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Notes on Writing Tips - Fundamentals of Public Speaking | COMM 110, Study notes of Communication and Presentation Skills

Writing Tips Material Type: Notes; Professor: Mattix; Class: Fundamentals of Public Speaking; Subject: Communication; University: North Dakota State University-Main Campus; Term: Spring 2011;

Typology: Study notes

2010/2011

Uploaded on 05/13/2011

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Writing Tips 1. Avoid “There is” and “There are” as the beginning of sentences. Do not say: “There are several new and interesting things about communication that [theory] explains.” Instead, say: “[Theory] explains several new and interesting things about communication.” 2. Avoid the ambiguous it, that, and they. “It was a wonderfully bright shade of orange, and | have grown rather attached to it over the week, but it was beginning to look a little bare so | decided that it would be best for me to throw it away.” WHAT THE HECK IS IT? “What they mean by that is that when too much rain falls, it will flood. They talk about plans to prevent the flood. That means the City of Fargo needs more volunteers for sandbagging. That should be easy to get since there are three colleges/universities in Fargo-Moorhead.” WHAT?!?! What is that? Who is they? 3. This (or that} should be followed by the word to which this or that refers. This was not as useful as the computer information, but it was still a shocker for me to learn. WHAT IS. THIS? 4, TENSE matters. Is it PAST or PRESENT? Pick one and stick with it. Do they “state” or have they “stated”? Do they believe or did they believe? Is it SINGULAR or PLURAL? Both should not be in the same sentence. For example, “An individual’s favorite food tells you a lot about them.” NO. You should write, “An individual's favorite food tells you a lot about him or her.” YES! 5. Vague Language Things got better the next day because | started to make more friends and such. What THINGS? What does “AND SUCH” Mean? Explain 6. Avoid contractions in formal writing. DO NOT do it. (notice | did not say don’t ©) “It’s all so overwhelming.” Vs. “It is all so overwhelming. “ WHICH SOUNDS SMARTER? 7. Commas and conjunctions between independent clauses. This would be called a comma splice without one. “| had expected beforehand to have a tough time with the bathrooms, and it has unquestionably turned out to be the hardest thing to deal with so far.” 8. Good opening and closing paragraphs are key. Start strong and end strong! 9. KNOW APA! Do not lose easy points. If you are a COMM maior, it will likely be a good investment to purchase an APA Manual as a reference. APA Manual’s are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased online or in the bookstore in new or used condition. Think about it. 10. Paragraphs Paragraphs should never be an entire page long. Start a new paragraph when ideas change. ALSO, unless you are writing in AP style, paragraphs should never be fewer than three sentences. FINALLY, the beginning line of a paragraph should be indented. 11. THERE is a difference between “there” and “their”. “Is it their dog or is their dog over their?” “No THEIR dog is over THERE!” SEE? {T’S FRUSTRATING.