“Deadly Sins”

[in English class!

You can lose a point every time you “sin!”]

1. Leaving letters off words

• EX> Their lives were terrible. The didn’t know what to do. As winter got colder, the couldn’t even find food, let alone grow it.

• Always proofread to make sure you haven’t left a lette of a wor.

2. Capitalize proper nouns

• If you are talking about a specific person or location, capitalize it!

• EX> I live in a small town by the ocean. (This could be any small town by any ocean!)

• EX> I live in Fort Bragg, next to the Pacific Ocean. (This is a specific town by one particular ocean!)

3. Use apostrophes with contractions

• Did not = didn’t• The apostrophe

MUST appear exactly where the letters are omitted

• O’clock = on the clock, so the apostrophe replaces n, t, h, AND e!

4. HEADINGS must include:

• NAME• Teacher Name• CLASS & PERIOD• Date 30 August 2012

5. There/Their/They’re

• There = a place• Their = they own it• They’re = they are

6. A LOT = 2 words!

• TWO WORDS, not ONE!!

• “There’s a lot of noise in the cafeteria. They’re testing their emergency system.”

7. To, Two, Too

• To = connector• Two = the number• Too = Also; OR, an

extreme degree of something

• I went to her party, but I was too late for the two cakes.

8. Text Speak!

• When writing academically and u find yrslf doin this…

STOP!!!! IDK

9. Don’t use “YOU” randomly.

• If the reader is not being directly involved or addressed, avoid using “YOU.”

• People didn’t travel much in the 1800s because you didn’t have a car to take you anywhere.