Ok, I'm sure we have all had at least one English teacher in high school with tons of writing rules. I know that I have a LIST of rules about writing. But once I got to college, my advisor and English teacher, Dr. Jordan, asked us about all of these "rules" we had learned in high school. She wrote them all down on the board, and then said, "When you guys write for me, I want you to ignore ALL of this. I'm interested in WHAT you write- not whether I can measure your margins with a ruler." This inspired me completely to write an article on the "rules" we have all learned from our high school English teachers.
1. DON'T USE CONTRACTIONS/ SLANG/ ABBREVIATION
I mean, really? No contractions? I'm pretty sure NOBODY speaks like that in reality. I know I don't (do not). Like, do we really say, "I am going to close the door"? No... Especially in the south. Most of the time we hear, "I'm gonna close the door." I totally understand the no slang thing, like we shouldn't write "LOL" in a paper more than likely. But especially while using dialogue, we need to convey what the characters are saying. If we're writing about personal experiences, we can't just quote someone by what they said in a "proper" tone. No. We have to quote our characters word for word. I'm not going to quote my grandfather saying, "Well, darn it. You are going to have to figure something else out." Because that's so not what he would say. He would say, "Well durn. You just gon' have to figure sum else out."
2. DO NOT END A SENTENCE IN A PREPOSITION
Hello? How else am I going to say, "I'm going outside"? Or, "My grades are going down?" I mean sure, I could say, "I am going outside the house" or "My grades are dropping." But seriously, what's the harm in ending a sentence in a preposition? There really is none. Again - I emphasize this in dialogue!
3. DO NOT START A SENTENCE WITH A CONJUNCTION
BUT WHY?! Seriously, I'm not going to expand an entire sentence just to make the paper seem more "proper". Pick up any novel! I'm POSITIVE that sentences start with conjunctions! SO, as a writer, I choose to start sentences with conjunctions. AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. (English humor)
4. DO NOT START A SENTENCE WITH "BECAUSE"
Because that's totally accurate? Right?
