Writing Rules

 

The goal of English 0311 is to give you the tools necessary to produce exceptional, "A" papers.  The following rules are designed to help you to achieve that goal. 

(Please print out these simple rules and follow them in all your writing. More than three rule violations in any one assignment will normally mean an automatic rewrite.)

THE BIG THREE RULES!  

  1. Do not use "you" or "your" in any writing for this course, unless instructed to do so.  
  2. No contractions (don't, isn't, won't, it's, etc.) are allowed on any written assignments for this class, either online, handwritten or computer printed, except  in quotes or in situations where informal writing is customary, such as in e-mail communication.
  3. When referring to a person, use "who," not "that." For example, you might write about "a soldier who was killed in Iraq," but never write " a soldier that was killed in Iraq." If you use "that" for a person, you are calling him or her a thing, and disrespecting that person.

OTHER IMPORTANT RULES:

  1. No smileys or online-style abbreviations (@, BTW, w/, etc.) are allowed in any writing  (except where customary, such as in e-mail messages).

  2. Do not begin sentences with “Well,” “Hey,” "I figure that," "See," or other “chatty” expressions. This is too low a style for college writing.

  3. UTEP has a strict policy against harassment or discrimination, which will be fully enforced in this class. No racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory language is allowed in class, or in any writing assignment, written communication or online posting for this class.

  4. You have academic freedom in this class, which means that, subject to the limitations above, your work in this class will be judged on the quality of your writing, not on the opinions or standpoints that you express.

    O.W. rev Fall, 2010

     

    For educational purposes only.
Owen M. Williamson - Education Bldg 211E - phone: (915) 747 7625 - fax: (915) 747 5655
The University of Texas at El Paso - 500 W. University Ave. - El Paso, TX 79968
Important Disclaimer

Creative Commons License
Open Courseware | OCW |This work is dedicated to the Public Domain..