Basic Writing Principles

Basic Writing Principles

Writing Process

Know your writing process and give yourself time to go through the steps:

Helpful

Resources

https://www.grammarly.com/signup

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

Point of View

Paragraphs

WRITE IN THIRD PERSON

First person includes the following pronouns: I, me, us, we, our

You can use first person when writing narratives.

Second person includes the use of the following pronouns: (you, your)

Third person removes the author from the writing and makes the writing more objective. It does not refer to the writer in the third person. Simply remove the author from the writing altogether. All formal writing should be written in third person.

Have topic sentences and concluding sentences

Topic sentences should refer back to the thesis statement and should be general. For example, if your thesis statement is:

The college should offer a recreational sports league because it would encourage socialization, exercise, and overall recruitment to campus

Then the topic sentence for your first body paragraph should be

The first reason why the college should offer recreational sports is that is would encourage socialization.

Topic sentences should not give specific information.

Don't start a paragraph with a quote or end with a quote. See the statement above.

Paragraphs should have plenty of supporting details

Pictures, Numbers, and Bullets (Oh my!)

Use Formal Tone & Diction

Quoting & Citing

Do not include pictures in formal papers unless you are writing a report or unless the assignment specifically allows for pictures, charts, or graphs

Do not include bullet points in a formal paper. Write everything out in sentence form.

Do not start a sentence with a number written numerically. Write the number out alphabetically if it starts the sentence.

Numbers greater than 10 should be written numerically. Numbers lower than 10 should be written alphabetically in the body of the paper.

In a formal paper, use formal tone and diction (language/wording). DO NOT use words like "thing" or "huge" or "stuff" or "nowadays"

Avoid cliche or slang

Examples of cliche: In the nick of time, read between the lines, kiss and make up,

Slang changes constantly. Examples: YOLO, TBH, thru, lit, Tea (gossip), Keep it 100, GOAT (Greatest of all time).

Do not use contractions like can't

don't, won't, etc. Write those

words out.

Always put information that you take from other sources word-for-word in quotation marks.

Always provide proper in-text citations in either MLA or APA depending on which format you've been told to use for information that you have quoted.

ALWAYS include the page or paragraph number in the in-text citation when you quote.

Never follow a quote with another quote. Follow a quote with a statement about the quote's significance.

Put quotes of more than 40 words in block format.

Do not use too many long quotes.