Usage

Be accurate. Be clear. Be concise.
Avoid inaccuracy, vagueness, ambiguity, triteness, jargon, and wordiness. See also Troublesome Terms.

Agreement
Nouns must agree with verbs in number (i.e., singular or plural).

Each student consults an adviser.


but: 
Smart students consult advisers.

Pronouns must agree in number and gender—masculine, feminine, or neuter—with the nouns they refer to.

Each student must consult his or her adviser.


but: 
All students must consult their advisers.

Whenever possible, maintain the same verb tense throughout a single communication. Use the present tense for habitual actions, and reserve will for events that actually occur in the future.

Students buy [not will buy] their books when they arrive in September.


but: 
The soccer game will be played next Friday.

Parallelism
Parallel structures require parallel forms. For example, a numbered list should be given either in complete sentences or in sentence fragments, not a mixture of both.

Two requirements must be met:


1. At least a 3.50 grade point average in upper-division economics courses


2. A research paper, written under the guidance of a faculty member, for 4 credits in Research (EC 401)


or: 
Fulfill two requirements:


1. Attain a 3.50 grade point average or better in upper-division economics courses


2. Write a research paper under the guidance of a faculty member for 4 credits in Research (EC 401)

Pronouns
Avoid the use of awkward or unpronounceable pronoun combinations.

his or her (not his/her)


him or her (not him/her)


he or she (not s/he)

Another way of avoiding sexist pronouns is to use plural forms that refer to both men and women.

Students may pick up their pay checks Monday morning.

Reflexive pronouns (myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves) refer to people or things already mentioned or implied in the same sentence.

I took the photograph myself.


Deliver it to the director yourself.


Deliver it to the director herself or to me. (not to the director or myself)


Call Ms. Allajian or me for more information. (not Ms. Allajian or myself)


Either Dan or I can help you. (not Dan or myself)


and not: 


To extract a critical response from anyone such as myself involves a good deal of incentive.

Word Choice
Think of who will read your writing before using jargon, terms with special meaning, or unexplained abbreviations or acronyms. The general public or people in other fields may not understand them. Strive for simplicity and clarity.

Except for common Latin abbreviations such as e.g. or i.e., spell out words or phrases before abbreviating them.

grade point average (first use)

GPA (subsequent uses)


Scholastic Assessment Test (first use)

SAT (subsequent uses)

Don't use -wise or -wide as a suffix.

She gives fascinating lectures. (not Lecturewise, she's a fascinating teacher.)


Distribute the fliers throughout the campus. [not campuswide]

Use nouns as nouns and verbs as verbs.

That decision had an impact on my life. (not That decision impacted my life.)


The subject code has been changed from ARE to AAD. (not The subject code has transitioned from ARE to AAD.)

In general, avoid adding -ize to a noun or adjective to create a verb.

The plans will be completed [not finalized] by May 1.

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