Grammar and Writing Guidance
-Do not respond with rhetorical comments or rhetorical questions since these improperly assume your reader knows what you mean and agrees with whatever viewpoint you are trying to express.
-Do not make colloquial comments since they may not be clearly understood by your reader.
-Never use second-person pronouns such as “you,” “we,” “us,” “your,” and “our.”
-Specify to whom you are referring with a specific noun and do not state such generic terms as “person,” “people,” “one.”
-Do not qualify your viewpoint with such comments as “I think,” “I believe,” “I feel,” or “in my opinion” since it is known you are sharing what you think, believe, or feel.  Simply state your viewpoint without qualification.
-Spell each word correctly.
-Spell out an acronym when it is first used then place the acronym’s abbreviation in parentheses after the fully-spelled-out words.  Do not use an acronym for a set of words if you only use that set of words once in your writing.
-Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation, including an acronym, or with cardinal numbers.
-Capitalize all proper nouns.
-Spell out whole words ten or less and use cardinal numbers for all other numerals.  Spell out any number used at the beginning of a sentence.
-Never use exclamation marks in academic writing since this is the equivalent of yelling when speaking.
-Do not use contractions.  Spell out all words.
-Provide two spaces after a period or other concluding punctuation mark.
-Do not use contractions or abbreviations.  Spell out all words.
-A period or comma goes inside of a quotation just to the left of the second quotation mark.
-Spell out the first and last name of a person when first referenced them.  Refer to them only by their last name after that.
-Spell out “United States” when referring to the United States of America as a nation.
-Use the abbreviation “U.S.” when referring to an adjective describing a noun as being affiliated with the United States of America.
-Do not end a sentence or other clause with a preposition.
-Do not quote others’ words.  Paraphrase the meaning of their words so you are stating shared information in your own words.  Paraphrasing others’ ideas requires proper citation and reference.
-Shorten statements by converting prepositional phrases to an adjective and a noun.  For example, convert “law of the state” to “state law.”
-If you reference paragraphs or concepts by number order, you must do so with all paragraphs and concepts.
-Do not use the phrases “lots of” or “a lot.”  Instead use words such as “many” or “numerous.”
-Use a dash between those words immediately before a noun that are modifying the noun.  This creates a compound adjective such as “19-year-old boy” or “American-made car.”
-Do not use italicized words, words in all-capital letters, or quoted words to show emphasis.
-When listing items only use definitive terms or words.  As such, do not conclude a list of items with such open-ended terms or punctuation as “etc.,” “…,” “etcetera,” or “so on.”
-The term “except” does not mean “but.”
-“Who” is a subject.  “Whom” is an object.
-Use proper verb tense.
-Do not use indefinite pronouns that are impossible to verify such as “everybody,” “everyone,” “everywhere,” “everything,” “anybody,” or “anyone.”
-“Effect” is a noun.  “Affect” is a verb.
-Italicize the name of a book, newspaper, magazine, or court case.
-Place in quotation marks the name of a book chapter, newspaper article, or magazine article.
-Use “they” for “he” or “she.”  Use “their” for “his” or “hers.”
-If you state “not only” before the first clause of a compound sentence, then state “but also” before the second clause in that sentence.
-When writing a dollar figure use a dollar sign and the number.  For example, “$25 million” or “$12.50.”
-Do not qualify your thoughts and ideas with such statements as “in order” or “so that.”
-Refer to a group or to an inanimate object with the pronoun “it” and not the pronoun “they.”
-A “legislator” is a member of a state-lawmaking body.  A “legislature” is a state-lawmaking body.
-Do not use a sentence fragment, which is a set of words that does not form a complete sentence either because it does not express a complete thought or because it lacks a subject or a verb.
-Do not use a run-on sentence.  A run-on sentence is where two or more complete sentences are joined without an appropriate conjunction or punctuation mark.

Scholastic Honesty
-All students are required to maintain the highest standards of scholastic honesty when preparing course writing assignments.  Two examples of scholastic dishonesty are plagiarism and collusion.  Plagiarism includes the taking of passages from the writing of others without giving proper credit to the sources.  Collusion is using another’s work as one’s own, including purchasing essays written by another person and working with another person to prepare academic work.
-Failure to cite references in your writing assignment is plagiarism.  Any direct quote or paraphrase of another’s writing or research must be followed by an in-text citation and reference in the Works Cited page to avoid plagiarism.  Use the MLA in-text-citation format in the body of your writing assignment to identify when you are using the writing and works of others.  Also, use the MLA Works Cited page to identify which sources you have cited in the body of your writing assignment.
-As noted on the CTC Academic Policies Web Page, students guilty of scholastic dishonesty will be administratively dropped from the course with a grade of “F” and subject to disciplinary action, which may include suspension and expulsion from Central Texas College.