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SET 1 – BASIC EDITING
1. SPELLING/HOMOPHONES/COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS drive English teachers
crazy. Use the correct spelling of words, use spell checkers carefully, and use
the words in the correct way. Spelling should not be an issue in high school.
2. CAPITALIZATION. Capitals
are needed at the beginning of every sentence, for proper nouns and proper
adjectives (
3. END MARKS. Make sure you
end your sentence with a period. Or even an exclamation point! Or was it a
question mark?
4. QUOTATION MARKS are used around dialogue and when citing other
sources. Example: “Watch where you’re going!” yelled Tom. (Hint:
Punctuation goes before quotation marks, like “p” goes before “q” in the
alphabet.) Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks.
SET 2 – COMMA USAGE
5. Put COMMAS around PARENTHETICAL, or not necessarily important,
information in a sentence. The commas act like a set of parentheses. Example:
The cat, which had apparently just awoken, suddenly appeared beside the food
bowl.
6. Use a COMMA to set a dependent INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE apart from the rest
of the sentence. Example: While walking down the road, Stuart found a lost dog.
7. Use a COMMA to set apart two INDEPENDENT CLAUSES joined by a
CONJUNCTION. Example:
She brought the pizza, and I supplied the potato chips.
8. Use COMMAS to set off NOUNS OF DIRECT ADDRESS and INTERJECTIONS.
Example: Forgive us, Mr.
Jones, if we sneeze. Yes, you may have cookies and milk. Oh, I am allergic to
milk!
SET
3 – SERIES
9. Use a COMMA to separate three or more similar items in a SERIES. Put a
comma after every term in the series. Example: The French flag is red, white,
and blue. She bought a purple skirt,
an imported silk dress, and a designer handbag.
10. If the SUBJECT of the sentence is singular, then the VERB is also
singular. Likewise, if the subject of the sentence is plural, then the verb is
also plural. EXAMPLE: The bitter
flavor of youth – its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges – is
not soon forgotten. (Hint: each,
either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, and someone all take singular
verbs.)
11. RELATIVE PRONOUN AGREEMENT.
Who always refers to a person. Example: This is the girl who broke my
heart.
That always refers to an object. Example:
This is the baseball that broke my window.
Which is usually used in comparisons.
Example: Which pen shall I
use today?
Which also introduces independent clauses, whereas that introduces
dependent clauses. Example: The
book, which is on the table, is overdue. (The independent clause “which is on
the table” is extra, incidental information – the point of the sentence is
that the book is overdue.) The book
that is on the table is overdue. (The dependent clause “that is on the
table” is necessary because it identifies the exact book being discussed.)
12. PRONOUN – ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT.
The pronoun used in a sentence must match up to the noun it replaces.
Example: The doctor finished her rounds. The
doctors finished their rounds. In
this classroom, everyone performs to his or her ability. When someone has been
drinking, he or she is more likely to speed. (Hint: If you wish to avoid gender
in writing, use “his or her” when the noun is singular. Do not use
“their” when the noun is singular.)
SET 4 – SPECIAL PUNCTUATION RULES
13.
Do not join independent clauses with a comma; use a
14. Use a
15. Use a DASH to set off an abrupt break or interruption.
Example: His first thought on getting out of bed – if he had any
thought at all – was to get back in.
16. APOSTROPHES are used to form possessives and contractions.
Form the possessive singular by adding ‘s.
This is true even if the word already ends in the letter s. Example. He
is Charles’s friend. Possessive pronouns (his, hers, its, theirs) never use an
apostrophe.
Contractions are joined with an apostrophe. The apostrophe goes where the
letter is missing from the two words that joined together to make the
contraction. Example: They are = They’re. It is = It’s
SET 5 – STYLE
17.
Use ACTIVE voice, not passive. In other words, your subject should do the
action, not have it done to the subject. Example:
I will always remember my first trip to the city. (Active voice).
My first trip to the city will always be remembered by me. (passive
voice). My first trip to
18. Omit needless words. Good writing is CONCISE. Use powerful verbs
instead of weak verb-adverb combinations. Example: “It’s alive and heading
this way!” Barbara said loudly. (weak verb-adverb combination).
“It’s alive and heading this way!” Barbara shrieked. (strong verb)
19. Use only one consistent TENSE, either past tense or present, for
formal writing. (Most formal writing uses the past tense. Be consistent.)
20. A FRAGMENT (dependent clause) cannot stand alone as an independent
sentence. Unless you are trying to achieve a specific stylistic effect, avoid
fragments. Example: I met them on the football field.
Without their helmets. Similarly, a