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Question marks (?) Considering the numbers of questions we try to answer in academics, we use question marks infrequently. You might use them to state your research question, to clarify an issue that requires future research, or once in a while to pose a question to for your reader to consider as you proceed with

Avoid rhetorical questions A rhetorical question is a question asked not as a genuine inquiry but rather to suggest something or to make a point. An example of such a question is: Who could disagree with the statement that our political system is effective? What the questions suggests is that “No intelligent person can dispute

Avoid informal writing A few informal writing tendencies appear in student papers, and contractions and common informal phrases are among the most common. Contractions A contraction is indicated by an apostrophe that joins two words by replacing some letters in those words. These are very common in conversation and acceptable in informal writing, but are usually

Parentheses () Writers usually use parenthesis in conveying technical information such as equations or in stating information of secondary importance. One parenthetical element within another Probably the most common mistake made with parenthesis is the use of one set of parentheses within another set. When one parenthetical element is embedded in another, the inner element

What’s a phrasal verb? Among the most commonly misused verbs are phrasal verbs, and for good reason: the meaning of phrasal verb cannot be explained by merely finding the definition of its component words. Phrasal verbs go by many names, including “prepositional verbs,” “particle verbs,” and “two-part verbs.” Defining the phrasal verb A verb (e.g.