Saint Viator High School

No: He spun around only to see
his best friend holding the keys.
Yes: He spun around and saw his
best friend holding the keys.
17. Don’t use and when you mean but.
No: I went shopping and found
nothing.
Yes: I went shopping but found
nothing.
18. When talking about a person, use
who instead of that.
No: A girl that fibs grows a long
nose.
Yes: A girl who fibs grows a long
nose.
19. In most cases, use that instead of
which.
No: The dog which I want is gray
and white.
Yes: The dog that I want is gray
and white.
20. Write out numbers under 100.
No: I can give you 99 reasons
why you should clean your room.
Yes: I can give you ninety-nine
reasons why you should clean
your room.
21. Never say, “the reason is because…”
No: The reason women live
longer than men is because…
Yes: Women live longer than
men because…
22. Never use an exclamation point.
No: The Great Gatsby is the best
book ever written!
Yes: The Great Gatsby is the
best book ever written.
23. Never begin an essay by referring to
your own writing.
No: In this essay I will show that
snowmen once ruled the earth.
Yes: Snowmen once ruled the
earth.
24. Use the present tense when writing
about literature.
No: Hamlet did not make a
decision.
Yes: Hamlet does not make a
decision.
25. Don’t begin a sentence with the
words “There are” or “There is.”
No: There are many positive
things that happened to him.
Yes: Many positive things
happened to him.
26. Don’t use contractions in formal
writing.
No: Don’t use contractions in
formal writing.
Yes: Do not use contractions in
formal writing.
27. Don’t define something with the
expression “is when.”
No: A simile is when you use the
word “like” to compare two
things.
Yes: A simile uses the word “like”
to compare two things.
Usage and Mechanics
The Writer:
1. avoids sentence fragments
2. avoids fused sentences and
comma splices
3. has subjects agree with verbs
4. has pronouns agree with their
antecedents
5. maintains the same tense,
preferably the present tense.
6. avoids misspelled words
7. uses apostrophes correctly
8. understands homophones
9. correctly uses commas
10 uses numbers correctly
11. is consistent in person
12. maintains parallel
structure
13. understands complex
punctuation marks: dashes,
hyphens, colons and semicolons,
double and single
quotation marks
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