1. Proofread your assignment. Do not rely on spell checker alone. It will not catch "the" when you meant to say "these," and it will not catch grammar errors like "Everyone has their own soda" that will make you look silly and careless and will drive down your grade. If you are not secure in your ability to proofread your paper, please go to the Writing Center in Payne Hall or have a very proficient friend do it for you. If you do so, you must acknowledge the help you have received in your pledge.

2. Always write in full sentences. Every sentence should contain a verb. Whenever possible, every verb should be in the active rather than passive voice. "The man drove the car" is an active sentence, containing a subject (man), verb (drove), and object (car). "The car was driven" is in the passive voice because it contains only a verb and an object but not a subject. It does not tell the reader who drove the car. It is not grammatically incorrect, but it is less desirable because it is less informative, and it conveys a lazy, bureaucratic tone.

3. If you are writing an essay, make sure to organize your paper. It should begin with a thesis statement paragraph, followed by several paragraphs in which you develop the points outlined in the introduction, and it should end with a conclusion. Every paragraph should contain, usually at the beginning, a thesis sentence. Remember that even though you are writing for me, you cannot assume that I know that you know what you are saying. You need to support your ideas and arguments with quotations from the text.

4. Use short quotes. Quotes can be up to 2 sentences long. I encourage you to utilize phrases and key terms from the authors and weave them into your own sentences. No block quotes (quotes 3 sentences long or more).

5. When quoting, use a simple parenthetical reference inside the text. The following is an example. "The truth of objectivism -- absolute, universal, and timeless -- has lost its monopoly status. It now competes, on more nearly equal terms, with the truths of case studies that are embedded in local contexts, shaped by local interests, and colored by local perceptions" (Rosaldo 1989:21). This in-text citation is all you need since you are quoting readings from class. It is (Author's last name [space] date of publication:page number). If there are two page numbers, it would read like this (Rosaldo 1989:11-12). If you mention the author's name in your sentence and then quote him/her, you would finish the sentence with the date and page number in parentheses. Here is an example. Rosaldo writes that "The truth of objectivism -- absolute, universal, and timeless -- has lost its monopoly status" (1989:21).

6. Do not use abbreviations (e.g., vs., etc.) or contractions (isn't) in formal prose.

7. Try not to end a sentence with a preposition. "They knew she was someone they could rely on" is more colloquial and less suited for a formal paper than "They knew she was someone on whom they could rely."

8. Place a comma between independent clauses. For example: "They went home, and then they went to sleep." Both "They went home" and "they went to sleep" are independent clauses because they can stand on their own as individual sentences and, therefore, they need a comma between them. However, the sentence "They went to home and then went to sleep" does not need a comma because "went to sleep" cannot stand on its own as an individual sentence.

9. There are several style manuals available in the bookstore. I recommend William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style. It is good guide to grammar with lots of clear, useful examples.