Advanced Writing Cheat Sheet
Varied Sentence Beginnings
1. Two Adjectives
A. Separated by a conjunction
Ex.: Studious and responsible, Mike reviewed his vocabulary for the upcoming quiz.
Ex.: Tired yet determined, Susie finished her homework into the late hours of the night.
B. Separated by a comma
Ex.: Studious, responsible students review vocabulary nightly in anticipation for the quiz.
2. Adverb(s)
A. TWO adverbs separated by a conjunction
Ex.: Quickly and silently, the cat pounced on its prey.
Ex.: Concisely but eloquently, José delivered his important message.
B. ONE adverb
Ex.: Steadfastly, Shinneaka pursued her ambition of becoming a journalist.
3. Prepositional Phrase (shows a relationship between word or ideas (location, direction, time, cause, or
possession. The phrase contains a preposition followed by a noun or pronoun)
Ex.: (Through his hard work and dedication), Robert secured a full-ride football scholarship to Duke.
Ex.: (After months of intense practice), Madison finally earned her coveted 1st chair violin position.
Common Prepositions:
Aboard
Among
Behind
Beyond
Except
Into
Off
Over
To
Until
According to
Due to
In place of
About
Amongst
Below
By
Following
Like
On
Past
Toward
Up
As far as
Except for
On behalf of
Above
Around
Beneath
Concerning
For
Near
Onto
Regarding
Towards
Upon
Aside from
Far from
On top of
Across
Aside
Beside
Despite
From
Next
Opposite
Since
Under
With
Because of
In addition to
Outside of
After
At
Besides
Down
In
Notwithstanding
Out
Through
Underneath
Within
By means of
In accordance with
Prior to
Amidst
Before
Between
During
Inside
Of
Outside
Throughout
Unlike
Without
Close to
In case of
Regardless of
4. Infinitive Phrase (the word “to” followed by a verb)
Ex.: To achieve her goal, JiYoung made many personal sacrifices.
Ex.: To become an accomplished and well-known writer often takes dogged determination in the
face of multiple rejections.
5. Correlative Conjunction (work in pairs)
Ex.: Both confused and disoriented, Ryan struggled to remember the events of the accident.
Ex.: Neither fear of the unknown nor the certain danger could stop the hero.
. Correlative Conjunctions:
Either . . . or
Both . . . and
Neither . . . nor
Not only . . . but also
Whether . . . or
6. Appositive Phrase (an noun that interrupts the sentence to identify a nearby noun)
Ex.: A student of inexhaustible energy, Maria never tires of fully participating in class activities.
Ex.: The famous movie producer, Alfred Hitchcock made many classic horror movies.
7. Gerund (a verb that ends in “ing” and acts as a noun)
Ex.: Traveling to different countries and experiencing different cultures creates many learning
opportunities.
Ex.: Listening well requires not only concentration but also action.
8. Participial Phrase (a verb that ends in “ing” or “ed” and acts as an adjective)
Ex.: Considering the matter fully, Marco decided to undertake the project.
Ex.: Stressed by the length of the test, Joel constantly watched the clock as he worked.
9. Subordinating Conjunction/Subordinate Clause
Ex.: Because the rains came suddenly, traffic backed up quickly.
Ex.: Although Juanita knew it would be a daunting task, she gritted her teeth and started the job.
Common Subordinating Conjunctions:
After
although
as
as if
as long as
Because
before
even if
even though
if
in order that
now that
provided that
rather than
since
so long as
than
that
though
unless
when
whenever
where
whereas
wherever
10. Conjunctive Adverb (“transition” that indicates a relationship between clauses)
as though
if only
so that
until
while
A. Used at the beginning of the sentence
Ex.: Similarly, Gail found herself watching the clock but for a different reason; she had
finished the test early due to her diligent preparation.
Ex.: Moreover, she had no work to keep her busy because she had completed that as well.
B. Used to join two join clauses
Ex.: The dark skies and distant thunder dissuaded Clarice from her afternoon run; moreover,
she had thirty calculus problems to solve for her morning class.
Ex.: Leon's apartment complex does not allow dogs over thirty pounds; otherwise, he would
have bought the gangly Great Dane puppy playing in the pet store window.
Common Conjunctive Adverbs:
accordingly
comparatively
furthermore
in addition
instead
notably
then thereafter
additionally
consequently
equally
in comparison
likewise
otherwise
therefore
again
as a result
contrarily
conversely
hence
however
in contrast
in fact
meanwhile
moreover
rather
similarly
thus
undoubtedly uniquely
besides
finally
just as
incidentally
nevertheless
subsequently
certainly
further
identically
indeed
nonetheless
still
Sentence Types
All English sentences may be classified according to their structure. Sentences are comprised of clauses. An
independent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. A
subordinate clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought;
it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
1. A simple sentence contains one independent clause and no subordinate clauses. A simple sentence may
have a compound (more than one) subject or verb, or both.
Ex. Through the long, cold winter, Mr. Osaka plowed the snow.
Ex. Juanita and Todd worked hard and completed their project early.
2. A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses but no subordinate clauses. They
are joined using a comma and a coordinating conjunction or by using a semicolon.
Ex. Ten of the athletes started college together, but only four of them graduated.
Ex. Someone told a joke about Texans; my friend from Dallas did not laugh.
3. A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause. If the
subordinate clause begins the sentence, then it must be followed by a comma. If the
subordinate clause follows the independent clause, then no comma is necessary.
Ex. When Beth takes pictures, she prefers black and white prints.
Ex. Everyone stopped talking as the curtain rose.
4. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and at least one
subordinate clause. Punctuation rules for compound and complex sentence structures are followed.
Ex. After the game was over, some of the fans went for pizza, but most of us went home.
Voice of Verbs: Active vs. Passive Voice
The voice of a verb indicates whether the subject performs the action or is acted upon. An action verb
is in the active voice when the verb’s subject performs the action. An action verb is in the passive voice
when its action is performed on the subject.
Active Voice: Derek took the pictures.
Passive Voice: The pictures were taken by Derek.
You form the passive voice by using a form of the verb be (is, are, was, were, be, been, have, has) with
the past participle of a verb. The active voice is a stronger way of expressing what you want to say. Use
the passive voice, however, if you do not want to call attention to the performer of the action of if you
do not know the performer.
Ex. The eyeglasses were broken. [It may not matter who broke them.]
Ex. The flag has been raised. [You may not know who raised it.]
Subject-Verb Agreement: Finding the True Subject
A verb must agree with the true subject of a sentence. Sometimes a phrase comes between the subject
and the verb. Be sure to make the verb agree with the subject, not the noun closest to the verb.
Ex. The bushel of peaches was all over the street.
Sometimes the true subject of the sentence comes after the verb. This happens when a question is
asked or when a sentence is inverted or begins with Here or There. Note that Here or There is never the
subject of a sentence.
Ex. Why are stop signs always red?
Ex. There is sure to be a solution.
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number (singular or plural) and gender (feminine,
masculine, or neutral).
Rules:
1. Use a singular pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent.
Ex. Babe Ruth slugged his home run to the spot in the stands to which he had pointed.
2. Use a singular pronoun to refer to two or more singular antecedents that are joined by or or nor.
Ex. Did President Harding or President Coolidge die while he was in office?
3. Some indefinite pronouns are always singular: each, one, either, neither, much, everyone, everybody,
anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody. A singular pronoun is used to refer to these
pronouns.
Ex. Each of the girls entered her favorite photograph in the contest.
4. Use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural antecedent.
Ex. The fans cheered their idol.
5. Use a plural pronoun to refer to two or more antecedents that are joined by and.
Ex. Helen Wills and Babe Ruth were noted for their athletic skills.
6. Five indefinite pronouns are always plural: several, few, both many, and others. A plural pronoun is
used to refer to a plural indefinite pronoun.
Ex. Both of the boys babysat their brother.
7. Five indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural depending on how they are used in a
sentence: all, none, most, some.
Ex. Most of the paragraph was typed after it was proofread. [singular]
Parallelism
Parallelism: Writing with parallelism involves using similar sentence structures to express ideas that are
similar in content. You can use parallelism to balance or contrast related ideas.
Not Parallel:
The doctor saw the boy, named the illness, and she gave a pill.
Parallel:
The doctor saw the boy, named the illness, and gave a pill.
Not Parallel:
She asked where the fire was and the cause of it.
Parallel:
She asked where the fire was and what caused it.
Quote Integration
Rule 1: Context Lead-in – Incorporate quotes into your writing by providing context
a. Explain who says it (if dialogue), when the quote takes place, and what is happening
Example: Head of the court, King Arthur, wants the Green Knight to feel welcome, he requests the
Green Knight to “get down from [his] horse and join us for dinner” (line 36).
b. Transition (For example, + when/while/because/even though + information + quote
Example: After no other members of his court stepped up to the duel from the Green Knight, the
chivalrous King Arthur “decided now to draw near” (line 104).
Rule 2: Keep quotations as short as possible. Three words can impact the reader quite successfully. Use
ellipses () to reduce unnecessary words before, during, or after a quotation.
Example: As the Green Knight raised his axe to strike Sir Gawain for the first time, Sir Gawain “cast
a side glance … and his shoulders jerked away” (lines 257-259).
Example: Disgraced by his actions in the duel, Sir Gawain “shrank away in shame … and flung
the sash at the Green Knight” (lines 364-369).
Rule 3: At times, in order to make the quotation make sense or sound better, you may need to add or replace
a word or two or change forms of words within the quotations. Use brackets [ ].
Example: Whether angry or embarrassed, King Arthur draws his sword when “[The Green Knight]
laughed so loud that the lord was distressed” (line 99).
Example: Confident and patient, “[The Green Knight] stood before [King Arthur], in stature
higher by a head or more than any man here in the house (lines 114-115).
Rule 4: When quoting passages already in quotation marks (dialogue) replace the double quotations with
single quotation marks (apostrophe key) and then put the entire passage within double quotes.
Example: Standing aside Guinevere, Gawain exclaims to the King, “’let this game be mine’” (line 124).
Example: Putting his court before himself, Sir Gawain states “’let it fall to me’” (line 141).
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And also This is often redundant.
And/or Outside of the legal world, most of the time this construction is used, it is neither necessary nor logical. Try using one word or the
other.
As to whether The single word whether will suffice.
Basically, essentially, totally These words seldom add anything useful to a sentence. Try the sentence without them and, almost always,
you will see the sentence improve.
Being that or being as These words are a non-standard substitute for because. Being that Because I was the youngest child, I always wore
hand-me-downs.
Considered to be Eliminate the to be and, unless it's important who's doing the considering, try to eliminate the entire phrase.
Due to the fact that Using this phrase is a sure sign that your sentence is in trouble. Did you mean because? Due to is acceptable after a
linking verb (The team's failure was due to illness among the stars.); otherwise, avoid it.
Each and every One or the other, but not both.
Equally as Something can be equally important or as important as, but not equally as important.
Etc. This abbreviation often suggests a kind of laziness. It might be better to provide one more example, thereby suggesting that you could
have written more, but chose not to.
He/she is a convention created to avoid gender bias in writing, but it doesn't work very well and it becomes downright obtrusive if it appears
often. Use he or she or pluralize (where appropriate) so you can avoid the problem of the gender-specific pronoun altogether.
Firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc. Number things with first, second, third, etc. and not with these adverbial forms.
Got Many writers regard got as an ugly word, and they have a point. If you can avoid it in writing, do so. I have got to must begin studying
right away. I have got two pairs of sneakers.
Had ought or hadn't ought. Eliminate the auxiliary had. You hadn't ought not to pester your sister that way.
Interesting One of the least interesting words in English, the word you use to describe an ugly baby. If you show us why something is
interesting, you're doing your job.
In terms of See if you can eliminate this phrase.
Irregardless No one word will get you in trouble with the boss faster than this one.
Kind of or sort of. These are OK in informal situations, but in formal academic prose, substitute somewhat, rather or slightly. We were kind
of rather pleased with the results.
Literally This word might be confused with literarily, a seldom used adverb relating to authors or scholars and their various professions.
Usually, though, if you say it's "literally a jungle out there," you probably mean figuratively, but you're probably better off without either
word.
Lots or lots of In academic prose, avoid these colloquialisms when you can use many or much. Remember, when you do use these words,
that lots of something countable are plural. Remember, too, that a lot of requires three words: "He spent a lot of money" (not alot of).
Just Use only when you need it, as in just the right amount.
Nature See if you can get rid of this word. Movies of a violent nature are probably just violent movies.
Necessitate It's hard to imagine a situation that would necessitate the use of this word.
Of Don't write would of, should of, could of when you mean would have, should have, could have.
On account of Use because instead.
Only Look out for placement. Don't write "He only kicked that ball ten yards" when you mean "He kicked that ball only ten yards."
Orientate The new students become oriented, not orientated. The same thing applies to administrate -- we administer a project.
Per Use according to instead. We did it per your instructions? Naah. (This word is used frequently in legal language and in technical
specifications, where it seems to be necessary and acceptable.)
Plus Don't use this word as a conjunction. Use and instead.
Point in time Forget it! At this time or at this point or now will do the job.
Previous as in "our previous discussion." Use earlier or nothing at all.
So as to Usually, a simple to will do.
Suppose to, use to. The hard "d" sound in supposed to and used to disappears in pronunciation, but it shouldn't disappear in spelling. "We
used to do that" or "We were supposed to do it this way."
The reason why is because. Deja vu all over again!
Thru This nonstandard spelling of through should not be used in academic prose.
'Til Don't use this word instead of until or till, even in bad poetry.
Try and Don't try and do something. Try to do something.
Thusly Use thus or therefore instead.
Utilize Don't use this word where use would suffice. (Same goes for utilization.)
Very, really, quite (and other intensifiers) Like basically, these words seldom add anything useful. Try the sentence without them and see
if it improves.