Writing in a second language is not an easy task, especially when an academic audience will evaluate the document. A good paper does not happen the first time anyone sits down to compose. Written work only becomes a valuable product after the writer plans, organizes, drafts, revises and edits it. Therefore, the process of writing truly demands time, practice, and tools.
Tools that guide or instruct writers in expressing their ideas overcome some of the hurdles in writing. One such tool is a writing reference or, better yet, tips on how to “put it all together” creating a fine-tuned document/paper.
Take advantage of these writing tips, by simply printing out the tips and placing them by the computer for easy reference. Everyone, even native speakers can benefit from this type of tool.
Note: All writing information is based on general standards for academic papers. We suggest checking with your professors or department for any specific writing policies Thanks!
Tip 1: Writing Process – Revising and Editing
Tip 2: Documentation of Sources
Tip 3: Topic Sentences
Tip 4: Linking Paragraphs
Tip 5: Length of Sentence and Paragraph
Tip 6: Basic Parallelism
Tip 7: Sentence Variety
Tip 8: Tense consistency
Tip 9: Variety in syntax
Tip 10: Connectors
Tip 11: Pronoun Antecedents
Tip 12: Verb Suppression
Tip 13: Directness
Tip 14: Redundancy
Tip 15: Using Gerunds, Not Nouns
Tip 16: The Pronoun One
Tip 17: Gender Bias Pronouns
Tip 18: Split Infinitives
Tip 19: Reduced Adjective Clauses
Tip 20: Unneccesary Repetition
Tip 21: Anticipatory It
Tip 22: Quotation Marks
Tip 23: Ellipsis Mark
Tip 24: Adverb Suppression
Tip 25: The Dash
Tip 26: Apostrophe
Tip 27: Capitalization
Tip 28: Prepositions
Tip 29: Italics
Tip 30: Abbreviations
Tip 31: Brackets
Tip 32: Rules About Numbers
Tip 33: Writing Addresses for Academia and Government