Golden Rules
These "golden rules"
present a few of the most common problems in grammar and style. The problems covered in golden rules 3, 5, 6, and 7 are "major
errors," errors serious enough for a letter-grade penalty at some colleges each time they occur.
Golden rule infractions are indicated on your graded assignments as GR1, GR2,
GR3, GR3ip, etc.
| GR1 | GR2 | GR3 | GR3s | GR3ip | GR3o | GR3/ | GR4 | GR5 | GR6 | GR7 | GR7fc | GR7q | GR8 | GR9 | GR10 |
Golden
rule 1
Avoid contractions in formal writing: use apostrophes
only to indicate possession.
James Joyce's "Araby" is about a boy who has a crush on his friend's sister. This sentence is fine—the apostrophes in "Joyce's" and "friend's" indicate possession. It would be improper in a formal essay to write, "The narrator of 'Araby' doesn't realize that he isn't truly in love with Mangan's sister until his romantic illusions about the bazaar are shattered." "Doesn't" and "isn't" should be expanded to "does not" and "is not."
Golden rule 2
Avoid the second person in formal academic writing—never
use the words "you," "your," or "yours" except in quotations of someone else's
words.
In casual speech it is okay to say, "The first time you jump out of an airplane is bound to scare you, no matter how brave you are." In formal writing, though, the ambiguity of this generalized "you" is unacceptable. Literally, "you" refers to the reader—the reader could be someone who would never consider jumping out of an airplane, so the "you" would not apply to that reader at all. Say instead, "The first time someone jumps out of an airplane is scary, no matter how brave a person is," or "The first time is scary for all skydivers, no matter how brave they are."
Golden rule 3 (a "major error")
Pronouns (including possessives their, her, his,
etc.) must agree in number and gender with their antecedents. In particular,
"they," "their," and "them" must always refer to plural subjects.
In conversation
we might say, "If
someone likes reading Aristotle
for fun, they need
their head examined."
But formal writing requires that "they"
and "their" always
refer to plural antecedents—"someone"
is singular. Write instead, "People
who read Aristotle for fun should have their
heads examined," or,
"The person who
reads Aristotle for fun should have his or her
head examined."
GR3s
("s" short for "sexist language"): In the past it was correct to
say "he," "him," or "his" when referring to a person whose gender was not
specified, as in "Even the grumpiest
reader is sure to smile
when he reads Huck
Finn." Today, though, we recognize that the unspecified reader
might be named Janelle or Melissa, so we write, "Even the grumpiest
reader is sure to smile
when he or she reads
Huck Finn." Or better yet, "Even
grumpy readers are
sure to smile when they read
Huck Finn." The awkwardness
of repeating "he or she," "his or her," and "him or her" can often
be avoided by making the antecedent plural and keeping the "they,"
"their," "them," etc. plural.
GR3o ("o" short for "one"): Be wary of avoiding the gender issue
with the neutral pronoun "one," as in "When one
watches Game of Thrones,
one is always entertained."
Although grammatically correct—and
used sparingly, "one" may be preferable to "he or she"—frequent
use of "one" gives writing an undesirable stilted tone.
GR3/: Avoid using slashes between third-person
pronouns to indicate either/or in formal writing: instead of "he/she" or "s/he,"
"his/her," and "him/her," write "he or she," "his or her," and "him or her."
GR3ip ("ip" short for "indefinite pronoun"):
Many collective or indefinite pronouns that might seem
plural are grammatically singular and should not be used with "they," "their,"
and "them." "Everyone"
and "everybody,"
for instance, refer collectively to more than one person, but "everyone" and
"everybody" are grammatically singular and thus cannot be paired with "they,"
"their," or "them."
Collective or indefinite
pronouns frequently problematic with "they," "their," and "them":
| anyone | everyone | nobody |
| anybody | everybody | someone |
| each | neither | somebody |
| either | no one |
Golden rule 4
Avoid using "this," "that," "these," and "those"
as freestanding pronouns. Use these words only as demonstrative adjectives:
say "this [blank]," "that [blank]," etc.
The problem with using "this," "that," "these," and "those" as freestanding pronouns is that sometimes the antecedents of these pronouns are not perfectly clear, making the reader pause to figure out what "this," "that," "these" or "those" means.
Example: As Bob Uecker once pointed out, late in a close World Series game the fans are more nervous than the players on the field. This includes the players in the dugout. It is unclear what the "this" refers to: it could mean that the players in the dugout are as nervous as the fans, or it could mean that the players in the dugout are as calm as their teammates on the field.
We can hardly write without using the words "this," "that," "these," and "those." But we express ourselves most clearly by using these words as adjectives rather than freestanding pronouns, as in Late in a close World Series game, the fans are more nervous than the players on the field. This designation of "fans" includes the players in the dugout, who have no more control over events on the field when they are not in the game than the peanut vendors do. Instead of saying just "this is . . .," say specifically what "this" refers to—"this what?"
Note: "This," "that," "these," and "those" are most problematic when used as pronouns at the beginning of a sentence. Be especially vigilant to avoid beginning sentences with these words used as freestanding pronouns.
Golden rule 5 (a "major error")
Avoid sentence fragments. Although sentence
fragments are sometimes effective in journalism, fiction, and other types
of writing, formal academic writing requires that all sentences have both
subject and predicate and operate grammatically as independent clauses.
Sentence fragments are often missing either subject or predicate (verb, primarily).
Example: Pro football teams have only one mission. To win at all costs. There is no subject in the phrase "to win at all costs." The fragment should be a) given a subject, as in "Their mission is to win at all costs," or b) combined with the preceding sentence, as in "Pro teams have only one mission—to win at all costs."Many sentence fragments contain subject and predicate but are not complete sentences because they are dependent upon something in another sentence to make grammatical sense or be grammatically complete—they are subordinate clauses, or dependent clauses.Example: Carol likes only certain types of men. Guys with goatees, mainly. There is no predicate, or verb, in "guys with goatees, mainly." This fragment should be a) given subject and verb, as in "She likes guys with goatees, mainly," or b) combined with the preceding sentence, as in "Carol likes only certain types of men, mainly guys with goatees."
Example: The Lady Vols might win their ninth national championship in basketball this year. Because they always have great talent. "Because they always have great talent" does not work as a freestanding sentence—the "because" depends upon the preceding sentence to make grammatical sense. Obviously, the fragment could be attached to the preceding sentence: "The Lady Vols might win their ninth national championship in basketball this year because they always have great talent." The dependent clause could also be made independent by dropping the subordinating conjunction "because," as in "The Lady Vols might win their ninth national championship in basketball this year. They always have great talent."
Golden rule 6 (a "major error")
Avoid fused sentences (one form of "run-on" sentence).
A sentence is fused when two independent clauses are joined together
with no punctuation.
Example: The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching they were a dominant team every year.Definition: an independent clause contains both subject and predicate (verb) and could stand alone as a complete sentence. In the example, "The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching" and "they were a dominant team every year" are both independent clauses and could stand separately as complete sentences.
For ways to correct
fused sentences, see the next golden rule. Note
that if you simply place a comma between two independent clauses you create
a comma splice, another "major error."
Golden rule 7 (a "major error")
Avoid comma splices (another form of "run-on"
sentence). Comma splices incorrectly link or splice together
two independent clauses with only a comma between them.
Example: The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching, they were a dominant team every year.Four methods of fixing comma splices and fused sentences:
1) Splitting the two independent clauses into separate sentences: The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching. They were a dominant team year in and year out.
2) Linking the independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction: The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching, and they were always a dominant team. Or: The Atlanta Braves used to have strong pitching, so they were a dominant team.
Note: The seven coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember by the acronym FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So.