Writing Rules

• 5 paragraph essays
• First paragraph is the introduction with your thesis stated
• Next three are your three topics you are writing about
• Last paragraph is conclusion with your thesis and final thought
• Contain 6 sentences each
• 10 words per sentence
• Always indent when starting a new paragraph
• Never use pronouns when writing an essay or research paper
• Make an outline to plan out your paper
• Research note cards
• Copy word for word out of the book, article, website, ect.
• Source cards
• APA format
• exactly how you would have it on a source page
• In-text citations are a must (APA format)
• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be perfect
• Don’t use double negatives
• Never start a sentence with "and" "but" or "because"
• Always have a subject and verb to make sentence complete
• Use correct punctuation
• Period
• Exclamation point
• Question mark
• Comma
• ect..

All throughout grade school and high school we have been given the basic writing rule to follow. I really don’t like following them, I would much rather just start writing and see where that gets me. When I am given rules to follow I tend to focus more on the rule rather than what I am writing. Worrying about how many words are in sentences and how many sentences are in words shouldn’t be the important part of a paper; however to some teachers that’s all that matters. To me, it shouldn’t be about the composition of the essay but it should be about the context. These are the rules that I find to be “rigid” and “stifling”. I think that the composition of a paper can vary based on personal writing styles and essay topics. Sometimes it is difficult to stay within the rules and by teachers setting these rules; it is taking away from the student’s ability to express themselves more freely in their writing.  


Sometimes I will make an outline or jot down some sort of notes to stir up my thought process, but most of the time I just like to get into the groove of writing. I find grammar to be the most important rule when writing. Without having some form of grammar, nothing would make sense because everything would run together.  Like I said in my first post, grammar is defiantly not my strong suit. However, I try my best to make it perfect because I find that to be the most important writing rule.