1. Agreement in number is important in subject-verb-object construction.
   Wrong: This book by Arthur Link and Richard McCormick do not even mention it.
   Right: This book by Arthur Link and Richard McCormick does not even mention it.

2. Make sure your antecedents agree in number with referents.
   For example, "they" should refer to a plural noun.
   Wrong: This person says that life is good. They are optimists.
   Right: This person says that life is good. She is an optimist.

3. The objective case (e.g., him, her, whom) requires a preposition (e.g., of, by, to).
   Wrong: Me and her were given good grades.
   Right: The professor gave good grades to me and her.

4. When describing events in time, a "from" requires a "to" or "until."
   Wrong: These events took place from 1821-1851.
   Right: These events took place from 1821 until 1851.

5. Cut back on use of passive voice. Remember--passive voice is NOT the same as past tense.
   Passive voice: An announcement was made by President Carter.
   Active voice:: President Carter made an announcement.
   Present tense:: The president makes an announcement
   Or better yet: President Carter said that life is unfair.

6. Use quotation marks when using three or more words from an author's work.
   ALWAYS attribute the quotation by identifying the author in your text.
   In addition, use a footnote to fully identify the source of the quotation. Please note: a footnote requires a page citation.

7. Always put the footnote number at the end of a sentence.
   Do not use parenthetic citations.

8. A quote within a quote requires a set of single quotation marks.
   Example: According to Calvert, "No one gets a 'free ride' on a $6 billion train."

9. How should one use quotation marks with other punctuation marks?
   Generally, locate them INSIDE the final quotation mark: "He said that things would be interesting" but not "weird."

10. Indent and single-space quotations more than two lines long, which are called block quotations.
    But DO NOT USE enclose block quotations in quotation marks.
    Don't forget to use a footnote with an indented quotation.

11. DO NOT use an ellipsis (...) except in the middle of a quotation.

12. Underline Titles of Books and the names of newspapers or journals. Use quotation marks to indicate "Titles of Articles."
    Barbara J. Howe, "Perspectives on an Anniversary," Public Historian 21 (Summer 1999): 9-14.

13. Foreign words and phrases belong in italics.
    He was persona non grata in Moscow.

14. Number your pages, if you have more than one.

15. A possessive is not a plural. Usually, a word ending with an apostrophe (') and an "s" is a possessive, not a plural.
    Examples: birds (plural: more than one bird)
    bird's (possessive: belonging to one bird)
    birds' (plural possessive: belonging to more than one bird)

16. Do not confuse contractions with possessives.
    Example: "IT'S" is a contraction which means "it is," while "ITS" is the possessive of "IT" (a reference to something belonging to "it.")

17. When introducing a person for the first time, use the full name and office, if applicable (e.g., Mayor Kip Allen).
    For subsequent references, use a last name or other means of identification, such as the person's office (e.g., the mayor).

18. When using an acronym, write out the full name once, followed by the acronym in capital letters in parentheses. Afterwards, use the acronym.
    Example: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

19. Avoid contractions and cut down on negatives by choosing verbs that do not require NOT to convey your thought.
    For example, instead of "he didn't win," use "he lost."

20. Instead of using "this" or "that" as a pronoun, use it as an adjective to describe a noun.
    Wrong: This meant a reduction in income.
    Right: This wage cut meant a reduction in income.

21. Eschew colloquial phrases.
    Wrong: The soldiers were bummed by their defeat.
    Right: Disappointment accompanied defeat in battle.

22. Buy a thesaurus. Learn new words. Avoid using the same words in consecutive sentences.

23. Choose the proper verb to describe an action. Generally, "do" is NOT the best verb.
    For example, instead of "he did pot," write "he smoked marijuana."

24. Avoid extraneous words/phrases: "a man by the name of," create, "due to the fact that," and "time period."

25. If the printout of your paper is is light, refill the ink cartridge and reprint the page.

26. If your printout is misaligned, correct the problem and reprint the page.

27. Cut back on compound sentences which rely on "and." Do not start a sentence with "And."

28. Do not use a semicolon (;) to separate sentences. Use a period.

29. Avoid using second person (you). Use first person (I, we) only if you were personally involved.

30. Under our Constitution, the president PROPOSES bills to Congress, which PASSES laws.

31. If your instructor points out a problem, please address it.
    If the same problem appears later in your paper, please address it again, even if your instructor does not call attention to it.

32. When writing a summary or a review, put references to the author's work in present tense, and describe events of the past in past tense.

33. Avoid roadmapping.
    Wrong: In this paper I will discuss three issues. First, I will cover poverty, then I will discuss war, and last, I will cover disease.
    Right: Poverty, war, and disease are constants in human history. In the medieval period, war caused disease and poverty.

34. Historians do not "prove" anything.
    They assert and then cite information to back up the assertion.
    Wrong: Cantrell's book proves that kings abused their power.
    Right: Cantrell argues that Spanish kings abused their power in the 18th century.

last updated--9jan07---ib