General Writing Guides - Page 3

What is Capitalization? To capitalize a word in the English language means to begin it with a capital letter. In the English language, there are…

Why is Sentence Variety Important? One of the commonly ignored factors that influence the quality and comprehensibility of an essay is sentence variety. Many writers,…

Period (.) End a sentence. Example: I love you more now. Question Mark (?) – End a sentence and show a question/inquiry. Example: Have you…

What is a Tone of an Essay? A tone of an essay is the way it sounds to a reader in general. In most cases,…

Word Order in Positive Sentences The basic rule of English syntax for positive sentences is that between a subject and an object of a sentence…

How to Recognize a Fragment? A fragment is a sequence of words that begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark: usually…

What are Prepositions Needed for? Prepositions are parts of a sentence needed to connect nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns to other parts of a sentence.…

What is Wrong about Repetition? “Word rep.” is supposedly one of the most frequent comments left by teachers on papers submitted by their students. Though…

Word Order in English Questions The word order in English questions is the same as in positive sentences: subject — verb (predicate) — object. The…

What is a Run-On Sentence? Students who study English as a second language rather often face the problem of long sentence lengths. Sometimes the sentences…

Using Passive Voice Too Often Passive voice is needed when you want to make an emphasis on an object that has undergone certain changes or…

What is Active Voice? Active voice is a way to construct a sentence where the subject performs actions towards the object. The most clear and…

What is a Disruptive Modifier? It is a modifier (a word or phrase that enhances other words) placed in the wrong place. However, it is…

Types of Pronouns Subjective pronouns Pronouns that are the subject of a sentence are called subjective pronouns. They can be used to rename the subject…

What is a Modifier? A modifier is a phrase, word, or clause that alters, limits, adds, or in some other way affects another word present…

What is an Adverb? Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or even other adverbs by indicating when, why, where, or how something happened; in…

Writing vigorously means to write concisely. People rarely pay attention to the way they express their thoughts, both orally and on paper; their speech is…

Why is Clarity Important? Imagine you have a brilliant thought you want to share with others (this is one of the main motives for writing,…

Have you prepared all the materials needed for writing and done all the research? Developed a thesis statement and arranged a list of references? This…

Topic sentences are used to increase the readability and accessibility of a piece of writing. A topic sentence is the first sentence of any paragraph…