Solid, Basic Writing Skills Flashcards

Core Objectives and Fundamental Writing Standards

• Foundational writing skills apply to virtually every academic paper and professional writing situation.
• Students must actively record notes on core writing guidelines and demonstrate these newly acquired or refreshed skills across every assigned essay.

Subject and Pronoun Agreement

• Core Requirement: The grammatical number of a pronoun must strictly agree with the grammatical number of its antecedent subject.
  • Singular Subject Rule: If the subject is singular, the pronoun following it must also be singular.
  • Example: "The student jumped on top of her desk."
  • Plural Subject Rule: If the subject is plural, the pronoun following it must also be plural.
  • Example: "The students jumped on top of their desks."

Guidelines for Using Contractions

• Definition: A contraction is the merging of two words into a single word.
  • Examples of word merging:
  • "Do not" becomes "don’t"
  • "It is" becomes "it’s"
  • "Let us" becomes "let’s"
• Standard Formal Writing Rule: As a general rule, spell out contractions completely in all formal academic and professional writing.
  • Formal writing requires using full word forms such as "do not", "it is", and "let us".
• Contextual Exceptions: Contractions should only be used in formal papers when they appear inside direct quotations or explicit dialogue.

Gender Pronoun Usage in MLA Formatting

• Consistency Principle: In standard MLA formatting and general writing formats, choose one gender pronoun approach and remain consistent throughout the text.
• Rules for Unspecified Gender:
  • When the gender of a person is unknown or unspecified, it is grammatically acceptable to employ masculine pronouns ("he", "his", or "him").
  • Linguistic Explanation: English is a Germanic language and does not feature a standardized set of gender-neutral pronouns in the same manner as many Romance languages.
  • While the pronoun "it" exists in English, it is not typically applied to people; thus, utilizing the masculine pronoun is standard and acceptable.
  • Sentence Example: "At least one student will not read this carefully and it will be to his detriment."

Word Choice: Distinguishing "Who" vs. "That"

• Human Subject Rule: As a general rule of thumb, if the subject under consideration is a person, the pronoun "who" must follow it.
• Non-Human Subject Rule: The word "that" is typically used for animals, inanimate objects, and non-person entities.
• Correct Usage Example: "There are some students who will study and do very well."

Verb Selection: Expressing Emotions vs. Cognition

• Precise Application of "Feel": The verb "feel" is appropriate when referring specifically to emotions or physical descriptions and sensations.
  • Emotional Usage Example: "I feel silly standing here wearing clown shoes."
  • Physical Usage Example: "I feel sick, so please, do not let me barf on your cute clown shoes."
• Academic Stances and Opinions: When stating beliefs, thoughts, or intellectual positions, replace "feel" with precise verbs such as "think", "know", or "believe".
  • Example 1: "I believe in my heart that I will pass this course."
  • Example 2: "Some folks think that sky diving is crazy."

Numerical Conventions in Academic Writing

• Primary MLA Standard: Spell out all numbers in full word form that begin a sentence or are equal to or less than one-hundred ($\le 100$).
• Secondary/Alternative Rule: Certain guidelines or course communications specify spelling out numbers ten ($\le 10$) and under.
• Rule Comparison: While using the "ten and under" ($\le 10$) rule is acceptable due to conflicting sources, adhering to the standard "one-hundred and under" ($\le 100$) rule is superior.
• Exact Written Examples:
  • Sentence Beginning / Large Written Number Example: "Four thousand and seven years ago, the Earth looked much differently that it does today."
  • Number Under One-Hundred Example: "There are times that I could eat forty-seven cookies."

Word Range and Essay Length Requirements

• Word Range Structure: Assignments are governed by explicit word ranges (e.g., $650-750$ words) rather than fixed page counts or maximum word limits.
• Assignment Variability: Required word counts vary by unit and may change between the rough draft stage and the final draft submission.
• Student Responsibility: Students must consult the course syllabus to identify exact word range limits for each draft and remain strictly within those boundaries.
• Real-World and Professional Consequences:
  • In professional environments, submitting work that exceeds a requested length results in mandatory cutting and rewriting.
  • Submissions to publications such as local newspapers that exceed specified length limits will be rejected from publication.

Capitalization Rules and Noun Classifications

• Skill Review Requirement: Capitalization is an elementary skill that is frequently bungled; studying the capitalization section of the textbook is mandatory regardless of prior familiarity.
• Proper Nouns vs. Common Nouns:
  • Proper Noun Example: "I went to Washington High School." (Capitalized because it identifies a specific institution).
  • Common Noun Example: "When I went to high school, we were not allowed to wear tank tops." (Lowercase because it refers to high school in general).
• Specific Proper Noun Exception: The word "Internet" is classified as a proper noun and must always begin with a capital letter, even when it appears in the middle of a sentence.

Serial Commas and Coordinating Conjunctions

• Commas in a Series Rule: Items in a series must be separated by commas, including a required comma immediately preceding the coordinating conjunction.
• Example with "And": "Mom asked me for some sugar, flour, milk, and cinnamon." (The comma preceding "and" is required).
• List of Coordinating Conjunctions: The primary coordinating conjunctions are "and", "but", "or", "nor", "yet", and "so".
• Example with "Or": "This is where visitors can watch the feeding of the ducks, watch the gleaming red zoo train go by, or watch the many picnics or sporting activities that occur in the park." (Because "or" is a coordinating conjunction in a series, the comma before it is required).

MLA Format: Four-Line Heading Specifications

• Four-Line Heading Standard: MLA requires a precise four-line heading placed at the beginning of the document.
• Required Lines (in exact sequential order):
  1. Student Name
  2. Instructor Name
  3. Course Name
  4. Due Date
• Due Date Formatting Rules:
  • Line $4$ must state the formal date the assignment is required to be submitted, not the date the paper was actually written (unless written on the due date itself).
  • When transitioning from a rough draft to a final draft, update the due date line to reflect the final draft submission date.
• Exemplar Resources: Heading formatting models are located in the course textbook and sample student papers under the course documents tab.

MLA Format: Document Spacing and Layout Standards

• Line Spacing: The entire document must be completely double-spaced throughout.
• Paragraph Transitions: Do not use double returns (do not add extra blank lines between paragraphs).
• Indentation: Indent the first line of every paragraph.
• Title Placement: Center the paper title on the page.
• Margins: Ensure document margins are configured correctly according to MLA guidelines.
• Textbook Layout Reference: Complete MLA formatting visual examples begin on page $179$ of the textbook.

MLA Format: Header and Page Numbering Standards

• Page Number Placement: Position page numbers in the top right corner of every page.
• Content Structure: The page header consists of the student's last name followed directly by the page number.
• Punctuation Rule: Do not place any punctuation (such as commas or periods) between the last name and the page number.
• Word Processor Execution: Page numbers must be created using the automated Header feature in Microsoft Word, rather than manually typed at the top of the body text.
• Header vs. Heading Distinction: The automated top-right page header must not be confused with the four-line MLA block heading on the first page.

Grammatical Person: Classifications and Categories

• First Person Definition: Refers directly to the speaker or writer.
  • Pronouns: "I", "me", "mine", "my", "we", "us".
• Second Person Definition: Refers directly to the audience or reader.
  • Pronouns: "You", "your".
• Third Person Definition: Refers to outside individuals, entities, or concepts.
  • Pronouns: "He", "him", "she", "her", "it", "they", "them".

Grammatical Person: Contextual Application and Sentence Re-writing

• First Person Contexts:
  • Appropriate in personal essays or personal narrative assignments.
  • Considered overly simple for most standard college-level academic essays.
  • Personal Narrative Example: "I am writing about something that happened to me or I was there and I am supposed to be telling all about me."
• Second Person Contexts:
  • Inappropriate for academic essays because it directly addresses an unspecified reader.
  • Example of inappropriate usage: "When you jump out of an airplane…" (assumes the reader is performing the action).
  • Permissible Exception: Second person is acceptable only when contained inside direct quotations or character dialogue.
  • Dialogue Example: "Are you crazy?" she shouted to me.
  • Direct Quotation Example: "Silliness can cause you to have a reputation as a class-clown" (Smith 25).
• Third Person Contexts:
  • Represents the mandatory perspective for elevated college-level academic writing.
  • Structural Conversion Examples:
  • First Person (Avoid): "I think stay at home moms fit in great with distance learning"
  • Third Person Conversion (Preferred): "Stay at home moms fit in great with distance learning." (Removes personal attribution "I think" to establish an objective third-person statement).
  • First Person (Avoid): "Sometimes I just get so frustrated that I want to scream from the top of my lungs"
  • Third Person Conversion (Preferred): "Sometimes, a deep, throaty growl from the top of the lungs is the perfect stress reliever."

Review and Support Communication Channels

• Skill Application: Students should review all notes and apply these structural skills to all course essays and routine daily writing.
• Instructor Assistance: Questions regarding writing rules or assignment specifications can be submitted through:
  • Course discussion boards.
  • Direct email to the instructor.