Here are some tips for using acronyms:

Spell them out on first reference.

Assume that your readers do not know what the acronym stands for. After first reference, you can use the acronym throughout your document.

Avoid repetition.

Don’t call an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) an ATM machine. Don’t spell out a word of the acronym that you also abbreviate. Mistakes like these simply make you sound uneducated.

Double check your acronyms.

Make sure you are using the right acronym with the right spell out. Use the Acronym Finder to ensure you are properly using acronyms in your document.

Know grammar basics.

Understand comma basics, parallel structure and “that” vs. “which.” Avoiding classic freshman English mistakes will make your paper stand out. Your instructor can focus on your content and give you constructive criticism rather than simply marking up grammatical errors.

Read The Elements of Style.

This classic resource is a must for novice writers. Even though your high-school curriculum surely included some writing, Strunk and White’s book will prepare you for more intensive college writing.

Think beyond the five-paragraph essay.

Your high-school English teachers probably guided you through the five-paragraph essay time and again, but college writing calls for a more elaborate structure. Many freshman English instructors will push you to think beyond this structure to spark your creativity, so have an open mind and uncover paper formats that are more elaborate.

Here are three ways for your graduate coursework to prepare for your cumulative graduate writing project:

Build a reference list.

The books you read or use for research for your first semester of graduate school will likely help you as you write your thesis or dissertation. Keep track of the reference’s author, title and major points in a comprehensive document. This reference list will aid you as you study for comprehensive exams and write your thesis or dissertation.

Read outside of class.

While your professors will assign you readings that will supplement your course study, graduate coursework requires reading outside of the syllabus. The more you read and research every semester, the less research you will have to conduct as you write your thesis or dissertation.

Find a reliable editor.

While this might seem like a business plug, it isn’t. Working with an editor from the start helps to improve your writing abilities long before you begin your thesis or dissertation. The editor becomes familiar with your field of study, making for a more thorough edit of your final work. Building a relationship with an editor is key to composing a thesis or dissertation that will impress your committee.

Purdue Online Writing Lab

The Purdue OWL is our go-to resource for all things style. You can find in-depth answers to your APA and MLA questions as well as plenty of general writing tips. Electronic style guides are much easier to navigate than lengthy paperback manuals, and Purdue’s site provides answers to frequent style questions.

APA Style

Although the APA Style site is not a comprehensive style resource, it does provide some useful tutorials to APA beginners. These tutorials are a must-read for college freshman who will be working with APA for the next four years. The site also offers a helpful blog, which touches on common APA questions.

AP Stylebook

As a journalism major, the AP Stylebook was always on me. Even today, I access this site daily as a writer and editor for Demand Media Studios. Communications students can sign up for an annual membership for just $25. AP updates this site regularly, and users can receive AP Stylebook updates via e-mail, saving them the cost of a new, hard-copy manual every year.

Here are a few tips:

Read.

Pull up your papers from last semester, and read through them. Look at your professor’s or editor’s comments. Note your weaknesses, and strive to break your bad writing habits early this semester. Reading last semester’s work will remind you what writing strategies worked and which ones didn’t.

Write informally.

Before you jump into academic papers, write informally. If you have a blog, write a post or two. Work on your poetry. Compose an e-mail to a friend you haven’t spoken to lately. Spark your creativity by writing about things you like. Small projects like these will get your creative juices flowing and make your academic writing easier.

Draft.

Your first papers of this semester will be your most difficult. You are out of the writing habit, and you might have forgotten what prewriting strategies worked for you. Compose multiple drafts of your first assignments, whether they are one-page reflections or 20-page research papers. Focus on revising to improve your writing skills and the quality of your early assignments.

Writing for the web is unique. Web writing gives you more flexibility and freedom to be creative. Here are four ways to write effective web text:

1) Be conversational.

Forget the formality of more traditional writing styles. While you want to remain professional with your readers—especially if you’re trying to sell them a product or service—you should engage them with conversational language.

2) Keep it brief.

The advantage of writing on the web is that you can incorporate images—and even videos—into your site. Mix important text with more visual elements to draw your readers in. A text-heavy webpage without any accompanying visual elements will deter visitors from reading what you have to offer. Conversely, concise text with a visually appealing design will attract visitors to your site.

3) Use bullets.

Bulleted lists are perfect for the web. Readers want straightforward information, and they don’t want to have to read a lengthy paragraph to find it. Group related information in easy-to-read bulleted lists.

4) Use headings.

Chances are your audience isn’t going to read every word on your site—or visit every page. It’s more likely that your visitors are seeking specific information. With that in mind, include reader-friendly headings that help them navigate through your site and find the information they need. If your visitors can find information with ease, they’re more likely to return to your site, buy your product, or use your service.

Follow APA’s guidance, and avoid using gendered pronouns with these tips.

Make the subject plural.

Writers often avoid this tricky subject by using the plural pronoun “they.” Often, this is incorrect because the subject remains singular, and this revision creates pronoun disagreement. However, if you also make the subject plural, using the plural pronoun “they” is the easiest way to avoid using gendered pronouns.

Omit the pronoun.

Instead of using “him” or “her,” use a gender-neutral noun. Identifying the subject as “an individual” or “person” is gender neutral and preferable to “him” or “her.”

Revise your sentence.

If you’re stuck and can’t find a gender-neutral noun that works, then restructure your sentence to avoid the use of the pronoun.

Here are a few ways to make the most of numbered lists:

Use active verbs.

Since numbered lists indicate a procedure that the reader will perform, engage the reader by choosing active voice. Rather than saying “Windows Explorer should be open on your desktop,” say “Double-click Windows Explorer to open it.”

Use the imperative.

The reader is performing the action, making this the ideal context for using the implied “you” as the subject.

Break down the steps.

Make sure each step offers only one action. Readers are going to be referring to your document while troubleshooting or putting something together, so you want to make the steps easy to follow. Readers might overlook an important action buried in the third sentence of an item. Remember, readers want a step-by-step guide.

Use a bulleted list in a PowerPoint presentation to highlight important statistics. If you’re making a brochure for your business, you can use a concise list to explain your services or rates. Highlight your job experience and skills using bulleted lists in your resume.

Here are some tips when using bulleted list:

Make sure your bullets are parallel.

Use all nouns (or noun phrases) or all verbs (and verb phrases). Choose imperative statements (with an implied “you” as the subject) to engage the reader.

Keep them brief.

The advantage of bullets is that they draw the reader in view concise nformation. If you find that your bullets resemble paragraphs, stick to paragraph form.

Include a relevant stem.

Introduce your bullets with a sentence or phrase to give the reader context. A list of impressive statistics means nothing if you don’t tell the reader the relevance of these statistics.

Check your punctuation.

Stems generally end in colons, but check your style guide to be sure. Imperative statements and complete sentences should include end punctuation, while phrases should not. If you find that some of your bullets use end punctuation and others do not, your bullets probably aren’t parallel.

Here are some parallel structure examples:

• Not Parallel: The next steps require you to knead the dough, roll it out, and baking it for 20 minutes.
• Parallel: The next steps require you to knead the dough, roll it out, and bake it for 20 minutes.

• Not Parallel: To troubleshoot the problem, log off of the network, restart your computer, and your system administrator should be contacted.
• Parallel: To troubleshoot the problem, log off of the network, restart your computer, and contact your system administrator.

• Not Parallel: You can do the following on our website: shop for products, find answers to frequently asked questions, and interacting with our online community.
• Parallel: You can do the following on our website: shop for products, find answers to frequently asked questions, and interact with our online community.