The Library of Congress
THE
TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOOD WRITING
1.
Watch your grammar, spelling, and punctuation. A good writer knows the difference between “its” and
“it’s.” A good writer also
knows that there is no such thing as “its’.”
2.
Proofread carefully. Don’t
rely solely on your computer’s spell checker.
3.
Make it interesting. Fine
writing goes beyond merely being correct in grammar and spelling.
The following sentence is correct: Mark McGuire hit the ball, and it
went over the fence. But this sentence is more interesting: Mark McGuire pounded
the ball and sent it flying into the right field bleachers.
4.
If you don’t know something, look it up or ask someone.
Use a dictionary or encyclopedia to check on spelling or other small
details.
5.
Whenever possible, ask a friend to read your paper before you submit
it. It is hard to judge one’s
own writing. Someone else might
spot grammatical errors, unclear sentences, faulty logic, or other problems
that escape your notice.
6.
Follow directions. If your
professor (or, later, your editor, your supervisor, your boss) gives
directions regarding style, length, format, etc., follow them. An excellent paper might receive a low grade if it does
not adhere to the guidelines.
7.
Take pride in your work. If
you are willing to “hand in any old thing,” you won’t be acquiring the
skills and discipline needed for success in your later career.
8.
Make the paper your own. If
you copy or borrow too heavily from other sources, the paper won’t be your
own. Not only will you be
committing plagiarism, but you won’t be gaining experience in research and
writing. Better to get that
experience now rather than trying to catch up after you have graduated.
9.
Start early and finish early. If
a paper is due at the end of the semester, don’t wait two months to start
it. An important part of any
research project–-in science, in criminal investigations, in journalism, and
in writing history papers–is gestation.
Once you have a topic, you can think about your research, your ideas,
and your writing even when you are not “working.”
Brilliant ideas might pop into your head while you are jogging or
cooking. Oftentimes, a student
does extensive research but waits too long to do the writing–which leads to
the submission of a paper that badly needs revisions and proofreading.
Finally, if you wait until hours before the deadline to print out the
paper you can count on the Murphy’s law of student papers to take
effect–your computer will freeze, a virus will eat your files, or your
printer cartridge will run out of ink.