Nova A.
Nova A.

Rules and Writing Conventions For College Student

7 min read

Published on: Nov 7, 2017

Last updated on: Mar 16, 2023

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As a college student, you will have to come across a lot of practices and conventions of academic writing. These rules and conventions are used to make your essay writing more readable.

You are most likely to come across this term in your written English language assignments.

At this point, you might be unable to define writing conventions, but putting ideas on paper does not seem very complicated, right?

If you are new to this concept, give this blog a thorough read to know what are standard English writing conventions and why mastering them is so important.

What Are Writing Conventions?

Writing conventions are language rules that help readers to understand the text easily. These conventions are basically those elements that can help you make your writing clear and understandable.

Conventions in writing serve as the basis for readers to understand the message. In middle school, teachers might not be very strict when it comes to writing conventions but later on, this is not the case.

If you are a high school or college student or planning to become one in the future, a good knowledge of grammar and type of sentence structure is a must.

With tough schedules and tons of assignments, it is not a surprise that students complain about learning subjects as they move through grades. They feel even more stressed when they have to find the right words to convey their message in their assignments properly.

Being required to follow some basic rules and writing conventions such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation is an additional task to carry out. For that reason, it is important to know when to plan ahead and what exactly you are trying to say.

Importance of Writing Conventions

Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar are important because they help the reader understand what they are reading. If all of these were incorrect, no one would be able to read or enjoy the text.

Many school exams and tests are graded according to how well you follow the rules of grammar. This is an important skill to master.

Good writing skills are important for children throughout their school years and adulthood. For example, following the conventions for resumes - such as using correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar - can help when applying for a job in the future.

Basic Writing Conventions 2022

Although many students are not aware of the goal that is to make what they write easier to understand, they get plenty of instructions in each area of conventions. If you are struggling in any of these areas, learn why conventions are important to learn.

The main academic writing conventions include grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Each serves a different purpose and should be mastered for essays or any kind of other research paper to be of the best quality.

Spelling

Spelling is a very important convention of writing. Students spell out words through the patterns of sound as they write. In this way, they break down words into syllables and map them alphabetically. So, spelling is an important convention that you need to pay attention to if you don't want to score poor grades due to silly spelling errors.

Punctuation

Your writing will not make any sense if you have not used proper puntuation. Have a look at the following sentence as an example,

She didn’t want to go, but she told me I had to; if I didn’t, I would never be able to find the truth. Not that easy to follow, right? Punctuation allows us to read something the way it is meant. Punctuation helps us to know when to stop, when to read, when to pause, and when to start a new sentence.

Capitalization

Capitalization tells that a new sentence starts when something is a proper name or a title. Capital letters help to show the importance of words and also help to shorten long words with acronyms that take less space and are more often easier to remember. Capitalization rules are quite simple; once learned, students will not face any difficulty using them.

Grammar

Grammar means how to change the word structure to come up with a coherent and understandable sentence. Keep in mind that speaking and writing are two different things when it comes to grammar. You should be consistent in time usage and well versed in the present perfect and past simple. Otherwise, your reader might be unsure about the time frame or sequence of events described.

Writing Conventions For Specific Genres

Different genres have their own set of rules and principles to follow, but there are some common features that all texts share, such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Below are some common genres and their conventions for your help.

Narrative Writing Conventions

A narrative text is a type of text that tells a story. This might be in the form of a book, movie, or TV show. A story typically has characters, speech, and a clear structure.

Sometimes people plan their writing using a story mountain structure, which means that their narrative will have a clear introduction, build-up, climax, resolution, and ending. If you are reading a text and see these features, you can be sure that it is a narrative.

Persuasive Writing Conventions

Persuasive texts aim to change the reader's mind to agree with the author's point of view. The way to do this is by having a clear point of view in the introduction and conclusion. The text will also include facts and figures, emotive language, and rhetorical questions.

Letter Writing Conventions

When you are reading a letter, you can look for clues to help you understand what type of text it is. Letters will have an address in the top right-hand corner, as well as a date and a greeting. Letters are usually written in paragraphs, and they will usually finish with a sign-off such as “Yours Sincerely”.

Script Writing Conventions

Script writing is the process of writing down what happens in a movie, including the movement, actions, expression, and dialogue of the characters.

There are different ways to write a story. When you write for the screen, you need to use a certain formatting style. This is so that your story can be told visually.

Writing Conventions Checklist

To become a skillful writer, the best approach is to plan ahead and start early. For elementary students, it is important to be aware of some basic writing tips, but for higher education, it is essential to have a good grasp of these writing conventions.

To make sure your writing is of good quality or has a room for improvement, it is important to have a final convention checklist that should include:

  • Are your sentences complete?
  • Is there any run-on sentence(s)?
  • Are the pronouns used correctly?
  • Is there any subject-verb agreement?
  • Is the verb tense consistent throughout?
  • Are capitalization and paragraphs in the right place? Etc.

Writing Conventions Recommendations

Different types of writing have different rules. For example, how you write in a text message differs from how you write an essay. And how you write an essay is different from how you write poetry.

The following are some basic tips that you can use for your help.

  • Do not use fragments in your writing.
  • When mentioning a person's name for the first time, always spell it out in the full form.
  • Consider punctuation marks when writing.
  • Abbreviations should be avoided.
  • Cite your sources correctly.

Now you know what the formal writing conventions in writing are. Keep in mind that the conventions checklist should be the final stage in the editing process. When you are done with the writing and revising process and are ready to hand in your essay, you should check your essay for writing conventions. In this way, you can avoid basic writing problems and ensure that your paper is as perfect as it can be.

Now you know what conventions are in writing. If you are still confused, why not contact our customer support team and clear your confusion.

Feel free to place your order at MyPerfectWords.com and get top essay writing service from top-notch writers with effective use of writing conventions. Do take this chance and see what proper writing conventions look like.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 4 conventions of writing?

The four conventions of writing are; 

  • Spelling 
  • Capitalization 
  • Grammar 
  • Punctuation 
Nova A.

WRITTEN BY

Nova A. (Literature, Marketing)

Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.

Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.

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