled. 17. Put quotations marks around titles of chapters, newspaper and magazine articles, short poems, & short stories.</p><p>18. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks. Colons & semicolons never go inside quotation marks. Question marks & exclamation points go inside only if they belong to the quoted material.</p><p>19. Underline the titles of books, periodicals, plays, long poems, movies, paintings/sculptures, & ships. a. Short stories are parts of a longer book or magazine, so they must be surrounded by quotations and NOT underlined.</p><p>20. Use the apostrophe to form the possessive of nouns & indefinite pronouns.</p><p>21. “It’s” ONLY means “IT IS”; it is not ever meant as a possessive Incorrect: It’s feet are bruised so it cannot walk. Correct: It’s going to rain today. </p><p>22. Use an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural noun ending in s. example: After discussing it with one another, it was the doctors’ decision to go through with the procedure together.</p><p>23. Use hyphens when spelling compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.</p><p>24. Spell out the number if it may be done with two or three words; otherwise, write it in figures. example: He gave the one thousand dollars example: He gave me 1,256 copies. </p><p>25. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter. </p><p>26. Capitalize all proper nouns and every adjective derived from a proper noun. -Spain, Spaniard -Boston, Bostonian</p><p>27. The names of the days of the week, special holidays, and the names of the months are capitalized.</p><p>28. Do not capitalize unnecessarily.</p><p>29. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, person, & number.</p><p>30. A sentence may be faulty because a pronoun is placed where it may refer to more than one word. There should be no uncertainty as to what word is the antecedent of a pronoun.</p><p>31. You, yours, your, are personal pronouns and cannot be used impersonally. DO NOT USE THEM UNLESS IN QUOTED MATERIAL.</p><p>32. “They” should not be used with indefinite reference. </p><p>33. Avoid needless shifts in number. Correct: One should do one’s duty. Incorrect: One should do their duty. </p><p>34. Avoid needless shifts in tense. </p><p>35. All reflections to literature are written in the PRESENT TENSE. </p><p>36. Run-on: Do not run sentences together without punctuation. </p><p>37. Do not write fragments as sentences. </p><p>39. Avoid writing monotonous short sentences. </p><p>40. Avoid the careless repetition of words. a. avoid redundant terms</p><p>41. Do not abbreviate in formal writing.</p><p>42. Never put of after would or could. Always use have. Correct: He would/could have gone late. Incorrect: He would/could of gone late. </p><p>43. Eliminate unnecessary prepositions; they’re boring. Incorrect: At this point in time he is leaving. Correct: Now, he is leaving</p><p>44. Replace overused, boring word with an acceptable word to improve syntax & diction.</p><p>45. Always use formal language in essay writing—no slang.</p><p>46. Always read essays aloud to catch awkward or confusing statements. </p><p>47. Body paragraphs must contain a clear concluding sentence (CS) & it must tie back to the thesis a. NEVER transition to the next paragraph in a CS. b. A CS must allude to the text, and it may not include a quote</p><p>48. Body paragraphs must contain a clear topic sentence (TS) that ties back to the thesis and introduces what the paragraph will be discussing. a. A TS must mention the book/poem in some way & it must include commentary tied to the main idea of the thesis b. A TS cannot be a statement of fact; this creates a narrative TS which is no more than summary. It must include commentary. c. A TS cannot include a quote </p><p>49. Body paragraphs must contain AT LEAST two quotations as evidence relevant to the TS & thesis.</p><p>50. Each quotation must be accompanied by insightful commentary. </p><p>51. Avoid using clichés; they undermine the sophistication of writing.</p><p>52. Avoid melodrama/hyperbole; they undermine the sophistication of writing.</p><p>53. Quotations: a. Always embed quotes when possible; never “float” quotes b. Only use the portion of a quotation necessary to prove your thesis/topic sentence; splice the quotation if possible.</p><p>54. Avoid unsure language in formal writing; it makes you sound as though you are not sure of what you are writing about and invalidates your thesis.</p><p>55. Avoid unnecessary auxiliary & “be” verbs; they’re boring and contribute to wordiness.</p><p>56. Avoid asking rhetorical questions; they undermine the sophistication of writing.</p><p>57. A thesis statement or TS cannot be a rhetorical question; it implies you are not sure of your topic/argument.</p><p>58. Do not summarize unless absolutely necessary; essays are not book reports. They are YOUR analytical opinions on a piece of writing.</p><p>59. Page #/citations go at the END of a SENTENCE, not necessarily the end of a quote, and they must be cited properly. a. The period goes after the parenthetical reference and the quote goes before it: “Like this” (45). </p><p>60. All quotations must include a citation; not doing so results in plagiarism. </p>