Excellent Writing
1. Write legibly.
2. Erase mistakes completely.
3. Spell words correctly. It’s lazy to see a word on a page and not copy it correctly. Use a dictionary, if you need to.
4. Spell out numbers one – nine. Write numbers 10 and higher as numerals.
5. Don’t use colored notebook paper for things you are turning in. It’s okay for notes you’re keeping for yourself.
6. Don’t start a sentence with “so” or “well”.
7. Don’t use abbreviations/texting language. (&, w/, b/c, cuz, 2, 4, b4, u, ppl…)
8. Use end punctuation, usually a period but if your sentence asks a question, use a question mark. (◦ is not a period.)
9. Use “a” before a word that begins with a consonant—(a dog). Use “an” before a word that begins with a vowel—(an apple).
10. Don’t write in all capital letters or words that are the same height. If it looks like a capital letter, I read it as a capital letter and will take off points if it is not supposed to be capitalized.
11. Leave the correct amount of space between letters and between words. (“The big dog bites.” should not look like “T h e b i g d o g b i t e s.”)
12. When something belongs to someone, be sure to use the possessive form of the proper noun (“Jason’s jacket”).
13. Don’t use apostrophes randomly—you need to be able to tell me the rule you are following by using it.
14. Don’t use punctuation without a reason (… and ;). Again, you’ll have to tell me the rule you are following.
15. Don’t use emoticons J, :-), ♥
16. Make letters look the way they are supposed to look (no sideways s).
17. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb AND a complete thought. (“After everyone is dead.” There is a subject—“everyone”. There is a verb—“is”. But, the thought is not complete.)
18. Avoid run-on sentences. (Don’t string sentences together with “and” or “so”.) It’s better to write shorter, simpler sentences.
19. Don’t put a hyphen at the end of a line to separate a word and continue it on the next line.
20. Use the correct form of the word: your (ownership), you’re (you are).
21. Use the correct form of the word: to (toward), too (also), two (2).
22. Use the correct form of the word: its (ownership—“its legs”), it’s (“it is” or “it has”)
23. Use the correct form of the word: there (location), they’re (they are), their (ownership—“their dog”).
24. Capitalize according to Capitalization Rules (not randomly or because you like the way the capital letter looks).
Capitalize the following:
· The first letter of a sentence
· The pronoun “I”
· Days, months, and holidays (NOT seasons)
· Proper names of people, places, and things
· The greeting and closing of a letter
· A person’s initials and abbreviations
· Names of streets, cities, states, and countries
· Titles of books, poems, movies, songs, and plays
25. Use commas according to Comma Rules. (There are actually 15 comma rules but these are the 5 that are most common. If you follow these 5, that is good enough for 7th grade.)
· Use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause. (After school, Mike raked the leaves in the yard.)
· Use commas before and after a parenthetical phrase or clause. (Alice, Sally’s sister, works as a lawyer.)
· Use a comma to separate two independent clauses linked by a coordinating conjunction—and, but, for, nor or, so, yet. (Charlotte promised Sadie she would hang out with her, but she watched a movie instead.)
· Use a comma to separate items in a series. (The animals at the zoo, the lion, the tiger, and the bear, are best friends.)
· Use a comma before a quotation when an introductory phrase with a word like say or reply precedes the quotation. (Jane says, “It's not often that someone comes along who is a true friend.”)
***26. EDIT YOUR WORK BEFORE YOU TURN IT IN! Carefully reading things through one time before turning them in will help fix a lot of mistakes (especially missing words). Rereading also helps you see if what you have written makes sense.