Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Writing tips

How to write better papers:
Avoid Use
thing/things                                                               phenomenon, event, situation (whatever "thing" it is).
a lot of                                                                       numerous, several
really/very                                                                 extremely; significantly
good                                                                          beneficial, positive, superb
bad                                                                            negative, maladaptive, disadvantageous
talk about                                                                  discuss
ALL IDIOMS                                                           observe (not "look at"); deconstruct (not "figuring out")
speaking in 2nd person "you"                                   3rd person s/he, one, they
ending sentences in prepositions                               rearrange the sentence
(in, at, with, to, for, about, etc.)
inconsistent tense                                                      consistent tense
slang (kids, bummed)                                                formal English (children, upset, annoyed, etc.)
incorrect syntax                                                         correct syntax
      Examples: I looked around and there were three other teenagers texting, and a businessman.  
      Better:  I observed  a business person and three teenagers texting.
passive voice (I was sent by him.)                             active voice (He sent me.)
too many of the verb "to be."                                     action verbs
1,2,3                                                                           spell out one-nine
run-on sentences                                                        two separate clear sentences
overuse of any word                                                  varied vocabulary
second person (you)                                                  third person (he, she, it, they) or first person when appropriate
undeveloped paragraphs                                           developed paragraphs (4+ sentence minimum)

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