The “NO” List
(“NO” more doing these things (making these errors) in your writing)
NO abbreviation in formal writing.
NO more using contractions in formal writing.
NO beginning sentences with “So,” “Well,” and “I mean.”
NO widows should appear on professional, neat papers.
NO more using the word “like” in your writing or speaking.
NO using extra spaces between paragraphs in your essays.
NO more using the words “had,” “has,” and “have” before verbs.
NO more using the words “could,” “should,” and “would” before verbs. Be definitive in your ideas.
NO using the words “mom” and “dad.” Use “mother” and “father.”
NO using two words if you can say it in one (example: “right now” can be “present”).
NO using the word “that” unless it is absolutely necessary in order to complete the sentence.
NO using words without meaning: “bad,” “best,” “better,” “good”, “great,” “stuff,” “things,” “worse,” and “worst.”
NO using a lot of short, weak verbs (those of four letters or less). Be more specific and descriptive.
NO referring to a piece of writing as the physical object by which it is bound. I.E., It’s not a “book,” or “novel.” It’s a narrative or a memoir or biography, etc.
NO using repetitive general statements about an idea. Use only ONE, then provide your reader with specific explanations.
NO repeatedly using the same words close together, whether in the same sentence or in sentences close to one another.
NO using words written in all caps in formal writing to express the intensity of an idea. This, again, is you not using language to express meaning.
NO beginning new paragraphs with incomplete sentences/short phrases. These are headers. This is an essay, not a textbook. Paragraphs, typically, begin with topic sentences.
NO ending sentences or independent clauses (a group of words that contains a subject and verb, expresses a complete thought, and can stand on its own) with prepositions (words that relates a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence).
NO using the words “take,” “make,” “have,” and “get” in your writing. Weak writers commonly do not use them in terms of their accurate meaning, and, therefore, use them incorrectly, actually MEANING something entirely different (in the literal sense).
NO using two prepositions consecutively.
NO writing “the author” or “the writer” is you know his/her name. If you know “the author” or “the writer’s” name, use it.
NO writing the nonexistent word “alot.” EVER!
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