Composition Reminder Sheet

1. Write in third person: this means no “I/my,” “you/your,” or “we/us/our.” People will be referred to as people, human subjects, users, viewers.

Not: “I designed my project thinking about the way teens use social media.”
Instead: “This project is designed as a commentary on the way teens use social media.”

2. Avoid dangling modifiers: when you try to avoid first person, it is easy to end up with dangling modifiers. For more detail, follow this link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/597/1/

Example: Walking home, the bag tore. (This implies that the bag walked home.)
Instead: Walking home, I noticed the bag had torn.
Or: While I was walking home, the bag tore.

Note that to avoid first person, this would need to be: On the way home, the bag tore.
Or: As it was carried home, the bag tore.

3. Organize paragraphs by moving from given information to new information. Give us a high level and a visual description of your project before telling us about a particular mechanism within it. See this page for an explanation: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/600/01/

4. Be clear in your logical connections: are two ideas related by addition (also, in addition), example (for example, for instance), cause (as a result, for that purpose), time (next, then), contrast (but, however), or comparison (likewise, similarly)? For more examples: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/683/05/

5. Watch for pronoun references: be sure when you use this, that, these, those, it, and they, the pronouns refer clearly back to something previously mentioned.

6. Proofread for spelling: if you see a wavy red line under a word, look it up to make sure you’ve spelled it correctly. Watch for capitalization and be aware of when to use apostrophes (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/1/).

7. Note when you use that vs. which: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/which-vs-that/

8. When you combine two sentences with only a comma, it’s called a comma splice. For tips on how to avoid, see: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/34/

9. Note on where vs. in which: In formal writing, if you aren’t referring to a location of any sort, use “in which.” Don’t write about: a situation where…, a theory where…, etc.

10. Use semi-colons before transitional phrases and a comma after, e.g.: ; however, http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/semicolons_before_transitional_phrases.htm

11. The proper term is based on, not “based off/off of”: http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/pronouns/based-off-is-off-base/

12. When you have a list of things, be sure to observe parallelism: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parallelism/

13. Try to reduce your reliance on being verbs: https://www.stlcc.edu/Student_Resources/Academic_Resources/Writing_Resources/Grammar_Handouts/To-be-Verbs.pdf

14.  Use verbs instead of nouns where possible: “represents” instead of “gives a representation of”

15. When you form a compound adjective (“custom-designed”) you will need a hyphen between the two words. For an explanation and examples see: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/hyphens.asp. For an exhaustive list of hyphenation rules, see: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/images/ch07_tab01.pdf

16. Note that “an” rather than “a” is almost always required before words that start with a vowel. For details on the rule see:  https://www.englishpage.com/articles/a-vs-an.htm

A Note From the NuVu Writing Coach

September 27, 2017

Dear Students,

As writing coach, I’ll be working with you on The Briefs you write for each studio. My aim is to help you encapsulate—in writing that is clear, grammatical, and compelling—all the thought and creativity you put into the projects you work on at NuVu.

In your Outline and First Draft you will focus on content, the conceptual narrative you are trying to tell to someone who has not been in the studio: the motivation, the challenges, the innovations. In revising, you will focus on style: on crafting sentences that are clear, concise, and varied in structure, and organizing them into paragraphs.

Please read over the assignment carefully before beginning: it is your best guide. Then, before posting each draft, read over the “Composition Reminder Sheet” for grammar tips and reminders—these are based on common errors in past Briefs—and make any corrections you can. Before posting the second draft, be sure you are sending a clean copy with none of my bracketed comments, and be sure to proofread each sentence.

If you are confused about any instructions or grammar points, please send me a note asking for clarification. If I feel you haven’t read the assignment or the reminders or haven’t made an effort to proofread, I will ask you to do so before giving detailed feedback on a draft.

What my feedback will look like: I will provide a mix of suggested edits (crossing out wording and suggesting revised wording in bold) and bracketed comments asking you to push deeper or to read a link on a particular grammar point. I will underline words that are misspelled or mistyped for you to look up and correct.

Remember that this is your writing and your project: if you feel I have suggested wording that is inaccurate or that doesn’t reflect your understanding of your project or your own voice, please make the appropriate changes. Stick to the deadlines, so I can respond in a timely way before you have moved on to a new studio.

Last, to quote David McCullough: “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”

Looking forward to reading about your next projects,

Rebecca