Write in the third person present tense. No ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘you’

1. The Art of Formal WritingAn ‘Everything you NEED to Know’ guide to keep your English teacher off your back “Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.” -George Orwell

2. Write in the third person present tense.No ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘you’ ✖ Goldilocks went around the house touching and eating everything. I think this was rude and thoughtless. ✔ Goldilocks ransacks the house and eats all of the food, displaying her selfishness and lack of proper upbringing.

3. Do not refer to your self, the author, or the reader/audience ✖ Sleeping Beauty is fooled by Maleficent, and is drawn toward the spindle, which the audience knows is meant to kill her. ✔ Maleficent fools Sleeping Beauty and draws her toward the spindle in hopes of killing her, displaying her cunning and cut-throat mentality.

4. Use the active tense as much as possible – avoid ‘ing’ ✖Pinocchio is following Lampwick and the other boys to pleasure island, and is becoming more of a delinquent with each cigar. ✔ Pinocchio follows Lampwick and the other boys to Pleasure Island and becomes more of a delinquent with each cigar.

5. NO NO NO: “This quote proves that” – never say words like ‘quote’ or ‘example’ ✖ “…..” this quote proves that Buzz Lightyear is a brave, loyal figure that has no idea that he’s actually a toy. OR In the following example from Chapter Two, Buzz Lightyear has a quote… ✔ “…..” Buzz’s determination to defeat Zurg for the well-being of the Galactic Alliance leaves the other toys spellbound by his idiocy toward his current situation.

6. Repetition and Redundancy is redundantly repetitive. Don’t recap your quotations in your explanations! ✖ “Luke…I am your Father” (Lucas). In this quote, Darth Vader tell Luke that he is his father, hoping to create… ✔ “Luke…I am your Father” (Lucas). Darth Vader’s revelation is intended to create a sense of shock and anger within Luke…

7. Set up the proper context for your quotations, giving info such as who is speaking, when and why. ✖ Bella Swan has a boyfriend, Edward, who is in the dog-house with Bella’s dad: “Still, I endured my punishment without complaining because – for one thing – I knew I’d earned it, and – for another – because I couldn’t bear to hurt my dad by moving out now” (Meyer 5). In this quote Bella is telling the audience that she is under punishment by her dad. ✔ After her most recent disappearance and brush with death, Bella understands why her father has grounded her from spending every waking moment with her boyfriend: “Still, I endured my punishment…” (Meyer 5).

8. Avoid the use of slang, colloquialisms, TXT talk, and contractions ✖ Peter Pan & the Lost Boys chilled while Wendy told them stories. They totally didn’t want any medicine, and h8 it when she tries 2 force them to take it. ✔ Peter Pan and the Lost boys listen quietly as Wendy tells them stories. They do not want their medicine, and dislike it when she administers it to them.

9. A few more things to be mindful of: • Proper quotation formatting – the use of : or , the use of “ and ‘ • Keep your paragraphs in the same order as your mapping statement • Don’t give too much detail in your introduction – be brief, and save explanations for your paragraphs • Avoid speculation. “If they never did this, that wouldn’t have happened”. Keep to the facts as they are presented in the text.