1. INDENT: I want five space indents to signify the start of a paragraph, and not a two space indent. You only have to press tab (indent). Voila! Five spaces automatically. No manual spacing (pressing the space bar and counting) is necessary.
2. PUNCTUATION: Commas and semi-colon's require one space. Colons and and periods require two spaces. All of the time. I don't care where you are, or what region of the country you "come from," the rule is the same across the United States. Get used to it, and don't tell me what you did in college. You're not in college any longer.
3. COLONS AND COMMAS, PART I: Independent clauses require a semi-colon to separate the two clauses because each clause can stand alone as a sentence. Sometimes you will write sentences that can stand alone as a sentence, but for another reason, you decide to include a stand alone clause to accompany a second stand alone clause. That is okay. Please, separate the two clauses with a semi-colon (;).
4. COLONS AND COMMAS; PART II: Dependent clauses require a comma to separate the clauses because the clause cannot stand alone as a sentence. There will be circumstances where you must separate the clauses by a comma because the clause cannot stand alone, as a sentence, by itself. These clauses are called dependent clauses, and a comma separates one dependent clause from another dependent clause.
5. CITATIONS ARE SINGLE SENTENCES: A citation standing alone is considered a single sentence. You must place a period after the citation. No excuse. If you don't believe me, believe the bluebook. If you fail to place a period in the citation sentence, and if you blow the citations, that could hurt your overall score/grade on the paper. You may be graded down an entire letter grade. Also, an employer needs someone who can write citations and check citations. Be good, or at least decent, at both.
6. DO NOT INCLUDE FOUR LINES BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS: No double-double spacing on a page. If you are writing a paper and the requirement is that the paper be double spaced, that is okay. That means that there should only be two spaces between each double spaced line. You are not to add two additional spaces between paragraphs (eg., 4 spaces). Only one set of two spaces between paragraphs.
7. WIDOWS; DON'T LEAVE A LINE ALONE AT THE END OF A PAGE: When you do that, it is called a widow (you are leaving a line alone by itself, while the rest of the paragraph is somewhere else - - on the next page). If you begin a paragraph at the end of a page, then you must include at least two lines of that paragraph at the bottom of the page. It is improper to allow the very first line of a paragraph to remain on the bottom of the page by itself. Move the last line to the next page and introduce the entire paragraph properly.
8. STAY ACTIVE: Active sentences rule the day. Passive sentences have their place, but if you really want to tell a story (if YOU want to tell a real story), then you must be certain that the subject is driving the sentence. That is it's place on this earth.
9. SUBJECTS & VERBS ARE RELATIVES: Speaking of driving the sentence - subjects and verbs love each other. They will also love you if you decide to include both in your sentences. Subjects and verbs are very particular. They like to be very close together. Subjects and verbs don't believe in being too far apart from one another; otherwise, how will you know that they are related to one another. It is hard for the subject to have a relationship with a verb or the verb to have a relationship with the subject when one or the other is far away from the other.
10. PARAGRAPH - PARAGRAPH - PARAGRAPH. White space is necessary on the page. Remember, our eyes have been trained to read words on the paper in a certain manner. You, as a writer, must give the reader's eyes a break. You offer the eyes a break when you end one paragraph and begin the next paragraph. White space (space between paragraphs) allows the reader to digest what was said in paragraph X, before moving to paragraph Y. You need the reader to allow the information in the previous paragraph to start coursing through the "brain's digestive tract," then provide the brain with another paragraph of information. One paragraph at a time.
11. VARY THE LENGTH OF SENTENCES: Sentences can be long, short or of medium length. Do not be afraid to vary the sentence length as often as possible. Remember, you are trying to keep the reader's attention. Mix it up. You cannot keep a person's attention when you write sentences that are so long that the reader cannot follow your direction. Keep the reader on her toes. Yell a single word out in a sentence.
7. WIDOWS; DON'T LEAVE A LINE ALONE AT THE END OF A PAGE: When you do that, it is called a widow (you are leaving a line alone by itself, while the rest of the paragraph is somewhere else - - on the next page). If you begin a paragraph at the end of a page, then you must include at least two lines of that paragraph at the bottom of the page. It is improper to allow the very first line of a paragraph to remain on the bottom of the page by itself. Move the last line to the next page and introduce the entire paragraph properly.
8. STAY ACTIVE: Active sentences rule the day. Passive sentences have their place, but if you really want to tell a story (if YOU want to tell a real story), then you must be certain that the subject is driving the sentence. That is it's place on this earth.
9. SUBJECTS & VERBS ARE RELATIVES: Speaking of driving the sentence - subjects and verbs love each other. They will also love you if you decide to include both in your sentences. Subjects and verbs are very particular. They like to be very close together. Subjects and verbs don't believe in being too far apart from one another; otherwise, how will you know that they are related to one another. It is hard for the subject to have a relationship with a verb or the verb to have a relationship with the subject when one or the other is far away from the other.
10. PARAGRAPH - PARAGRAPH - PARAGRAPH. White space is necessary on the page. Remember, our eyes have been trained to read words on the paper in a certain manner. You, as a writer, must give the reader's eyes a break. You offer the eyes a break when you end one paragraph and begin the next paragraph. White space (space between paragraphs) allows the reader to digest what was said in paragraph X, before moving to paragraph Y. You need the reader to allow the information in the previous paragraph to start coursing through the "brain's digestive tract," then provide the brain with another paragraph of information. One paragraph at a time.
11. VARY THE LENGTH OF SENTENCES: Sentences can be long, short or of medium length. Do not be afraid to vary the sentence length as often as possible. Remember, you are trying to keep the reader's attention. Mix it up. You cannot keep a person's attention when you write sentences that are so long that the reader cannot follow your direction. Keep the reader on her toes. Yell a single word out in a sentence.
Like, now.
"Stop!"
"Go."
"Move!"
Then tell the reader where she should go.
"Stop. Turn around and return home. Immediately. If you do not return home right now, there will be a full scale attack on the number of people that come here to buy wine and eat at home."
Yes, you can still be demanding and persuasive at the same time.
12. NO SENTENCE SHOULD BE LONGER THAN THREE LINES IN LENGTH. If one sentence is more than three lines on a page, then the sentence is just too long for your reader to hold on to AND fully comprehend the very first time she reads it. You want the reader to get the gist of what you say the first time, and not the second time he reads it. Why? Well, every reader won't try to read the sentence again. That is why you want him to get it right the first time. Now, if the sentence is more than three lines, then it does not mean that the reader cannot fully comprehend the sentence. You do run the very real risk that the reader may have to return to the sentence and read it again for clarity. To have to read something again, in the sentence writing world, is like dipping one's hand in acid. You know it will burn and it will burn badly. Clarity is something the reader purchases from you with his first read of the sentence. You want the reader to purchase your lines, to buy your paragraphs, to take ownership of your work. It is a testament to your ability to convey information as the author, when the person reading your work only has to read a sentence you wrote one time, and one time only.
12. NO SENTENCE SHOULD BE LONGER THAN THREE LINES IN LENGTH. If one sentence is more than three lines on a page, then the sentence is just too long for your reader to hold on to AND fully comprehend the very first time she reads it. You want the reader to get the gist of what you say the first time, and not the second time he reads it. Why? Well, every reader won't try to read the sentence again. That is why you want him to get it right the first time. Now, if the sentence is more than three lines, then it does not mean that the reader cannot fully comprehend the sentence. You do run the very real risk that the reader may have to return to the sentence and read it again for clarity. To have to read something again, in the sentence writing world, is like dipping one's hand in acid. You know it will burn and it will burn badly. Clarity is something the reader purchases from you with his first read of the sentence. You want the reader to purchase your lines, to buy your paragraphs, to take ownership of your work. It is a testament to your ability to convey information as the author, when the person reading your work only has to read a sentence you wrote one time, and one time only.
Let's come back tomorrow for a post with another twelve (12) tips.
Prof. Smith
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