Writing Tips

Writing Tips

•	The simplest answer is likely the best.
•	Commas are the most frequent punctuation used – never use a semicolon over a comma.
o	In general, semicolons separate otherwise complete sentences – commas separate phrases or clauses.
•	Pay attention to verb/adjective “possession”, specifically plural/singular
•	Parallel Structure
o	John and his dog walked:
	To the store
	To the beach
	(and) to the park.
•	Colon: Dictionary
o	Colons define what came before them
•	Be able to spot “fluff” text – contributes context but not grammatical necessity – learn how to remove it to simplify a sentence
•	Appositives – bits of detail separated by either commas or dashes, and can be removed
•	Dashes are only used in two scenarios- one, appositives with dashes and two, if there is no comma
•	Semicolons: rare, used to split ideas that could have been separate sentences (grammatically) but are put together for context/meaning reasons. Only use if both “halves” are complete sentences.
•	For adding/removing/combining sentences, keep in mind the through-line: puzzle pieces that have to match up from each sentence.

Bill Gates stuffed his face with a chili dog.
Bill Gates - CEO of Microsoft and a juggernaut in the technology industry - stuffed his face with a chili dog.

He gave me three codes to call out: delta, tango, hotel; whiskey, alpha, beta; and Charlie, alpha, whiskey.
John said, “Henry told me ‘Go to the beach.’”

. , : ; -

“Subject clause”- Me and my friends, “The horses racing”

Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft who donated 50 billion dollars to charity across the world, stuffed his face with a chili dog.
Bill Gates stuffed his face with a chili dog.
Starting this weekend, Star Wars 11: Revenge of the Cash Cow is in theaters.
John’s friend Dan – the same Dan who passed out eating 12 pizzas – said he was coming to the party.
I read the grocery list: bread, eggs, and cheese.
The troublesome trio was making a racket again: Mike, Sammy, and Sarah.
John and Kim called the mayor, the senator, and questioned the representative.

The Orville brothers were the first humans to fly, in 1920. Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space, in 1953. Lance Armstrong was the first human on the moon, in 1956. The ______ was/were the first human(s) to _____, in _____.