Rules of writing

1. 5 Rules to remember
when writing

2. Capitalization- The following should be capitalized
Examples:
Correct: This is my friend, Jane Austen.
Incorrect: This is my friend, jane austen.
Correct: I attend Goal Academy High School inside the Citadel Mall
next to Burlington.
Incorrect: I am a senior in Goal Academy high school in the Mall
next to burlington.
Correct: I have rafted on the Arkansas River, paddle-boarded on
Lake Ponchatrain, and surfed in the Pacific Ocean.
Incorrect: I have rafted on the arkansas river, paddle-boarded on
lake ponchatrain, and surfed in the pacific ocean.
Correct: I am Latino, I speak Spanish, and I am Democrat from
Juárez, Mexico.
Incorrect: i am latino, i speak spanish, and i am from juárez,
mexico.
Correct: I went to a Catholic wedding on Saturday, March 2nd.
Incorrect: I went to a catholic wedding on saturday, march 2nd.
 A person’s first and last name
 Names of schools, public
buildings, and businesses.
 Names of rivers, oceans, and
lakes.
 Cities, states, countries,
nationalities, and political
parties
 The personal pronoun “I” is
always capitalized
 Religions, days of the week,
and months
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Capitalize the first letter of the first word in every sentence:
Correct: A car accident happened in front of me. I stopped to help.
Incorrect: a car accident happened in front of me. i stopped to help.

3. Punctuation
 All sentences end with a period ( . ), an exclamation
point ( ! ), or a question mark ( ? ).
 All contractions have an apostrophe ( ‘ ). A contraction is
a shortened version of a word, such as: can’t (cannot),
don’t (do not), won’t (will not). The apostrophe symbolizes
that these words are the shortened forms of the actual
word.
 Quotations marks ( “Hi!” ) must be used when writing
dialogue (a conversation between characters), or when
quoting material from a source you researched. For
example:
 “Hi, Maria. Are you coming to my birthday party?” I
asked.
 “Knowing how to communicate effectively in writing
shows employers that you are intelligent, capable, and
promotable,” says John Monroe.
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4. Punctuation (Continued)
 Possessive apostrophes show who owns
something. For example:
 Correct: “Whose new car is that?”
“It is my neighbor’s new car.”
 “Is that your jacket?”
“No, it is Yolanda’s jacket.”
You do not use the possessive apostrophe for
its, hers, or his. These pronouns are already
possessive.
“Whose turn is it to wash the dishes?”
“It is hers,” I said, pointing to my little sister.
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5. Definite and indefinite articles:
“the,” “a,” and “an.”
The
“The” is called a “definite”
article. Definite means
that it is talking about
something specific. For
example:
1. If I say, “Close the
door,” then I am asking
you to close a specific
door.
2. If I say, “Close a
door,” then it could be
the front door, the back
door, or another door.
3. Watch the dog while I
feed the horses, please.
A
“A” is an indefinite
article, meaning it is not
always clear what it is
referring to. We use the
indefinite article “a” before
all consonant sounds.
For example:
1. “Do you have a
pencil I can borrow?”
2. “This is a historic
moment.”
3. Incorrect: “This is an
historic moment.”
An
“An” is also an indefinite
article. It is used before
vowel sounds. Some
words in English begin with
a consonant, but the
consonant sound is silent.
For example:
1. Nobody uses an MP3
player anymore. (The “M”
sound begins with an “e”
= em, like the artist,
Eminem.)
2. It is an honor to serve
in the military.
3. I ate an apple for lunch
and I’m starving. 5

6. Text-speak is when people use
abbreviated forms of words:
Use okay instead of “k,” or
ok. (Ok is also an
abbreviation. If you use the
word “okay,” in academic
writing, it should be spelled out.
Use your, you’re, or you are
instead of ur.
Many people write alot as one
word, but it is two separate
words: a lot - always. There is
another word: allot, but it has a
different meaning.
Using text-speak
Use want to and not wanna.
Wanna is slang and not an
actual word.
Use the two separate words:
going to instead of gonna.
Gonna is slang and not an
actual word.
The word is spelled though
instead of tho. Tho is not a
word.
Through instead of thru
Tough instead of tuff
Light instead of lite.
I’m (= I am) and not imma
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7. Commonly confused words that sound alike but have different meanings.
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Advice/Advise Advice is a noun: Chester gave Posey good advice.
Advise is a verb: Chester advised Posey to avoid the questionable chicken salad.
Affect/Effect Affect is usually a verb: Chester’s humming affected Posey’s ability to concentrate. Effect is
usually a noun: Chester was sorry for the effect his humming had.
Than/Then Than is used for comparisons: Posey runs faster than Chester.
Then is used to indicate time or sequence: Posey took off running, and then Chester came along and
finished her breakfast.
Their/There/They’re Their is the possessive form of “they”: Chester and Posey took their
time. There indicates a place: It took them an hour to get there. They’re is a contraction of “they are”: Are
Are Chester and Posey coming? They’re almost here.
To/Too To is a preposition that can indicate direction: Posey walked to school. She said hello to Chester
when she saw him. To is also used in the infinitive form of verbs: Chester waited until the last minute to do

8. We hope this
sparked some
clarity
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