Rules for Writing
Rules for Writing
-Unless you are writing a personal narrative, never use 1st person (I, me, my, we, us, our, ours, ourselves). It makes your writing less credible.
-Unless you are putting someone’s exact words in quotation marks, NEVER use second person(you, your, yours, yourselves).
-Do not use contractions in formal essays. It is ok in journals, notes, and if it is someone’s exact words in quotation marks.
-If you are writing numbers above 100, it is ok, to put the number. 100 and below must be spelled out.
-Always indent paragraphs.
-Do not use abbreviations in formal essays.
-If writing about a novel, play, movie, t.v. show, or epic poem, underline or italicize it. If writing about a short story, essay, short poem, or t.v. episode, put it in quotation marks.
-Use apostrophes to show possession.
-Write complete sentences. Fragments and run-ons are not acceptable in formal essays.
-If you are writing about a piece of literature, always include the title of the work and the author’s name when introducing it.
Here is a general outline that you can follow when you write a 5 paragraph essay:
I. Introduction
A. Attention-getter – can be a question, quote, or interesting fact or story related to your topic
B. Background info – fill in the reader on the background info necessary to understanding your topic
C. Thesis sentence – most important sentence, as it tells the reader your stance and what the whole paper will be about
II. Body – should consist of 3 paragraphs
A. Main Point 1 with details and examples
B. Main Point 2 with details and examples
C. Main Point 3 with details and examples
III. Concluding Paragraph
A. Transition from body by summing up what you have been saying
B. Re-word thesis
C. Refer back to attention-getter
-Unless you are writing a personal narrative, never use 1st person (I, me, my, we, us, our, ours, ourselves). It makes your writing less credible.
-Unless you are putting someone’s exact words in quotation marks, NEVER use second person(you, your, yours, yourselves).
-Do not use contractions in formal essays. It is ok in journals, notes, and if it is someone’s exact words in quotation marks.
-If you are writing numbers above 100, it is ok, to put the number. 100 and below must be spelled out.
-Always indent paragraphs.
-Do not use abbreviations in formal essays.
-If writing about a novel, play, movie, t.v. show, or epic poem, underline or italicize it. If writing about a short story, essay, short poem, or t.v. episode, put it in quotation marks.
-Use apostrophes to show possession.
-Write complete sentences. Fragments and run-ons are not acceptable in formal essays.
-If you are writing about a piece of literature, always include the title of the work and the author’s name when introducing it.
Here is a general outline that you can follow when you write a 5 paragraph essay:
I. Introduction
A. Attention-getter – can be a question, quote, or interesting fact or story related to your topic
B. Background info – fill in the reader on the background info necessary to understanding your topic
C. Thesis sentence – most important sentence, as it tells the reader your stance and what the whole paper will be about
II. Body – should consist of 3 paragraphs
A. Main Point 1 with details and examples
B. Main Point 2 with details and examples
C. Main Point 3 with details and examples
III. Concluding Paragraph
A. Transition from body by summing up what you have been saying
B. Re-word thesis
C. Refer back to attention-getter