Things Not

To Forget when
Writing

Prepared by
Salman H Rahman
Department of Economics,
University of Chittagong.

Md. Saiful Hasan

Department of Economics,
University of Chittagong.

Md. Johirul Islam (Pappu)

Department of Economics,
University of Chittagong.

Written on the basis of where you may get it wrong when writing English by Leon Barkho. Some
of the examples are written in original form for better understanding.
 Quoting
1. Use of appropriate reporting verb when quoting, e.g., say, suggest, suspect, promise,
confirm, indicate, etc.

2. After quotation, we can place our reporting verb with the publication year and page
number where it is cited from.

E.g., “Fuck yourself”, said Babu (2019: 30).

3. If the article doesn’t have any page number, then subsume the name of the paragraph as
well as headings or sub-headings and mention the number of the paragraph.

E.g., “I love Chrissy”, Acknowledged Saiful (2019: My Fantasy Love, Paragraph 7).

4. If the quotation contains any errors or inaccuracies in grammar, spelling and punctuation
etc., in that case, we will need to introduce the Latin word sic, which means the error has
been retain in its original form.

E.g., “These sorts of big numbers can tell which plants need to take steps first to fix
general problems, or which plants might has (sic) wider margins if a problem were to
occur,” said Salman (2011: 29)

5. If there are more than one authors, cite both them of in the first reference with year and
page number as well. In the second reference cite the first author followed by et al..

E.g., Dayana, Helena, Parana and Warana (2010:30) insist “We have to fight to back and
get them fucked up.” (First reference)

E.g., Dayana et al. (2010:30) insist “We have to fight to back and get them fucked up.”
(Second reference)

Paraphrasing

6. We paraphrase to clarify and simplify the original piece of writing.

Parana (2008: 30) said, “I am not going to negotiate with them on those terms.”
(Quotation).

Parana (2008) said he was not ready to talk to the Russians if they insisted on the same
conditions. (Paraphrase)
 Note: Do, Does, Did disappear when paraphrasing a quoted Yes/No question.

Parana (2010:30) said, “Did the investors help inn provision of public utilities”

Parana (2010:30) asked whether the investors helped in furnishing the region with
municipal services.

Note: If there is any doubt in quotation, then use whether. We can’t use whether and if
in WH question when paraphrasing.

7. Paraphrasing gives us enough room to add context.

Obama (2011), former president of the United States, said in a statement that he was
not going to run after a thirty two years old hacker.

8. In academic writings, do not use passive from.

Customers need a more sophistic view of the company which is suggested by the CEO,
“get a feeling for” the supplier.

Customer need a more sophistic view of the company, and the CEO suggests that they
“get a feeling for” the supplier.

Subject and Verb agreement

9. If the is used with collective noun, then the verb will be plural, e.g., the rich are not
always happy.

10. The verb agrees with the immediate noun phrase before the preposition.

One of my friends is a pornstar.

11. The verb of the relative clause agrees with the immediate subject before comma.

Here in particular the analytical focus is on media texts, which is regarded as cultural. [×]

The analysis particularly focuses on the media texts, which are regarded as cultural. [√]
The analysis particularly focuses on the media texts regarded as cultural. [√]
12. The names of countries are singular and agree with singular verb.

The United States is to blame for the Iraq invasion. [√]

13. The names of Organizations are considered as singular verb.

OPEC has promised that it will increase its production. [√]

14. The names of companies is usually treated as singular. Sometimes, in business English,
they are considered as plural.

Volvo have had a bit of a problem in the past with image. [√]
Microsoft are doing exactly the right thing. [√]

15. Nowhere will(ক োথোও নো)

Nowhere will you get your life easier. [√]

Little do, Little did (এ দমই নো)

Little do you realize I was struggling with silly mathematical problem. [√]
Little did I say you to help me. [√]

Seldom have (খুব ম আছে)

Seldom have you been manipulated by Anik. [√]

Not once did (এ বোরই রো হয়নন)

Not once did I say you ‘I love Bushi’ [√]

Never did, No longer did ( খনই নো)

Never did I imagine you would respond to my love. [√]

Not since (উক্ত সমছয়র পর আর ঘছেনন)

Not since Anik dash got engaged with any unscrupulous activity in 2017. [√]

Hardly ever do, Rarely do (খুব মো হছয়ছে)

Hardly ever do we learn from our past mistakes. [√]

 The Possessive

16. In possessive, single noun follows apostrophe s (’s). But plural noun follows only the
apostrophe (’).

The world’s biggest bond investors…. [√]

What happened to the readers’ comment forum? [√]

17. Abbreviations and Acronyms are treated like singular noun.

USA’s invasion on Iraq was to blame. [√]

18. In case of joint ownership, use apostrophe (possessive form) with the final name.

Salman and Bushra’s research paper was too articulated to be accepted. [√]
The weapon thread was the only cause to Blair and Bush’s for war. [√]

19. With inanimate objects use of construction.

Rules of mathematics are so involved to novice math learners. [√]

Exception: Notes from the book are available to support most programs.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Note: Acronyms are consist of taking initial letter of every words, e.g., North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Abbreviation is typically a shortened form of words used to
represent the whole, e.g., Dr., Prof. etc.
20. If the abbreviations is mentioned once or twice, then you will need to write the full
expression. However, if the abbreviation occurs several times, then you should only spell
it out the first time it is used.
`

21. If there is any abbreviation in a headline or title, then you need to clarify it in the
paragraph.

ANC fury at apartheid song ban. (Headline) [√]

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has expressed. [√]

22. To make acronyms or abbreviations such Kilo, MP, VIP plural, add small ‘s’

MPs are used to gainsay what they promised before the election. [√]

23. Acronyms are generally uppercase if they are up to four letters long; SALT, AIDS,
NATO etc. Acronyms of five or more letters are upper-and-lowercase; Unicef, Unesco
etc.
Exceptions: modem, radar, UNHCR etc.

Currency

24. Currency names start with small letters unless they occur at the beginning of a sentence.
If the name is written in a headline, then the first letter of every content word will be
uppercase.

Dollar loses ground against euro. [√]

Is Greece’s debt trashing the Euro? (Headline) [√]

25. When full currency names are used with amounts, they are placed after the amount.

Leonardo Di Caprio has donated 50 thousand dollars for mitigating the conflagration of
Amazon rainforest. [√]

26. Currency abbreviations or codes consist of three letters and are all in uppercase.
 EUR= Euro
USD= United States Dollars.

27. If the currency amount is greater 10 numbers, you need to spell out the numbers.

Saiful, a hacker from Vietnam, is accused of stealing $2 million from Bangladesh

Bank.[√].

Consistency

28. Both sides of and and or will follow the same tense (Parallelism).

I will be answering and questioning at the same time on that topic. [√]

29. Bullet points will be followed by the same grammatical structures.

The general features analysis process consist of

 collecting information sources
 validating the model.
 defining the features.

Progressive Tense

30. Linking verbs, e.g., depend, show, demand, love, like, hate, compensate, compare,
confirm, diminish, add, bid, argue, maintain, undermine, follow, debate, perform, cover,
range, conduct, accept, and devote never follow continuous tense.

It is depending on relations between the actors. [×]

It depends on relations between the actors. [√]

 Sentences

Compound Sentence: Coordinators (FANBOYS: for, and, yet, nor, or, but, so)
connect two independent clauses resulting in compound sentence.

I am not prepared for the examination, yet I am wasting my time. [√]

Complex Sentence: Complex sentences are made up of more than one clause. One of
these clauses is called independent, the others will be dependent or subordinate.

Because of global warming, the ice of Antarctica has started melting down. [√]

Non-finite clause: A clause which cannot express an idea on its own and depends upon
the independent clause of a sentence.

There are three non-finite forms of the verb:

 to + infinitive.
To study in the US, you must have a good score in GRE.

 -ing participle.
Fucking Blair, It was always satisfactory to me.

 -ed principle.
Destroyed in 1945, Berlin is still one of the most elite cities in the planet.

31. Non-finite clause modifies noun and is the reduced form of relative clause.

Policies covering legal costs have to be revised. [√]

British Medical Council Bards Doctor who linked vaccine with autism. [×]
British Medical Council Bards Doctor linking vaccine with autism. [√]
32. Do not start a sentence with a number. You either spell the number out or recast the
sentence.

20 years later, the map has been finally wiped out. [×]

Twenty years later, the map has been finally wiped out. [√]
Note: You can only start your headline with a number.
4000 Soldiers leave Chicago. (NYT Headline)

Punctuation

33. Use square brackets to enclose materials you insert in a quotation.

According to Parana (1977:545), “The change [in the format of the newspaper] creates
the condition for a new dynamic in both the organization and journalism.

34. A colon (: ) is used to introducing definitions and equations.

I have said this before and I will say it again: the Middle-East only puts a smile on
your fucking face when it starts with them.
G20 summit: leaders agree to halve deficits by 2020

35. Use a comma to enclose a nonessential (nonrestrictive clause) that provides extra
information. An essential (restrictive clause) does not go between commas.
Nash Junior, one of my friend, has taken my car, which I bought yesterday.

36. Use a comma (considered as Oxford comma) before conjunction like but, and, for when
they connect to independent clause.

I think the trade surplus will continue to be dragged down, and China is looking forward
to making a more balanced trade structure.
37. There are three types of dashes:

 The en dash (-), which is short and has the length of letter ‘n’ in English. It is used to
indicate ‘Range’.

The board of supervisors, or council, voted 10-1 to approve the measure.

 The em dash ( ̶ ) , which is longer and has the length of letter ‘m’ in English. It
indicates what comes after, i.e., it is merely an explanation of what precedes it. Do
not forget to put space on both sides of the em dash.

Dr. Mohammad Younus ̶ ̶ ̶ who is only the Nobel laureate from Bangladesh ̶ ̶ has
not been estimated enough what he deserves to be.

 Hyphen and en dash are similar in length. Some compound words, such as self-
restrained are hyphenated. There is no space on both sides of the hyphen.

38. A semi-colon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent
clauses are closely related in thought or meaning.

I like cows, however, I hate the way they smell. [×]

I like cows; however, I hate the way they smell. [√]

39. Do not use forward or backward slashes ( / , \ ) to separate the words which are
synonyms.

One of my friends/colleagues is looking forward to get into Ivy League. [×]

One of my friends is looking forward to get into Ivy League. [√]

40. You need to hyphen to link so-called co-words, such as inter-, co-, multi-, semi-, post-,
pre-, anti-, etc.

We organize inter-departmental cricket tournament every fuckin’ year. [√]

41. Do not use hyphen but comma when writing e.g., and i.e..

Reaching a position of power requires resources, i.e., excess to specific capital that is
feasible in the field.
 Coherence

42. When writing summary, It’s good to use in brief, in conclusion, in summary, in short,
in a nutshell etc..

In a nutshell, we have agreed on that decision.

43. To refer Similarity, use in the same way, equally, correspondingly, such etc..

Most of the highlighted footballers such as Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney are not World
cup Champions.

44. In terms of Contrasting, use nevertheless, yet, despite, still, anyway, notwithstanding, in
contrast etc..
The morality rate has been significantly decreased in our country, nevertheless its GDP
is being escalated over the time.

45. When referring Addition use furthermore, in addition, additionally, besides, as well,
also, and, too etc..

Furthermore she has co-written a feature script, which she is currently looking to
develop.

46. When clarifying, use obviously, clearly, needless to say, it goes without saying,
evidently, without doubt, undoubtedly etc..

Needless to say, the jobs number of Friday is going to be critical.

47. When indicating Causality, use as a consequence, consequently, for that reason, since,
that being the case, thus, therefor etc..
Alas, they also make him a target for a slingshot, thus males are outnumbered by more
than five to one.

48. When indicating Chronology, use afterwards, subsequently, later on, thereafter,
meanwhile, eventually, for the time being, at the outset etc..
We did some undeniable mistakes, later on we had apologized for them.
 49. To Exemplify, use in particular, for example, for instance, in other words, such as, like
etc..

Our RMG sector has been dragging down by our policy makers. In particular, they are
not used to considering low wage of workers.

50. We cannot repeat the same noun or idea. If it comes to use that noun more than one time,
then use the former for first noun and the latter for second one.

Stocks firmed despite analysts’ predictions that commodity-producing countries,

particularly crude producers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran were to raise output. The
former had made clear that the latter would benefit.

51. Contractions will not be used in formal writings (I’m, don’t, He’s etc.)

What not to write in your writings:

 You cannot force or order your readers to follow your instructions, i.e., you must do,
do not trust etc..

 You cannot write something which shows ignorance, e.g., there is no proof that
global warming is harmful to the environment. Therefore, there is no need to impose
environmental controls.

 Don’t show pity or cheapness to mean something or someone in your writings, e.g.,
the students are poor. They have no cloths and cannot afford to buy food. Please show
some mercy and let them pass the exam.

 Be careful whether your writings are responsible for spreading propaganda.

 You cannot make false accusation of anyone or anything in your writings.

Redundancy:
52. Use a verb whenever possible to replace the –ion or –bility words.

The function of this department is the collection of data. [×]

The department collects data. [√]
53. Use Non-sexist language (they) in instead of he or she.

A lawyers always defends his clients. [×]

Lawyers always defend their clients. [√]

Note: Special care is taken today when writing English so that both sexes are treated
equally. For example, The New York Times avoids phrases like “Hollis M. Cordero and
his wife, Lynn” because the newspaper believes the phrase “assigns the woman
unthinkingly to second rank.” Instead, it advises its reporters and editors to write:
“Hollis and Lynn Cordero” or “Lynn and Hollis Cordero.”

54. Wrong [×] Right [√]

The man in the street the average person
Manpower workforce, work power, human resources.
No man can do it nobody can do it.
Businessman business person
Chairman chairperson, chair
Fireman firefighter
Hostess flight attendant
Foreman supervisor
Layman layperson
Spokesman spokesperson
Postman postal worker
Sportsman sportsperson
Man or mankind humanity or people
Common men ordinary people
Manned or manning staffed or staffing
Council men council members
A four-man team a four-member team
Mail man or postman letter carrier

55. Use who, whose, whom to refer nouns that are human, which for nonhuman and that for
neutral.
 Content words

56. Away which we mainly use for distance and Apart, which we generally use to mean that
two person or thinks are separated.

 They are living apart 200 kilometers [×]

 They live apart and are 200 kilometers away. [√]

57. Other than can also be used to mean except.

 It is impossible to isolate all other factors than those learnt that did have an effect on
the fact that something had happened or did happen. [×]

 It is impossible to isolate all factors other than (except) those with an effect on what
has happened. [√]

58. There are some words whose meaning is one thing when singular and something else
when plural, and detail (a small fact or feature as a countable noun) and details
(information about something) are a good example. Remember detail can also be used as
a verb in English, e.g., it details how US government agencies can request access to
customer data.

 There is one detail use missed: the butler has an alibi. (singular and countable)

 He told me about his mishap, but I have forgotten the details. (plural and
uncountable)

59. Phrasal verbs are used as nouns, there are mostly written as one word, or occasionally
hyphenated but not separated.

 The cost break down can be based on historical pattern. [×]

 Cost breakdown can be based on historical pattern. [√]

60. Many learners find it difficult to distinguish between Loan, Lend, and Borrow. Borrow
means to take and use something that belongs to somebody else and return it at later time.
Lend (V), Lent – means to give something (money) to somebody or allow them to use
something belongs to you, which they have to return to you later. Loan – means to
something (mainly money) which an organization lends to somebody.
 Problems in student loans system are being monitored.
 If the banks won’t lend you money, might a stranger?
 Mr. Biswajeet wished to borrow Saiful’s laptop for editing purpose.

Exception: Banks prefer the term lend when providing money to other banks.
 The Central Bank decided to loan more money to private banks. [×]

 The Central Bank decided to lend more money to private banks. [√]

61. Wait for and await are similar in meaning. The former is followed by for, the latter is
not.
 Many dangers are waiting for them.

 Many dangers await them.

62. Countable Uncountable

number of amount of
few (plural noun, plural verb but not many) less (smaller amount)
fewer than lesser than

 No fewer than 59 students were participated in that party.

 We all require a certain amount of fat and calories in our diets.

 A small number of students take two courses.

63. A few means a small number or some, while the few means the minority. Several means
more than three but fewer than many.
  A few days have passed since I met her
.
 We are committed to sorting out the few links that do not exist.

 Several of his friends attended the last-night party.

64. Everyone and Everybody, though singular in form, may agree with a plural verb in
current English.

 I believe everybody have heard about the legacy of Spartan.

 Everyone have different strategies to get to their destination.

