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DOs & DON'Ts for Young Writers
Making
errors in your writing confuses the reader and distorts the message you
are attempting to communicate. Many young writers make the mistakes
listed below. Use this list to improve your writing and your ability to
communicate with your reader.
Try to AVOID the
following...
 DO NOT use sentence
fragments.
Example: The magazines that
he reads on the train.
Explanation:
The thought is not complete, and the reader is left
to wonder what was important about the magazines.
DO NOT
allow dependent
clauses to
stand alone.
Example: Although Sally
liked to play soccer.
Explanation:
The
word "although" suggests that Sally might like to do something else
better or that she was unable to play even though she liked it. An
independent clause is required to complete the thought and to inform
the reader of the writer's purpose.
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DO NOT use run-on
sentences.
Example:
Although Sally liked to play soccer she also liked to play softball and
basketball but she really did not have time to play sports at all
because she spent all of her time practicing the piano and going to
school.
Explanation:
Run-on sentences have no punctuation or have improper punctuation. They
are easy to spot because they run on and on and on.
DO NOT misplace or
dangle your
modifiers.
Example: The magazines are
on the train that he reads.
Explanation:
This sounds as if someone is reading the train rather than the
magazines. The sentence should read: The magazines that he reads are on
the train.
DO NOT confuse “who” and
“that”!
Examples:
Correct—People who read are better writers. Incorrect—People that read
are better writers. Correct—That behavior is unexpected from such a
quiet child.
Explanation:
“Who” refers to people. “That” refers to things or concepts.
DO NOT use commas
before/after
prepositional phrases (unless the prepositional phrase acts as an
introductory phrase at the beginning of a sentence).
Examples:
Correct—I am going into the house for a while. Incorrect—I am going,
into the house, for a while. Correct—For example, my house is two
blocks south of your house.
Explanation:
Prepositions
include in, on, of, about, etc. “To” is also a preposition unless it is
followed by a verb which makes it an infinitive.
DO NOT confuse “of” and
“have”!
Examples: I should have
(verb) gone to bed earlier. The mayor of (preposition) the town walked
in the parade.
Explanation:
“Of” is a preposition.
“Have” is a verb.
DO NOT use rhetorical
questions. They
are overdone and cliché.
Example: Have you ever
wondered why the sky is blue?
Explanation:
Find a better way to capture your reader's attention!
DO NOT use a question as
an opening
statement for the same reason as above.
DO NOT use slang
expressions.
There may be exceptions to
this rule
if you are writing creatively; however, do not forget that your purpose
as a writer is to communicate, not to confuse.
There are also a few things that writers SHOULD do...
DO italicize
the titles of books and movies.
Examples: Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre, Star Wars
DO place the titles of
short stories,
poems, or songs in “quotation marks.”
Examples: “To
Build a Fire,” “The Star Spangled Banner”
DO place commas and
periods inside of
quotation marks.
(See
above example.)
DO place question marks,
colons, and
semicolons outside of quotation marks unless they are part of the
quoted material.
Examples: “Are
you going to the store?” she asked. Do you understand what I mean by
“technical”?
DO use pronouns
correctly.
It must be clear which
noun the
pronoun is replacing.
Example:
Mary is
my best friend. She is always there for me.
Explanation:
It
is clear that "she" refers to "Mary."
The pronoun must agree
in number with
the noun it is replacing.
Examples:
A good
writer chooses her words carefully. Good writers choose their words
carefully.
Explanation:
If
your noun is singular (person), then your pronoun must be singular
(either “he” or “she”). If your noun is plural (people), then your
pronoun must be plural (they).
Note:
"Political
correctness" has done
a lot of damage to pronoun use. In an attempt to avoid using "his" or
"her," many writers (both young and old) insert "their" even if the
noun is singular. If you do not want to choose between a masculine and
feminine pronoun, rewrite the sentence rather than use the wrong
pronoun.
You may
have noticed that
many experienced writers do not always follow the "rules." In most
cases, experienced writers break rules in order to create some sort of
effect. For example, they may want to improve the flow of their writing
or they may want to emphasize a certain thought. As an inexperienced
writer, it is better to stick to the rules and to learn them well.
Breaking a rule because you do not know better or just because you feel
like it is sloppy. When you know the rules inside out, you can break
them for a good reason to make your message clearer and stronger.
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