WRT 101 Baseline Skills
1.
Heading on paper: name, date, period, and assignment
2.
Capitalization: Beginning of sentence, “I,” and names.
3.
Legible (a person can read it!)
4.
Proper use of all end punctuation: period, exclamation points, and question marks.
5.
Underline book titles: Hemingway wrote A Sun Also Rises.
6.
Comma for an introductory element: Bob, could you grab the ketchup?
7.
Comma in a series: apples, bananas, and oranges.
8.
Comma before a coordinating conjunction: She wanted to buy a new car, but she didn't have
enough money to do so
9.
Indent first line of a paragraph.
10.
Spelling:
(Eliminating all contractions during the writing process will help with some of these
common errors.)
WATCH ALL HOMONYMS! See *Cooper’s list of homonyms
http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html
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Its (pronoun) ---- it’s (contraction of it is)
A lot (two words meaning many) ------ allot (to give out a portion)
They’re (contraction of they are) their (people) there (place)
Hear (with your ears) ---------- here (place)
Weather (sunny or rainy?)
---------- whether (alternatives)
Word Choice
You – be aware of your audience.
So: replace with: therefore, as a result, finally, consequently, thus, accordingly, due to, in
summary, in short, to sum up, all in all . . . use transition words!
Get, got, getting – eliminate if possible.
Good when you mean well.
Commonly Confused Words:
For more help see: http://homepage.smc.edu/reading_lab/words_commonly_confused.htm
Loose vs. Lose
Accept (receive willingly) vs. except ("but" or "with the exception of.")
Affect (influence) vs. effect (result)
Allusion (subtle reference), delusion (mistaken conviction about reality), illusion (unreal
occurrence)
Compliment (thank you!) vs. complement (that frame complements the picture)