Writing Guidelines

This writing guide is designed to provide assistance as you write papers for your Women’s Studies courses. Drawing from several writing resources , the first list includes abbreviations that Institute faculty will use when grading papers or essay exams. The grading markings highlight the areas that are problematic in your paper. As you review the corrections, you are also welcome to see the instructor for additional follow up. Click the link below to download and print a copy of these guidelines.

Writing Guidelines ( 111 KB)

MSCD Writing Center

If writing is not one of your strengths, the MSCD Writing Center provides free assistance to MSCD students with writing projects. The Center is located at 310 King Building, at 556-6070. Be aware that the center has busy times—be sure to call ahead to make an appointment well in advance of the paper due date.

Grading Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Comment and Explanation
Ö (checkmark)	Good point–on target! Keep this up!
?	I can’t understand the meaning of the sentence or phrase.
Awk	This is an awkward construction.
Def	Define what this word or phrase means.
Elab	Elaborate. This needs support. Why have you said this? Why or how is what you have written of use in your argument?
FI	Follow instructions. You have not followed the instructions given on the assignment sheet.
Frag.	Sentence Fragment. This is not a sentence. Essays must be written in complete sentences.
Irr	Irrelevant to the point of the paragraph or the essay.
Log	Logic is unclear or impossible. (E.g. "The man kissed the baby with a beard.")
NG	Not grammatical.
Abbreviation	Comment and Explanation
NSE	Non-Standard English: The English, she not written this way.
PR	Proof read! By this point in your essay there have simply been too many mechanical errors to justify your receiving as high a grade as you could.
Quot?	Is this a quotation? Where are the quotation marks? (Avoid plagiarism!) It may also mean: Who said this?

Rel.?	How do you get from the idea in the former sentence (or phrase) to that of the latter? What is their relationship? The transition is unclear.
Rep	Repetition: you have already said this; move on
Sl	Avoid slang.
sp. or circle around word/punctuation	Correct the spelling/punctuation of this word.
TB	Too brief. You are on track but you have left out steps or important details.
TG	Too General. What you’ve said makes sense, but you need to explain more–facts need to be more specific, or supporting reasons need to be given.
WW	This is the wrong word for the context; use a dictionary to look up the word you have used to find out why it is the wrong choice
WU	Warm Up. What has been said doesn’t advance your answer. (Example: "Brock is a philosopher who writes about euthanasia.")
X	Incorrect. Either facts or argument are in error. Often followed by a specific reason.
XQuot	Quotation error or error in paraphrase. Check the original.
Econ	Economy of words: This can be said in fewer words.
WC	Word choice: This word does not appear to fit the meaning you intend.
Cite	Need a citation from a source to support your point.
Inc	Incomplete citation.
Trans	Transition needed to help with flow between points/ paragraphs
RO	Run on sentence; revise or break up lengthy sentence.

Common Grammatical and Spelling Mistakes

Sentence fragments: incomplete sentences.
Example: “Labor statistics that have been manipulated and so are useless.”

Comma splices: the use of a commas to join two sentences.
Example: The Bill was introduced in May, it was defeated in August.”

Run-on sentences: joining two or more sentences.
Example: The mouse ran up the clock it ran back down”

Overuse or misuse of commas
Example: “She, ran over the mouse, with her car.”

Beginning sentences with “This” or “And” or “Also”
Example: “This means that activist efforts are necessary.”
Example: “Also, they shut down the factory.” Alternative suggestion: use moreover, furthermore, likewise

Which vs. that vs. who (grammarbook.com)

Who refers to people. That and which refer to groups or things.
Example: “Anya is the one who rescued the bird.”
Example: “Lisa is on the team that won first place.”
Example: “He belongs to an organization that specializes in saving whales.”

That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses.
Example: I do not trust products that claim "all natural ingredients" because this phrase can mean almost anything. (We would not know which products were being discussed without the that clause.)

Example: The product claiming "all natural ingredients," which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, is on sale. (The product is already identified. Therefore, which begins a nonessential clause.)

Note: Essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them while nonessential clauses are surrounded by commas

If this, that, these, or those has already introduced an essential clause, you may use which to introduce the next clause, whether it is essential or nonessential.

Example: That is a decision which you must live with for the rest of your life.
Example: Those ideas, which we've discussed thoroughly enough, do not need to be addressed again.

Note: Often, you can streamline your sentence by leaving out which.
Example: That is a decision which you must live with for the rest of your life.
Better: That is a decision you must live with for the rest of your

Than v. then (grammarbook.com)
Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question when.
Example: I would rather go skiing than rock climbing.
Example: First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing

Common Word Usage Mistakes

Its                    the possessive form of it
It’s                   the contraction of it is
Its’                   this word does not exist
Women            plural
Woman            singular
Affect           influence
Effect               accomplish or produce
Imply               to suggest strongly
Infer                to draw from, to understand
There              location
Their               possession

Alternate suggestions for word usage mistakes

Mistake Suggestion
“Hopefully” “I hope,” or “Let us hope…”

“Different than” “different from” or “other than”

Singular vs. Plural word usage mistakes
Everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody: These are singular words and take a singular pronoun (her/his) reference.

Media and data: These are plural nouns. “Media are…” “Data are…”

Cautions about sexist language

Use “people” or “humankind” rather than “man” or “mankind.” “He” refers to a male person. “Humanity” and “persons” and “People” are useful words to keep in mind. If your references is to persons of both sexes, use “she and he” or “him and her” or switch to the plural and use “they” and “them.” Be careful not to lose parallel construction if you switch to the plural form. “S/he” can be used, although it can be somewhat awkward.

Resources