Writing tips for COMM 3010

1. Follow the APA publication manual. Look it up; don't guess.

2. Avoid rhetorical questions.
Is it fair for one generation to have to pay for the sins of a previous generation?

3. When making a claim, provide support for the claim and document the support. All citations in the text must have a corresponding entry in the list of references.

4. Anything quoted must have a text citation-including a page number.

5. Edit. Running spell-check is not editing. A paper for class is not a slang conversation between you and the reader. This means avoiding starting sentences with "Also," "But," or "However." Homer Simpson style is not scholarly style.

6. "You know" and "like" are not indicators of good writing.

7. Employ gender-neutral language.

8. Do not use contractions.

9. Be wary of singular/plural problems:
Incorrect: A person's choice should not be their only option.

10. Avoid starting a sentence with a quotation. Introduce a quotation so the reader knows what to look for.

11. Do not use boldface type anywhere in your paper.

12. Excepting the upper left heading on page one, double space throughout. Use italics-not underscoring-for titles of books, journals, and periodicals.

13. Disable right margin justification. You want a ragged right margin.