Articles 
(a, an, the)

Articles: Common Errors

Active and Passive Voice

Apostrophes

Capitals

Clauses 

Clauses Practice

Commas 

Conciseness LEO

Conciseness OWL

Conciseness (DO NOT 
use these words)

Gerunds and Participles 
(OMIT from your writing)

Participles
(proofread for hanging participles)

Participial Phrases 
DO NOT USE

Italicizing and Underlining

Modifiers 1

Modifiers 2

Parallelism 1

Parallelism 2 

Paragraph Structure

Paragraphing (MEAL format)

Plural Noun Forms
 








APA WORKSHOP
Point of View

First Person v. Third Person 

First, Second, Third Person POV

POV Change first to third person

Possessive Noun Forms

Prepositions

Pronoun Reference

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns:ThatWhichWho

Pronouns I and me

Pronouns Who and Whom

Quotation marks

Quotations & Punctuation

Redundancy

Semicolons

Sentence Punctuation Patterns

Sentence Structure

Sentences: Run-ons, and Comma Splices

Sentences: Fragments

Spelling: Words that sound alike

Subject/Verb Agreement

Verb Tense

Verb Tense Consistency

Words Commonly Confused

Word Choice
WRITING: QUICK LINKS
Hit Parade of Writing Mistakes
The WRITING RESOURCE PAGE

Last update 2018
ACADEMIC STYLE: QUICK LINKS
SCHOLARLY TONE

SCHOLARLY VOICE 

BIAS IN WRITING

RESEARCH:  "SAYS WHO"

OBJECTIVITY

ANTHROPOMORPHISM

GENERALIZATION





ACADEMIC DICTION
DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING
colloquialisms
slang
jargon
vague adjectives and adverbs
"feeling" words
big words
meaningless words
metaphors
clichés
platitudes
pejoratives
expletive constructions
intensifiers
HOW NOT TO START SENTENCES

These words/phrases should not begin sentences – therefore, although, however, consequently, thus, hence, there is, it is, this, by, as, being, if, in, when, while, with, though, because, and all words that end with –ing (gerund or participle) 

DON'T USE "IMPORTANT" WORDS

Avoid words like important, imperative, vital, essential, valuable, key, inevitable, paramount, significant, necessary, core, fundamental, priority, pivotal, evident, unique, or other synonyms for these words. These vague words clutter up the sentence/paragraph without adding any meaning to your content. Writing should be concise and precise.   

AVOID VAGUE LANGUAGE

Avoid vague and uncertain language; your point would be stronger with precise words that state more clearly what you mean. Also avoid vague quantifiers (some, many, always, immensely, more, several, great, etc.)  

EMOTIONAL AND LOADED LANGUAGE
 
 Loaded, inflammatory, emotional language is not used in scholarly writing. Colorful and dramatic language or overly creative writing that draws away from scholarly ideas or structure of the paper is distracting (Chapter 3, 3.10, p. 70). Write in an objective and unemotional tone – avoid biased and loaded (emotional) language. You are reporting evidence to support an argumentative point not writing an opinion paper.    
Style Tips GUARANTEED to polish your writing
download this file to see the full list
Warning Signs of a Rushed Paper
WRITING PRACTICE QUIZZES
Quotations and Punctuation Quiz

Editing Quiz (Clarity)

Editing Quiz (grammar)

Editing Quiz (punctuation)

Editing Quiz (Mechanics/Spelling)

Basic Grammar Review

Subject Verb Agreement Quiz

Active/Passive Voice Quiz

Independent Clauses Quiz

Dependent Clauses Quiz

Modifiers1 Quiz

Modifiers2 Quiz

Which That Who Quiz

Types of Sentences Quiz

Capitalization



Fragments/Run ons Quiz

Fragments1 Quiz

Fragment 2 Quiz

Fragments 3 Quiz

Comma Splices1 Quiz

Comma Splices2 Quiz

Run Ons1 Quiz

Run Ons2 Quiz

Commas 1 Quiz

Commas 2 Quiz

Pronouns1 Quiz

Pronouns2 Quiz

Parallel Sentences Quiz

Parallelism Quiz

Apostrophe Quiz


Writing Rules for Professional Writing
Short List of Quick Tips
How to Avoid Writing in First Person
Writing Resource Page
Leslie Bowman

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Website

Students' Comments

Page Updated 2018
Online resources for students and teachers