House of Style

Text Box: House of Style

Due to the fact of/that The fact that On account of Despite the fact that	these are examples of unnecessary wordiness alternatives: since, because, due to although, even though
Reason why	just “reason” reason why = redundant *(no reason where* or how)**
Everyone-their	faulty pronoun agreement everyone = singular indefinite pronoun their = plural possessive pronoun use her/his or change your subject to a plural word
Things, stuff, a lot	informal words overused to the point of meaninglessness colorless, not descriptive say what you mean be descriptive diction see the diction handout for alternatives
Kids	be specific, be descriptive teens, children, adolescents, young adults, tweens
UR or &	no text-messaging abbreviations/shorthand no abbreviations
TV, CD, CDC	do not use abbreviations in Formal Academic Writing spell out at least, spell out the first time and place the commonly accepted abbreviation in parentheses afterward
Can't, Isn't, Doesn't	do not use contractions in Formal Academic Writing
Cannot	one word not two
Apostrophes for plural	apostrophes show possession nouns are made plural with –s or -es abbreviations: CDs, PPTs
I believe, I feel	of course you do that is why your name is on the top of the paper
Rhetorical questions (“you”)	make statements don't shift POV no "you" no "passive aggressiveness say what you mean
You (second person POV)	do not directly address the reader in your essays exception = directive Process-Analysis 3rd person usually 3rd person, with 1st person examples 1st person in opinion or autobiographical work
-wise or –like suffixes	price-wise, grade-wise choose more appropriate words in terms of, with regard to or adverb academically, scholastically do not add –speaking suffix (academically-speaking)
Like	instead of “for instance” instead of “such as” instead of “as”
Snuck	sneak = regular verb maintains its original form throughout merely receives –ed sneaked like "brang" and "ain't"
Would be	simply use “is” or “are” save “would be” for conditionals would be: if what?
Would be/could be	these are conditional phrases “would be” if what? be definite – use “is”
Pet peeve(s)	annoyance, grievance, irritation
Off of	fell off of the wall just "off" is sufficient
Etc.	never use, too informal not necessary with “such as”
"Being" as a verb	“the truth is” rather than “the truth being” (often makes a fragment because it is not actually used as a verb -- participle)
They all/we all	subject = all of us OR we not both
Myself	reflexive pronoun with very limited usage don’t use for object of preposition “to me” is often correct
And/But to start sentences	conjunctions = joining words What are they joining at the start? , and OR , but
And yet	and OR yet not both conjunctions with 2 different meanings sounds nice, has rhythm, but wrong
Till	to till = verb meaning to dig, plow, cultivate not to be used for “until”
“Just” and “Only” as modifiers	adverbs often misplaced in a sentence adverbs often abused in writing
“Way” or "Pretty" or "Totally" as a modifier	way better, way more pretty much totally stoked misused as “very” don’t use as an intensifier don’t write as you talk
Not to mention	not a transition – creates a fragment also, such a phrase demeans the importance of what’s to come – Why should we care about it if it’s merely thrown in as an afterthought? if it’s important, do it justice by giving the idea its own fully developed paragraph; otherwise, it’s unnecessary, so don’t “mention” it
Thesaurus-itus	don’t presume that the bigger word is better often the wrong word for your context pretentious & hollow
Here/There to start sentences	drop them & start with the subject for clarity's sake for S-V Agreement
Amongst, Amidst	lack thereof, amongst friends pretentious trying to sound smart
Who is, which was	unnecessary relative clauses wordiness turn in to appositives Her brother, who is a member of..., Her brother, a member of ...,

Strunk and White's The Elements of Style