do not use YOU in the general sense as a
substitute for people, everyone, or large
groups of people
AMOUNT VS. NUMBER
use NUMBER when you refer to
something that CAN BE COUNTED
use AMOUNT when you refer to
something that CANNOT BE COUNTED
(or usually isn't)
LESS VS. FEWER
use FEWER when you
refer to something that
CAN BE COUNTED
use LESS when you refer to
something that CANNOT BE
COUNTED
SERIES COMMAS
use the final series comma to
avoid ambiguity
Ex: Sylvester, Tweety,
and Yogi.
THE NAKED THIS
use the word THIS with a NOUN
or you may write something
ambiguous
Ex: THIS diet...
HYPHENS: pick a consistent
style and use it throughout
the document
use HYPHENS only to CONNECT
WORDS TO WORDS or NUMBERS
TO WORDS (do not use them in
place of bullets or to connect
parts of a sentence)
SOURCE REFERENCE AND
OTHER NAMES
FIRST time you use a person's name, use
both FIRST & LAST. AFTERWARDS refer to
that person by his/her LAST NAME.
QUOTATIONS
always include a quotation as part
of a larger sentence. A quote should
never stand alone.
COMPOUND WORDS AND OTHER SPELLING:
list of words that people frequently confuse
and consequently misspell.
DEFINITELY VS.
DEFIANTLY (DEFINaTELY
IS NOT A WORD)
Definitely: spelled correctly. Defiantly: how
your cat looks at you when you tell it to get
off the couch but it just stays there.
EVERYDAY VS. EVERY DAY
EVERYDAY (it's an adjective) to modify a noun
(everyday shoes). EVERY DAY to indicate when
something happens (ride my bike every day).
INTO VS. IN TO
I am going to turn this essay INTO my teacher, then
my backpack will be heavy. I am going to turn this
essay IN TO my teacher and she will be very happy.
POSSES VS. POSSESS
POSSES: group, gang, troop.
POSSESS: ownership
SUPPOSED TO, USED TO,
ACCUSTOMED TO
D at the end of each word!
ISSUES SPECIFIC TO
TECHNICAL WRITING
COLONS TO
INTRODUCE A LIST
Always use a sentence or
phrase to introduce a list.
Use a colon at the end of a
complete sentence (Bring the
following to class: *pens
*notebooks *calculator
Use no punctuation for a portion of a
sentence finished off by the list of items (At
the meeting we will discuss *A *B *C
LIST PUNCTUATION: choose a
consistent style to use
throughout a document.
use PERIODS at the end of each
item. (Bring the following to class:
*A. *B. *C.
use NO PERIODS at all (Bring the
following to class: *A *B *C
use a PERIOD at the END of
the list (Bring the following to
class: *A *B *C.)