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21 Writing Tips/Rules for Papers
These are tips I have learned over the years from writing research and response papers. I learned
most of these tips the HARD WAY when I was already in college. Even if you do not wish to use this
sheet after our time as teacher and student has passed, I expect you to follow these rules while you
are my student. Therefore, if you break any of these rules, you will lose writing points.
1. Proofread your paper
Proofreading your paper usually results in you earning an extra letter grade on your assignment.
You will be able to catch grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and spelling errors before I catch
them and deduct points off of your essay score. Make the extra time to print out your rough draft,
review it, and make corrections for your final copy. I know it takes extra time, and some of us
procrastinate and/or work better under extreme time constraints, but it is a great habit to follow.
2. Proper TYPED Heading to a Paper…you must follow this format
Name
Left or right
Date
indent for this
Period
section
Title (centered and underlined)
Indent and start your paper.
Do not hand in papers without a heading or your name HAND-WRITTEN AT THE TOP!!! You will
lose points. Teachers will find it fishy anyway. Do not double space the heading to make your
paper appear longer either. It just makes me think you are trying to scam your way into lengthening
your paper when you could have put more time and effort writing a well-written paper.
3. Paragraph writing 101
Some of you do not know how to write a paragraph. Usually, the first sentence of the paragraph is
the topic sentence. The sentences that follow are supporting sentences that should support the
topic sentence…here is an example…
One reason why Germany lost World War II was because of Adolf Hitler’s poor
military decisions that reflected his overconfidence and stubbornness. In 1941, during
Operation Barbarossa, Hitler refused to listen to the suggestions of numerous military advisors
who agreed that Moscow needed to be primary objective during the land invasion of the Soviet
Union. Throughout the invasion, Hitler repeatedly discarded his advisors’ ideas, which led to
the ultimate failure of the operation. Furthermore, Hitler made egregious errors with his
directives to Field Marshall Paulus in the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43. Hitler
repeatedly ordered Paulus to defend Stalingrad with the 6th Army even when defeat to the Red
Army appeared certain. As a result, Paulus was forced to surrender with his 6th Army in
January 1943 in what became the largest turning point in World War II.
There you have it…One solid paragraph. A topic sentence was written first, and every sentence
that followed supported the topic sentence.
4. Check for RUN-ON Sentences
Commas should not replace Periods. Commas do not allow you combine two separate sentences
that should not be together. Review your papers to find run-on sentences. If a sentence carries on
too long, you should probably break it up.
5. Avoid Text-typing
If I read “u” instead of “you,” this says u didn’t review your paper. It is very sloppy and careless.
6. Make sure your verb tense is consistent throughout your paper
History papers that analyze past events are written in PAST TENSE, not present tense. There are
exceptions; some papers will require you to write in present tense, or present and past tense, but if
you are writing a paper that primarily analyzes a historic event, you should not be deviating from
past tense throughout the paper.
7. Stick to 3rd person perspective
Scholarly papers can sometimes be written in the 1st person perspective, but the safest way
perspective is 3rd person. Try to avoid using the 2nd person perspective.
8. Contractions
Contractions make your paper look less scholarly. Turn them into two words. Also, for some of
you that want to make your papers look longer anyway, they help you in that department! The only
time you can use contractions for a history paper is if it is a creative writing assignment.
Can’t = Cannot
Don’t = Do not
Won’t = Will not
Couldn’t = Could not
Didn’t = Did not
Wouldn’t = Would not
9. Check for mistakes with these words. Screwing these up makes your writing look weak.
Your and You’re
There, Their and They’re
Here and Hear
Its and It’s
To and too
Then and Than
Were and We’re
10. Numbers
Every number from 0-10 should be SPELLED OUT, and not written as the numeral.
Ex: zero, one, two, three…ten
After the number ten, you should type the numerals. However, big numbers that are not
complicated can be SPELLED OUT.
Ex: 13, 2,337, one thousand, ten million, 2,333,990
11. How to Quote
THIS IS HOW QUOTATIONS SHOULD LOOK where no reference is made
Miller said, “The levels of nationalism in Germany before the war were extremely high.”
DO NOT WRITE THIS…
Miller said, “The levels of nationalism in Germany before the war were extremely high”.
Make sure the punctuation in INSIDE the quote and not on the outside.
12. Remind the reader of the PROPER NAME
When you write about a person/place/thing, you need to remind the reader, usually in the
beginning of a sentence (at least the beginning of the paragraph) of the proper name of the
person. Do not write George Washington’s name at the start of a paragraph, but then refer to
Washington as “he” for the rest of the paragraph or paper, especially if you mention another male
character in the paragraph. IT GETS CONFUSING!
13. Rules with FIRST and LAST names
When you introduce a character for the first time, write out the FULL NAME (Martin Luther).
When you refer to the person throughout the rest of the paper, always refer to the using their LAST
NAME and not their FIRST NAME....
Ex: “Luther formulated his opinions while he was a theology professor.”
DO NOT WRITE: “Martin formulated his opinions while he was a theology professor.”
14. Check the first word of each sentence in your paragraph.
Here is my paragraph from before…
One reason why Germany lost World War II was because of Adolf Hitler’s poor military
decisions that reflected his overconfidence and stubbornness. In 1941, during Operation
Barbarossa, Hitler refused to listen to the suggestions of numerous military advisors who agreed
that Moscow needed to be primary objective during the land invasion of the Soviet Union.
Throughout the invasion, Hitler repeatedly discarded his advisors’ ideas, which led to the
ultimate failure of the operation. Furthermore, Hitler made egregious errors with his directives
to Field Marshall Paulus in the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43. Hitler repeatedly
ordered Paulus to defend Stalingrad with the 6th Army even when defeat to the Red Army
appeared certain. As a result, Paulus was forced to surrender with his 6th Army in January
1943 in what became the largest turning point in World War II.
Notice that the first word in each sentence is different. You can have some of the sentences start
with the same word, but don’t have EVERY sentence start with the same word. It just looks weak
and elementary, and the reader usually sees it.
15. Transition words ROCK!!!
For argumentative papers, transition phrases are good to use and make the paper easier to read.
They also show the reader that you, the writer, know how to structure your paragraphs and answer
questions effectively. An extra handout will be provided to you with transition rules, but here are a
few examples.
On the other hand
Nevertheless
Conversely
Furthermore
In addition
…and there are many more…and they are GOOD TO USE (in the right places).
16. Eliminate the use of the word “GOT”
It is an awful word to use in any paper, creative or scholarly. There are so many better words to
use…
Got = received, obtained, gained, acquired
Getting rid of = eliminated, obliterated, removed
17. Never start a conclusion with, “All in all,” or “In Conclusion.”
You don’t need to tell me that we are at the conclusion. I can see that I am reading the last
paragraph.
18. Stick with adjectives
If you are describing a noun and you are using more than one characteristic, DO NOT combine
adjectives and verbs. Going with adjectives usually works best.
Ex: “Luther was very determined and steadfast in his journey to reform the Catholic Church.”
NOT: “Luther was very determined and felt so strongly in his journey to reform the Catholic
Church.”
19. The beauty is in the details
“St. Peters Basilica” shows you know the Martin Luther story better than if you write “the basilica.”
Do not stuff your papers with excess facts, but avoid vagaries.
20. Comparing and Contrasting
When you compare/contrast two nouns (and you will be doing a lot of this for the next few years of
your high school and college years), compare/contrast them by topic.
Ex: If you are given a paper where you need to compare the George Washington presidency
against the Abraham Lincoln presidency
DO THIS…
George Washington vs Abraham Lincoln TOPIC 1 (usually in one paragraph)
George Washington vs Abraham Lincoln TOPIC 2 (etc)
George Washington vs Abraham Lincoln TOPIC 3 (etc)
NOT THIS…
George Washington TOPIC 1, TOPIC 2, TOPIC 3 (In one to three paragraphs)
Abraham Lincoln TOPIC 1, TOPIC 2, TOPIC 3 (In one to three paragraphs)
If you just list information for one person, and then pages later, list information for the second
person, you are making the reader have to go back and forth to find the comparisons FOR YOU.
THEY WILL NOT WANT TO DO THAT!!! YOU WILL/SHOULD GET A LOW SCORE FOR IT. If
you are writing a comparison essay, each paragraph should focus on one topic, with a comparison
of both figures in it.
21. Lastly, and I don’t want to sound preachy, and I know some of you don’t need to read this, but I’m
going to do it. READ MORE!!!! The only way you become a better writer is by actually
reading good writing. It can be a newspaper, magazine or book.
Reading will help your vocabulary in writing and conversation, so you can find the right words to
make your point across better, without using a 6th grade vocabulary, One of the biggest tragedies
you can face is if you have great ideas in your mind, but don’t have the vocabulary to get the ideas
across.
You cannot be a good writer if you don’t read. You learn new words, new sentence structures, and
new ideas. Take the good vocabulary words and good writing from these good writers. In the U2
song “The Fly,” Bono sings, “Every artist is a cannibal. Every poet is a thief.” It’s true. Read and
take other writers’ styles (NOT THEIR IDEAS OR WORDS THOUGH…That constitutes plagiarism)
and infuse them in your writing to make yourself a better writer.