SCHOLARLY WRITING TIPS
1. Don't use "feel" when you mean "think" or "believe."
2. Always write about literature using the present tense.
3. Never use the word “you” in formal writing.
4. Memorize the following:
a student . . . his or her
students . . . their
each student . . . his or her
everyone . . . his or her
5. Be careful not to create fragments when using "while" and "although." A phrase or
clause beginning with these words cannot stand alone as a sentence.
6. Beware of comma splices when using "therefore," "however," and "thus." These
words generally signal the beginning of a new sentence, and should be preceded
by a period or semicolon.
7. Memorize the following:
affect = verb
effect = noun
8. Memorize the following:
quote = verb
quotation = noun
9. Remember that if you can substitute "each" for "every," "every day" is two words.
10. Write a clear, specific thesis statement that maps out points you will address in your
paper.
11. Do not include thesis statements or topic sentences that are questions or quotations.
12. Ensure that each topic sentence clearly relates to your thesis statement.
13. Check to see if each sentence relates either to the previous sentence or to the topic
sentence. If it relates to neither, eliminate it, or consider beginning a new
paragraph.
14. Avoid generalizations. Use concrete, specific examples from the text to back your
claims.
15. Make items in a series match grammatically (as in "to strive, to seek, to find" OR
"striving, seeking, finding").
16. Employ transitions to explain the logical relationship between paragraphs or
sentences and to improve stylistic flow.
17. Avoid expletive constructions such as "There is/are," and never use "this" when it is
not followed by a noun (as in "This is why . . . ").
18. Strive to reduce your dependence on "to be" and passive voice. Employ active,
interesting verbs.
19. Use "who" or "whom" when referring to people (students who study English, not
students that study English).
20. Strive to maintain an academic tone. Pretend that you are writing a chapter for a
textbook.
21. Avoid contractions, colloquialisms ("towards") and informal/conversational phrasing
("huge," "way too," "take it to the next level," etc.) in formal writing.
22. Don't use "some," "many," or "few" in place of a noun (as in "Many oppose this
plan.").
23. Don't begin a sentence with "and," "but," or "or."
24. Use rhetorical questions sparingly.
25. Always employ spell check and proofread using a dictionary.
26. Avoid exclamation points and melodramatic phrasing.
27. Edit for concision and focus.
28. Remember that periods go after the parentheses in MLA style documentation. In
other cases, periods go inside quotation marks.
29. Double space your entire works cited page, and alphabetize entries by author.
30. Always introduce quotations and comment on their relevance to your argument.
31. Ensure that each quotation flows smoothly with the rest of the sentence and contains
no vague pronoun references.