Grammar, Usage, And Style Cheat Sheet Page 2
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Correct sentence fragments by adding the missing subject or predicate to phrases
or subordinate clauses.
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Eliminate faulty agreement by making subjects and predicates agree in person and
number.
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Avoid misplaced modifiers by keeping them near the word they modify.
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Prevent faulty parallelism by matching grammatical structures in a sentence.
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Combine short, choppy sentences and vary word order for a smooth style.
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Commas should be used to join introductory clauses, after introductory clauses and
phrases, to set off interrupting elements, with restrictive and nonrestrictive elements,
with appositives, and between items or modifiers in a series.
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Semicolons are used to join closely connected independent clauses and between
items in a series.
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Colons are used to introduce a list, formal statement, or restatement in a sentence.
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The dash, used to add interrupting phrases or clauses, and the parentheses, which
sets off incidental information, should be used sparingly.
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Use quotation marks to identify quotes.
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Punctuation usually belongs inside the quotation marks.
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Watch out for frequently confused words.
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Hyphenate most compound adjectives that appear before a noun.
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Generally, spell compound adjectives that follow a noun and words with prefixes or
suffixes as one word.
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Most compound adverbs are spelled as two words.
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Experience and a dictionary can help you choose the correct idiom when writing.
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Eliminate cliches, jargon, faddish words, and slang in your writing.
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Avoid redundant expressions and wordiness in writing.
Improving the Writing Process
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Be aware of your audience.
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Choose a topic that is narrowly defined and interesting to you.
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Begin by writing a thesis, an assertion about your topic.
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Develop several logical main ideas to support your thesis statements.
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Avoid plagiarism by identifying other writers' research and words with citations.
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Paraphrase long passages or main ideas in your own words.
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Organize your main ideas and outline them in writing before you begin drafting.
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Introductions should catch the reader's attention and provide a general orientation.
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Paragraphs should be unified around a central idea and connected to one another and
to other paragraphs through transitional devices.
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Conclusions should bring all your main ideas together and leave the reader thinking.
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Never bring up new points or apologize in the conclusion.
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Always carefully edit and revise your drafts.
Don't Play with Plagiarism
When you write your paper, you must cite any sources you use. As you research and take
notes, write down the information you'll need for footnotes. Check a style guide for the right
way to style your footnotes and prepare a bibliography. You'll be guilty of plagiarism if you
don't give credit for words or ideas that you borrow from others. Deciding what to footnote is
sometimes a tough call, but play it safe. If you have doubts, cite your source.
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