Writing Tips
- A book title is always italicized.
RIGHT: The Hunger Games
WRONG: “The Hunger Games”, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games
- Avoid using ‘you’ or ‘me’ wherever possible. Instead, use phrases like ‘the reader’ or ‘the audience’ or ‘one’.
EXAMPLE: Instead of “This passage makes you feel like you are in the story” consider “This passage makes the reader feel like he/she is in the story”.
OR: Instead of “At this point in the story, you can clearly see that the protagonist is nervous” consider “At this point in the story, one can clearly see that the protagonist is nervous”
- Stay in the same tense when describing/recalling events from a story. A common mistake is start in one tense (ex. past) then move to another (ex. present) a few sentences into the description.
WRONG: The Professor’s House is a great story about an ornery teacher who developed a relationship with his old house. He managed to upset his wife by spending so much time at the house, and this drives his daughters away from him as well.
^^ this description bounces back and forth between present and past tenses. Choose one tense (eitherisacceptable) and STICK WITH IT.
RIGHT (present tense): The Professor’s House is a great story about an ornery teacher who develops a relationship with his old house. He manages to upset his wife by spending so much time at the house, whichdrives his daughters away from him as well.
--OR--
Past tense: The Professor’s House was a great story about an ornery teacher who developed a relationship with his old house. He managed to upset his wife by spending so much time at the house, whichdrove his daughters away from him as well.
- Phrases such as ‘I just think that’ or “I just feel like” or “I believe that” are unnecessary in your writing. Obviously your audience will know you think/feel a certain way - it’s your paper and your opinion! You don’t need to justify your opinion to your audience by adding additional words. Excluding these phrases from your writing will make you sound more confident as a writer and more confident in your opinion.
WRONG: “I just think that this story provides a good example of the ‘coming of age’ theme.”
RIGHT: “This story provides a good example of the ‘coming of age’ theme.
-ALWAYS PROOFREAD!!! Even Shakespeare made mistakes
----By paying attention to your words and making these slight adjustments to your writing, you will become a more confident, informed, and capable writer.