Style Hints for Freshman Composition
P. Aaron Potter
Potter's Field

• When in doubt CONSULT WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR -- contrary to some undergraduates' beliefs, instructors are almost universally ecstatic when a student brings them a paper before it is due to be turned in: this affords you the opportunity to get some proofreading and advice on your paper before it gets graded, and has the added benefit of convincing your instructor that you are serious about turning in quality work and improving your writing. Take advantage of office hours and moments after class, or set up an appointment with the instructor; the sooner the better.
• When in doubt, err on the side of formality.  College papers are thoroughly formal documents, part of the process of professionalization. ALWAYS TYPE YOUR PAPERS in a legible font (Times New Roman size 12 is reccomended), double-spaced, with adequate (1" to 1.5") margins on all sides.
• Avoid sexist language, particularly when using pronouns to represent a hypothetical individual -- why would you want to risk alienating half (at *least*) of your audience?  "Today's student must work hard in his English classes" can easily become "Today's students must work hard in their English classes" or "One must study hard in one's classes" or even "Today's student must study hard in his or her classes."  Any one of these solutions is better than the original error. I realize that occasionally this will render sentences unwieldy; our language is in a state of flux as we create new methods for dealing with antiquated verbiage.  Think of yourself as part of an historic process. Don't try to fix this problem by using "his/her", "s/he" or other slashed constructions....they're like speedbumps on your reader's eyes.
• Avoid slashed constructions in general: "either/or", "if/when" and other hybrids.  Be brave enough to choose one term, find a better word which covers both cases, or use the conjunction "or." 
• Forbidden words: avoid using vague terminology such as "thing" or "stuff" to refer to material. It's very rare that the material in question can't be limited at least somewhat: "The room was so full of stuff that I could barely breathe" could easily be changed to "...full of furniture..." It's not necessary to define every object in the room (particularly if that interrupts the flow of your essay) but your reader now has some idea of the type of objects involved.
• Forbidden words, continued: "just" is not an emphasis, although it is often used as such (particularly in conjunction with "so"): "The car was just so red that it looked like it was on fire." This is a common informal use of "just," but is unacceptable in a formal paper. Just means either "only" or "equitable," not "very."
• Forbidden words, continued: avoid using "really," "truly," or similar words as emphasizers: "The car was really red. My friend was really mad." "Really" means that true, or factual, as opposed to false or untrue.  How could the car be "falsely" red? Unless you tell me otherwise, I will assume that if you tell me the car was red, it was red. "Really" should be reserved for disinguishing reality from appearances or other contrary-to-fact statements: "He looked as though he were sleeping, but he was really dead as a doornail."
• Forbidden words, continued: avoid using "entirely," "completely," or other words as emphasizers unless the reader would otherwise assume that the adjective or modifier in question were only partial. In the sentence "The car was completely red," completely is unnecessary: unless you state otherwise, your reader will assume that the car was red over its entire surface. On the other hand, "she had been dismembered," might be considered sufficiently different in meaning from "she had been completely dismembered," to merit inclusion of the adverb.
• Don't begin your sentences with common conversational 'openers' such as "So,..." or "Well,..." The purpose of these introductory phrases in conversation is to give you a chance to collect your thoughts before you launch into your sentence -- you don't need (and don't want) that type of informality in your paper.
• Don't begin sentences with "With": it provides you with a false impression that you have established cause and effect. "With Kosovo being bombed, I'm running to Canada." *seems* to make perfect sense...however, "with" is a *very* weak word of relationship -- all it really means is that the two events were happening in approximately the same universe. "With Kosovo being bombed, I'm running a slight fever." makes almost as much logical sense as the first example.
• Avoid passive phrasing, in general.  Passive phrasing occurs when you place the *direct object* of an action in the *subject* position of the sentence...rather than "I picked up the chalk," you write, "the chalk was picked up by me."  This tends to *displace agency*, making it difficult (or impossible) for your reader to determine just who is doing what.  "Victims are being drained of blood" makes it sound as though the "victims" are somehow bringing the action upon themselves.  Who is actually doing the draining?  It is much more accurate to use the *active* phrasing, "Vampires are draining victims of their blood."  Now we can see who is responsible.
• Avoid the use of Rhetorical Questions (questions to which you already know the answer, or for which there is no answer expected or possible), particularly in argumentative papers.  "Who's to say I shouldn't cut off your head?" makes it *seem* as though I've presented a valid argument for cutting off your head...after all, what authority could answer that question?  But this is an insufficient argument -- an astute reader will be able to argue "*I'm* to say!" and thus refute your pseudo-argument.