Writing Smart, 3rd edition - Princeton Review 2018

Key Takeaways

“Write like it matters, and it will.”

—Libba Bray

That’s it—you’ve made it through this book. If we can leave you with one small piece of wisdom, it’s that you are a writer. Nearly everyone is a writer. Our everyday lives are filled with all different types of writing situations, from research papers and application essays to lab reports and project proposals, from work emails and memos to texts and comments posted on social media. Not all types of writing are high-stakes—that is, a promotion or funding or a passing grade is not always on the line. Still, it’s essential to develop the skills necessary to convey your thoughts in a way that is clear, precise, organized, and thoughtful.

Remember, writing is not a task that only a talented few can truly do well. Writing is for everyone, and it can be done well by everyone. In most scenarios, writing is a formulaic process that can be broken down into a few straightforward steps. By following the guidelines laid out in this book, writing will become second nature. Writing tasks and assignments will become more doable and cause less panic and procrastination. With time, you may even find writing to be a relaxing exercise that can be empowering and therapeutic.

Our hope is that this book gives you the tools and confidence to go forth and conquer any writing task. When you approach writing in a practical way, you’ll write well (and write smart) for life.

Appendix

Glossary

ACTIVE VOICE: Use of a verb so that the subject acts directly, as opposed to being acted upon passively

“I smacked him.”

ADJECTIVE: A word that modifies a noun or pronoun

“tall tree” or “silly rabbit”

The words in italics are adjectives.

ADVERB: A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb

“She ran quickly.”

“The extremely happy clam”

The words in italics are adverbs.

APOSTROPHE: A punctuation mark that shows ownership or forms a contraction

Ownership: Pinky’s puppy

Contraction: don’t, wouldn’t

ARTICLE: A short word that functions as an adjective to indicate which one. The is the definite article; a and an are indefinite articles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: A list of reference sources, usually books

CLAUSE: A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate

“Anyone who likes balloons should stay away from me.”

The words in italics form a clause that is used here as a noun, and the subject of the sentence.

COLLABORATIVE WRITING: Writing produced by more than one person

COLON: A punctuation mark used to introduce a list or amplify the preceding thought

“These are the important things: food, shelter, and television.”

COMMA: A punctuation mark used to separate words within a sentence

“She walked to the door, but she did not open it.”

CONJUNCTION: A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses together

Examples: and, but, because, yet

COORDINATING CONJUNCTION: A conjunction that connects nouns to nouns, phrases to phrases, and clauses to clauses

Examples: and, but, or, so

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTION: Also known as a seesaw conjunction, because it connects equal parts of a sentence together like a seesaw

Examples: not only/but also, either/or, both/and

DICTION: Word choice

ELLIPSIS: An omission, signaled by three dots. Used in quotations when part of the quote is left out. (He wrote “Man is always attempting…to prove himself.”) An ellipsis can also be used to indicate that a thought is trailing off….

ENDNOTE: A note placed at the end of a chapter or a complete written work offering explanation, making a comment, referencing an author, etc.

ESSAY: A short piece of writing, usually analytical or interpretive, about a particular subject

FOOTNOTE: A note placed at the bottom of a page offering explanation, making a comment, referencing an author, etc.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: A clause that can stand by itself as a sentence

“Rachel laughed at the landlord and walked away.”

Because the words in italics can stand alone as a sentence, they form an independent clause. A dependent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence.

MODIFIER: A word or group of words that limits or qualifies another word or group of words in a sentence

“red apple”

“Singing on the stage, Kelly found her true calling.”

The words in italics are modifiers, or modifying phrases.

NOUN: A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

“Trees are often pleasant.”

The word in italics is a noun.

OUTLINE: An organizational plan for a piece of writing

PARAGRAPH: A subsection of a written work, typically beginning with an indentation on a new line, that focuses on a particular idea

PARENTHESES: Punctuation marks used to set off a qualifying or explanatory remark from the rest of the text

“Many people believe (more than they really should) that Santa Claus exists.”

PHRASE: A group of words that does not contain a subject and verb but which functions as a conceptual unit within a sentence

“Flying a kite is torture for some.”

In the preceding sentence, the words in italics are a noun phrase.

PRONOUN: A word that replaces a noun or noun phrase

“Grace said she is supposed to receive the million dollars.”

The word in italics is a pronoun.

PROSE: Any writing that is not poetry

REDUNDANCY: The use of more words than is necessary to convey meaning

“She was completely entirely convinced.”

The words in italics have the same meaning.

RESEARCH PAPER: An informative piece of writing about a particular subject that analyzes and evaluates a variety of outside sources

SEMICOLON: A punctuation mark used to separate independent clauses

“I went to the store; I hated everything there.”

SENTENCE: A grammatically independent group of words, usually containing a subject and a predicate, that expresses a statement, command, request, exclamation, etc.

SUBJECT: The person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about (the subject performs the action or does the “being”)

“Joshua won the lottery.”

“Joshua” is the subject of the sentence.

TONE: The general style, character, or attitude of a piece of writing

Tone can be casual (“I’m going down to the corner store”) or formal (“I am proceeding to the emporium at the edge of the avenue”).

TOPIC SENTENCE: A sentence, generally at the beginning of a paragraph, that explains the main point of that paragraph

VERB: A word that expresses action or a state of being

“Keith plays the electric guitar.”

The word in italics is a verb.

Commonly asked questions and answers

Q:Is it okay to begin a sentence with because?

A:Sure, why not? For some reason “Don’t start a sentence with because” is the one rule people remember from grammar classes, but there is no such rule. What you can’t do is offer up a subordinate clause that begins with because and try to pass it off as a complete sentence. Because it was raining is not a complete sentence; it’s a subordinate clause that needs to be attached to an independent clause. Because it was raining, I took my umbrella is fine. For more on sentence fragments, see Part 2.

Q:What about beginning a sentence with and?

A:Technically, you’ll be writing a fragment. But if you want to do it on purpose, for emphasis, go right ahead. Sentences beginning with and are the stock in trade of copywriters, so we’re all used to seeing them; the important thing is not to use them without good reason. And that’s that.

Q:Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition?

A:This is another one of those rules that people get overexcited about. (See?) Strict adherence to this rule can make for some mighty awkward and pompous-sounding sentences. So yes, if you are writing formally, recast the sentence so that a preposition does not fall at the end—but don’t bother if doing so makes your sentence sound unnaturally stiff. (Winston Churchill (maybe): “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”)

Q:Is it okay to say “OK”?

A:In formal writing, no. In informal speech or writing, sure, it’s OK—and you can spell it OK, O.K., or okay.

Q:Is there a difference between toward and towards?

A:Towards is British; toward is American. Choose accordingly.

Q:I’m totally confused by like and as. Rescue me. Which do I use when?

A:Fasten your seat belt. Even accomplished writers get lost on like and as, partly because the use of like in speech has gone completely out of control. Like is a preposition, not a conjunction. Use like to make a comparison: He looks like me. She acts like the president. Like Bob, Pinky wears red socks. In all three sentences we are making comparisons: he to me, she to president, Bob to Pinky. Like should be followed only by a noun or a noun phrase.

It would be false, and pompous, to say: He looks as I (do). As does Bob, Pinky wears red socks. (Don’t be afraid to use like.) She acts as a president could be correct, if you mean that she is acting in the capacity of a president, that she is actually doing whatever presidents do. But if you only mean to compare her to a president, stay with like. Like never functions as a conjunction, so if your comparison involves action, use as or as if: Hershey’s taste good, as chocolate bars should. Ralph ran as if his life depended on it. In both cases, the as or as if is a conjunction that joins two clauses.

We’re not done yet. Another trouble spot is the confusion between like and such as. Remember that like is for comparisons. Such as means for example: For breakfast he cooked local specialties such as grits and red-eye gravy. To say like grits and red-eye gravy would be to say that he didn’t actually cook grits and red-eye gravy but some other food that was similar to grits and red-eye gravy. See the difference?

Q:What is a split infinitive?

A:Remember that an infinitive is the form of the verb that begins with to. To play, to speak, to flee. If you insert a word between the to and the rest of the infinitive, you are guilty of splitting the infinitive: to happily play, to harshly speak, to quickly flee. This is not a good idea, although it has become rampant even in good writing. If it doesn’t lead to awkwardness and confusion, place your adverb on either side of the infinitive to play happily; to speak harshly; to flee quickly.

Q:When should I say good, and when should I say well?

A:Good question. Strictly speaking, good is an adjective and well is an adverb, although well can also be used as an adjective in certain circumstances, such as in describing health, satisfaction, or appearance (with the verbs appear, be, become, remain, seem, feel, smell, look, sound, and taste). If you have trouble remembering if you’re doing well or good, just keep this in mind: Superman does good—you’re doing well.

I did well on my test. (adverb)

I feel well. (adjective, describing health)

The doughnuts were good. (good is always an adjective)

Q:What about bad and badly?

A:Bad is an adjective, and badly is an adverb. Say I felt bad when I woke up. Not: I felt badly when I woke up. Follow the rules for good and well.

Q:Do you say none is or none are?

A:It depends. None is an indefinite pronoun usually treated as plural, unless you want to emphasize the individual parts, as in not one single thing or no one single person. When in doubt, go with the plural.

Q:Please explain that ugly who/whom thing.

A:Easy question. Who is the subject of a verb. Whom is never the subject of a verb. If you are confused, try to see whether you would use she or her in place of the who or whom. If she fits, use who. If her fits, use whom. Who is a subject pronoun; whom is an object pronoun.

The girl asked who had called. (she had called or her had called? She had called, so use who. Who is the subject of had called.)

The girl asked whom she should call. (should call she or should call her? Should call her, so use whom. Whom is the object of should call.)

In speech you can get away with using who for questions: Whom did you call? is correct, but no one is going to murder you for asking Who did you call? In writing, however, use whom when it’s appropriate.

Q:Is there a rule about shall and will?

A:You bet. Use shall when there is implied intention: I shall return! Not: It shall be warm at the beach. You can also use shall for asking questions in the first person (I or we): Shall we dance? Shall I call you? Using shall in the second or third person implies a command or threat: You shall stay here until I say otherwise.

Q:Is there a rule about using due to?

A:Don’t use it as a substitute for because of or as a prepositional phrase. An effect is due to a cause.

Correct: His tardiness was due to traffic.

Not: Due to traffic, he was tardy.

In the first sentence, due to traffic functions as an adjective; in the second sentence, due to traffic is a prepositional phrase. Is this giving you a headache? Follow this rule: don’t begin a sentence with due to, and you will probably be safe.

Q:What about hopefully?

A:Hopefully is an adverb, meaning in a hopeful manner. We waited hopefully for the lottery numbers to be announced. It’s incorrect to use hopefully when it doesn’t modify a verb: Hopefully, the nuclear threat is over. Instead: It is hoped that the nuclear threat is over. Sound stilted? You could say We hope the nuclear threat is over, or some other variation.

Q:Is percent singular or plural?

A:It depends. The percentage is always singular: The percentage of young voters has risen. A percentage is singular if the object of the preposition is singular: A percentage of the work is finished. But a percentage is a plural if the object of the preposition is plural: A percentage of the reports are finished. The same rules apply when using percent: Sixty percent of the men are wearing hats. Sixty percent of the work force is absent.

Q:Can we go over affect and effect again?

A:Of course! Don’t use affect as a noun unless you mean it in the psychological sense of mood. Affect as a verb means to influence; effect as a verb means to bring about, to cause. So effect and affect have two distinct meanings—which is partly what is confusing, because you could use either one correctly in the same sentence, although the sentence would then have two different meanings.

He effected changes in the corporate structure.

Her shoes affected her ability to run.

The weather affected my mood.

The weather effected tremendous damage along the shore.

His teaching had a poor effect on me.

The new drug effected his recovery. (brought about his recovery)

The new drug affected his recovery. (influenced his recovery—not clear whether the drug helped or hurt his recovery)

Q:When a two-part subject is connected by or, is it singular or plural?

A:It depends. Generally, treat the subject as singular, but if you have a singular and a plural subject linked by or, make the verb agree with whichever is closer: The boys or Ralph is eating snails. And: Ralph or the boys are eating snails. The second version sounds better, though both are correct.

Q:Wht abt txt spk?

A:It is always important to get your point across as succinctly as possible. When you’re texting a friend, you should feel free to type any way that works for you (we use full words and punctuation ourselves). When you’re writing for school or the SAT or ACT, it is important that you observe the rules of grammar and writing you have learned in this book. Not only will it make you look smarter, it will help you down the road when writing in college and later for work.

Common grammar mistakes

We did a highly scientific study to determine which grammar mistakes cause the most distress to the listener or reader. In other words, we asked around to find which grammar mistakes drive people crazy when someone else makes them. Here are the results:

To/Too; Your/You’re; It’s/Its

To is a preposition that indicates direction: I went to the dentist. Too means also or excessive: She loved ice cream, but felt that some flavors were too extravagant, too. Your and its are ownership pronouns; use them to indicate possession or ownership: Your slip is showing. You’re and it’s are contractions, shortened version of your are and it is. To say You’re slip is showing would mean You are slip is showing, which would sound very silly.

Between You And I

This is quite common and quite irritating. Remember the trick for dealing with subject and object pronouns: do them one at a time. Between you. Correct. Between I. Incorrect. Since you would say between me, say between you and me. Me is the object of the preposition. The reason this error causes listeners such distress is that saying I instead of me is an attempt to sound stately or erudite.

Lie Versus Lay

This error drives some people crazy but isn’t hard to explain. Lie never takes an object; lie means to rest or recline: I need to lie down. The books are lying on the floor. The principal parts for lie are: lie, lay, lying, lain. Lay always takes an object and means to put down, to place: He laid the books on the floor. He will lay himself on a bed of nails. Ask yourself, “Lay what?” In the sentences above, the answer would be the book and himself. If there is no answer, use lie. Strategy number two: if you can substitute put, use lay. Otherwise use lie. The principal parts for lay are: lay, laid, laying, laid.

Bring Or Take?

Use bring to indicate movement toward the speaker: Bring that book to me. Use take to indicate movement away from the speaker: Take that book with you when go. Not: I’ll bring it with me when I go.

Their/There/They’re

There can be an adverb, a noun, an adjective, or an expletive; there indicates location. Their is an ownership pronoun: their pants means the pants that belong to them. They’re means they are: They’re in their house, which is over there.

Infer Or Imply?

When you infer something, you are drawing a conclusion or making a deduction: I infer from your expression that you are upset. When you imply something, you hint—you don’t state directly: By standing by the door, I implied that it was time for him to leave. You can draw an inference from someone else’s implication, not vice versa.

Mispronunciations

This isn’t exactly grammar. But some mispronunciations can make you sound unintelligent. Don’t say heighth for height, nucular for nuclear, and strenth for strength, lenth for length, spaded for spayed, revelant for relevant. When in doubt, look up the pronunciation in the dictionary.