ࡱ> 5747 bjbjUU "07|7|l*h h h 8  ,* xzzzzzz$     v  x x  ,x 5h*> h b Dx0L, x **Formal Writing Cheat Sheet for Beginning English Composition Writers The list below represents shortcuts to clearer, more concise writing in English. These rules dont represent all the rules for writing formal English compositions but I expect you to use these to improve your writing skills over the semester. They will prepare you to later absorb the more complicated aspects of writing we wont be addressing in this beginning writing class. This approach to editing will require you to do a line-by-line edit of your work. Run-on Sentences If a sentence is longer than eight to ten wordsSTOP! Are there too many ideas in one sentence? Can you separate them to make two or three sentences? Have you used the correct conjunctions? Strategyread it out loud to someone. Do you run out of breath? Does it make sense to you or your listener? Sentence Fragments and Conjunctions If you begin a sentence with and or but, or becauseSTOP! Never use and or because to begin a sentence. Make sure if you use but, that it begins a new, complete thought that can stand on its own. Make sure that the sentence you begin with but, isnt completing the last sentence. Strategytab your grammar book on the section that discusses independent clauses, dependent clauses and conjunctions. Order of words in the sentence StrategyRead it out loud to someone and see if it makes sense to them. Use the Microsoft Word Grammarcheck Verbs When you have more than two verbs in a sentenceSTOP! Evaluate the tenses. Write simply and use as few verbs as possible. Use the simple present and the simple past tense as much as possible until your skills improve. Avoid the present progressive tensei.e. I am eating an apple, becomes I eat an apple. Avoid using to be. i.e. I am going to be late, becomes, I will be late. Strategytab your grammar book on the section that shows different tenses. Use your Microsoft Word Grammarcheck Verb Tense Shifts If your verbs shift from past to present, etc.STOP! Make sure the verbs agree and are consistent throughout the essay. Strategysame as above Possessives Each time you want to show possession, i.e. the dog of Mr. Suarez, or the mother of Jorge,STOP! Change it to show possession in the English form Mr. Suarezs dog, or Jorges mother. Check for possessive pronoun and subject agreement (his/her, his/hers, its, their/theirs, our/ours) Strategytab your grammar book on the section that discusses possessives. Pronouns, nouns,subjects When you see pronouns and nouns in your essaySTOP! Check for verb/subject agreement Check for subject/pronoun agreement Check for (singular/plural) pronoun & nouns/verb agreement Make sure you havent left out the subject in a sentence. Strategytab all these topics in your grammar book. Paragraph breaks Strategytreat each new idea as a paragraph. Capitalization, Punctuation, Spelling Strategytab your grammar book re: capitalization and punctuation. Work with a dictionary and a grammar book close by and use Microsoft Word Grammarcheck and Spellcheck. Remember sometimes the computer is wrong so review your composition several times. Vague Diction If you find non-specific words like bad, good, or thing, in your essay STOP! Use details to help the reader understand what specifically you are referring to. Strategyimagine your reader knows absolutely nothing about what you are writing about. Contractions If you have any contractions in your essaySTOP Dont use contractions in formal writing. EvidenceSupporting your Statements When you make a statement of fact or opinion STOP! Make references to the texts and/or questions asked as soon as possible so the reader knows what your are referring to. i.e. In Joyce Changs essay, or In Virgil Suarezs memoir When asked to make an analogy, refer to what you are comparing, Like Suarez, I was also permanently marked physically by an accident. Use details to explain your opinion, your experience, etc. Dont just say you had an experience similar to Suarezs, explain what happened and why it was similar Give evidence to support your statements in the form of examples from the text or examples from the lecture. i.e. (According to Suarez, English sounded like the bark of mad dogs.) Use quotes around his words. OrAccording to Professor Mongar, Suarezs experience didnt permanently mark him emotionally as he is now a very successful academic and author. You dont have to use quotes if you paraphrase. Paraphrasing is writing a summary of the information in your own words. StrategyImagine your audience/reader knows nothing about what you are writing about. Addressing the Audience & Personal References If you see the word you, we, us in your essaySTOP! Dont address your audience directly in formal writing. b. Only use I think, or I feel if you were asked to give a personal response. Stating the Obvious It is unnecessary to state the obvious. Dont inform the audience I am going to write about Virgil Suarezs memoir, No Nocturne for the Ravaged, or In conclusion, for instance. READ the required texts when assigned. Make notes in the margins and look up vocabulary in the dictionary and ask questions. You cannot comment on ideas and questions you have not thought over. Consider these questions as you read: What kind of writing is this? What does this essay/memoir/poem mean? Why did the author use this title? Why did the author write this? Who is the author writing towho is the audience? How does this relate to my own life or my experiences? What specifically did I like about the piece and what didnt I like? Use editing resources. Write with a dictionary, thesaurus and your grammar text next to you. Use a word processor and the spellcheck/grammarcheck. Back up your work. Read it out loud to a peer then edit for smoothness. Have others read it and give feedback. Do further readings if necessary. Consult with the professor for help. Rewrite it several times. Documentation Documentation in any writing requires reference to its source otherwise it is plagiarism. In this beginning writing class we will be using only one form. The source (author, book, etc.) must be mentioned in the text. You will use either quotes or paraphrasing. You will attach any Internet material to your final draft. Formatting Follow all formatting requirements as outlined in the core assignment. Professor Mongar Fall 2003 D$ah_`0 1 P    { } ~ PWFGY'-@Ae$*%3u>*CJ 5CJ\ 6CJ] 6CJ]CJCJCJ 5CJ\UEF$h_`c0 1 P   M ^ & F & F$a$ Y  d { | } ~ M WxFGY^h^h & F & FY-@AeT   ` h^h`8^8^h^h & F & F`*b)|Axe^`h^h & F & F $%3tu$a$^ & F & FCJ 0J5\5\ 1h/ =!"#$% i8@8 NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH 2@2 Heading 2$@&6]<A@< Default Paragraph Font,B@, Body Text6]<C@< Body Text Indent 8^86P@6 Body Text 2 56\]@R@"@ Body Text Indent 2 ^,@2, Header  !&)@A& Page Number0EF$h_`c01PM Yd{|}~M  W x  F G Y  -  @AeT   `*b)|Axe $%3tu0000 00 0 0 000 00 0` 0` 0`00 000 00 0 0 0 0 000 00 000d0d0d 0d0d 0~d 0~d0d0d 0d0d 0 d 0 d 0 d 0 d0d0d 0d0d0d 0d0d0d 0 d0d0d 0 d0d0d 0 d0d 0 d0d 0 d0d 0Ad 0Ad 0Ad 0Ad0d0d0d0d0d 0 d0d 0d0d0d 0 d0d0d0d0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d0d 0d0d0d 0d00000@0@0@0 0! Y`  ; G L V ms8O !   5:333333333English DepartmentvC:\My Documents\Sonja\Fall composition - 2003\Formal Writing Cheat Sheet for Beginning English Composition Writers.docFg$\^`o(.^`.$ $ ^$ `o(.@ @ ^@ `.^`.L^`L.^`.^`.PLP^P`L.Fg  r      @lCCP@UnknownG:Times New Roman5Symbol3& :Arial"qhxxD -#202QDFormal Writing Cheat Sheet for Beginning English Composition WritersEnglish DepartmentEnglish Department Oh+'0(8 T` |  EFormal Writing Cheat Sheet for Beginning English Composition WritersgormEnglish DepartmenttnglnglNormal English Departmentt2glMicrosoft Word 9.0t@F#@h@hD ՜.+,0L hp  -"Recinto Universitario de MayagezS-  EFormal Writing Cheat Sheet for Beginning English Composition Writers Title  !"#%&'()*+-./01236Root Entry Fנh81TableWordDocument"0SummaryInformation($DocumentSummaryInformation8,CompObjjObjectPoolנhנh  FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q