112 WRITING Suggestions for Improvement Response to Literature

What not to do! No contractions (unless quoting from a source). Watch your common spelling/grammatical errors: Than/then A lot not alot Friends vs. friend’s, books vs. book’s No to the following: this paper will discuss, in conclusion, etc.

What TO do… Sentence Fluency – you need variety in beginnings, structure, length. You need to use proper transitions to create flow. See handout for ideas. Do not be scared of short sentences. It is the variety of long and short that creates interest for the reader. Create a proper title: Your title must be specific to your topic so that it is obvious to your reader exactly what your writing will cover/argue/explain/etc Introduce quotes (and use quotes!): When George says, “…” we see how … Remember your in-text citations.

What TO do cont… Really think about your word choice. Is this really the word you are looking for? Is there a better word? (Be careful though with the thesaurus.) For example: I 100% agree with George shooting Lennie. Due to the setting and circumstances, George was absolutely / unequivocally / most definitely / completely making the right decision when he chose to murder his only friend Lennie.