Fix-Its

Use these for every formal essay to eliminate common grammatical and stylistic errors.
I. Bad Words Do not switch back and forth between verb tenses.
1. you/yourself/yours etc.
Do not use "you" in writing unless your audience is stated (ex: a letter 10. Avoid passive voice in your writing.
has a stated audience-- "Dear Grandma"). The "do-er" of the action should be the subject of the sentence.
The understood "you" (ex: Imagine a place...") is also not acceptable. NO: The ball was hit by Jake. YES: Jake hit the ball.

2. I think/I feel/I believe/to me/in my opinion 11. Eliminate the use of progressive tense.
Since you are the author, the reader knows that these are your Progressive tense is unnecessarily wordy and quite easy to fix.
thoughts, feelings, beliefs, etc. Also, these phrases weaken your NO: The writer is stating that progressive tense is not preferable.
position by making you seem apologetic. YES: The writer states that progressive tense is not preferable.
NO: I think that we should build a new park. YES: We should
build a new park. 12. When you write about literature (fiction), use literary
present.
3. contractions (don't, it's, etc.)
Acceptable in informal writing/speech, contractions do not belong in Since every time you open the book to page 14, Shelia is conceited,
formal writing. use literary present.
NO: Jem tried to protect Scout (261). YES: Jem tries to protect
4. thing/something/anything/nothing etc. Scout (261).
Each "thing" has a specific name. Make your writing more exact by
using specific words. Why? Because every time we open the book to page 261, Jem is there,
NO: I like everything on the menu. trying to protect her. Art, literature, and film, exist in the "eternal
YES: I like every dish on the menu. -or- I like the entire menu. present."
5. there is/are/was/were etc. and here is/are/was/were etc.
The subject of a sentence should come before its verb. These represent
lazy writing. III. Nouns and Pronouns
NO: There are several examples of this theme in the novel. 13. Pronouns must replace nouns.
YES: The novel has several examples of this theme. Every pronoun in your writing must have a clear antecedent.
6. a lot/lots NO: She told him about his birthday party. She told him that she
A lot is a piece of land or an amount of product for purchase. It carries loved him!
no specificity in describing an amount. Use more specific language. YES: Sally told Mark about Tom's birthday party. Alice told Tom that
NO: Jerry has lots of dogs. she loved Mark!
YES: Jerry has 14 dogs. -or- Jerry has enough dogs to open a pet 14. Do not use the word "it" unless "it" has a clear antecedent.
store. Avoid this common error! Instead, say what "it" is.
7. uses/is used/used etc. NO: It is clear that Sheila is pretty. It is fun to run.
This verb is wildly overused! Choose more vivid, specific language. YES: That Sheila is pretty is clear. Running is
NO: Austen uses diction to create the mood in the story. fun.
YES: Austen's diction creates mood in the story.
IV. AND...
8. really/very/nice/neat/great/greatly/greater etc. 15. Do not abbreviate within the text of your essay.
These words are too vague to be meaningful. Choose more specific NO: We watched t.v. today. YES: We watched
adverbs and adjectives. television today.
NO: Meredith is really mean. Chris is greatly talented.
YES: Meredith is horribly mean. Chris is magnificently talented. 16. Avoid dangling modifiers.
Place modifiers next to the words they modify.
II. The Verbs NO: The girl waved from the doorway smiling at me.
9. Use a consistent verb tense throughout your writing. YES: The girl, smiling at me, waved from the doorway. *can
 doorways smile? 19. Different is "from," not "than."
NO: Greg is different than Josh. YES: Greg is different from
17. Write out numbers, except: Josh. (different from, similar to)
- with abbreviations or symbols (3%, 2:45 p.m.) - in page
references (page 7) V. FINALLY...
- in addresses (209 Winding Way) - in decimal places (3.14) 20. Do not join two complete sentences with only a comma.
- in dates (7 April 2005) That is a comma fault, which is a form of run-on sentence. Instead,
use a comma + conjunction, a semicolon, or a semicolon +
18. The reason is "that," not "because." conjunctive adverb + comma.
A reason is a noun, not an adverb, so you need a noun clause, not an NO: I like candy, cake is better.
adverb clause. YES: I like candy; cake is better. -or- I like candy, but cake is
NO: The reason I went was because I had to. better.
YES: The reason I went was that I had to. -or- I like candy; however, cake is better.