j

WRITING TIPS

1. Start your writing by making an outline of what you want to say. Your paper should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. Basically, you say what you are going to say, you say it, and then you say what you said. Following an outline will help you stay on track and help your paper flow better.

2. Try to avoid beginning a sentence with this, that, these, or those. Pronouns confuse the reader unless the referent for each pronoun is obvious.

3. Refrain from using first and second person pronouns in a research paper (I, you, me). For example, if you write “When you talk about …..” Are you referring to me? Or you? Don't write like you are talking to me. Just rephrase and leave out pronouns. The use of pronouns makes your paper seem more subjective and less credible to the reader.

4. An organization is referred to as "it," not "they." Corporation and board are collective nouns, meaning they are nouns that describe a group, just like orchestra, team, and family. Collective nouns are usually treated as singular. It would be silly to refer to the corporation as he or she, so the only singular pronoun that remains is it. Example: Google addresses this problem by ensuring that 100% of the servers it retires are either reused or recycle.

5. Normally, the words because and is are not preceded by a comma. Here is an example of INCORRECT usage: “Good customer service is a strength, because the environment is highly competitive.” What follows the word "because" is essential to the sentence and should not have a comma before it.

6. Normally, you use a comma before the word which. Ex: Christmas is coming, which is my favorite holiday. Which introduces a nonrestrictive clause. If the clause is restrictive, use the word that and do not include a comma.

7. Do not use a comma before a conjunction (and, but, nor, for, yet) unless the phrase following is an independent clause (one that can stand alone as a complete sentence).

a. I am registered for next term, and the one after that. (WRONG)

b. The store sells clothes for teens, and young adults. (WRONG)

c. I am registered for next term, and I am excited about my classes. (CORRECT)

8. If you have two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, but the second independent clause has a comma in it, use a semicolon before the conjunction. Example: We have ten cats; and I love them all including Skip, John, and Alley.

9. Use a semi-colon to join two independent clauses. Joining two independent clauses this way implies that the two clauses are related and/or equal, or perhaps that one restates the other. Example: Seinfeld was definitely my favorite television show during the 1990s; in fact, it is my favorite television show of all time.

10. When starting a sentence with a transition (however, therefore, otherwise, etc.), follow the transitional word with a comma. If the word interrupts a sentence, use a comma before and after. Ex: The game, however, was far from over. If the transitional word joins two independent clauses, use a semicolon before the transition and a comma after. Ex: John is Canadian; however, he lives in the United States.

11. Be clear and concise, and limit your sentence structure to one or two main ideas because if you keep using and or but to continue the sentence and ramble on with new ideas, you end up with one very long run-on sentence like this one. (

12. Use a period to end a sentence. Do not use a comma to continue with another sentence. Start a new sentence. Ex: They get to work their way up to becoming a part of the management team, these are the steps they follow. (INCORRECT)

13. The period and comma go inside the closing quotation mark. Ex: "I have a dream.”

14. Spell out numbers ten and under. Spell out numbers that begin a sentence.

15. Try to refrain from saying “I think” or “I believe.” These are disclaimers that make your argument weak. State your thought and support it with research.

16. When you make a statement you gathered from research, be sure to cite your source. Here’s an example: “The number of women over the age of 55 in the work force will increase by 52 percent within the next ten years” (Francses, 2005). You could also say: Francses (2005) claims that the number of women over.......

Notice that the period goes after the ending parenthesis in the first example. All citations in your text should be included on the Works Cited page at the end (except those from personal communications). All sources on your Works Cited page must be cited in your paper.

17. Work on being concise. Get over the notion that longer is better. The ability to prepare concise and purposeful reports does not come naturally. Following a systematic process can help. Again, preparing an outline and sticking with it will help.

18. When writing the date, do not use "th" or "nd" when the day comes after the month. You can write 4th of July but not July 4th, 2012. You would just write July 4, 2012.

19. When two or more words come together to describe a noun that comes after it, you should hyphenate the words that form the description.

Hyphenation: The supervisor needs up-to-date reports right away.

No hyphen: This report is up to date. (There is no noun after up to date.)

20. When you write city and state, there is a comma before and after state. (Medford, Oregon, …….)

21. When you refer to people, use the word “who,” not “that.” For example: “…..for athletes who want…..” NOT: “…..for athletes that want….”

Homonyms

Whether or not… The weather is nice today.

There is class today. It is their responsibility.

More often than not… He then reached into his pocket…

My course is scheduled… Sandpaper feels coarse.

If you want to do really well, always ask someone who is a better writer than you to proofread your paper. (

Quoting: Only quote when you are not knowledgeable enough about the subject matter that you can’t quote or when something is written so eloquently it would be an injustice to change it. Otherwise, use your own words.

Cite the author first. If no author, cite the organization responsible. If no organization, cite the title.

You are supposed to be discussing key factors for success of the industry, not your company.

Do not repeat your citation. If you have no other source in this paragraph, just once is enough.