Donna C.
Donna C.

Writing Conventions 2022- Explained for Beginners

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Published on: Oct 10, 2019

Last updated on: Jan 20, 2023

Writing Conventions

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How would you like to be a pro in English? It's not as hard and complicated! All we need is some writing practice for academic papers.

As an academically-minded student, there are certain practices that will make your writing more readable for professors during college assignments which can sometimes use this term "standard."

If new to these conventions of academic word choices or sentence structure, read on because this blog has everything from definition to explanation. So, check out what you should learn while mastering the conventions of writing to become a better writer.

Definition of Writing Conventions

“What are writing conventions?”

A convention is a language rule that helps readers understand what they are reading. The more complex the writing, the less important it becomes for an author to strictly adhere to formatting rules.

As teachers tend not to be so strict about this when teaching younger students at the primary or elementary level. However, as you progress through high school, these little things change and then start mattering much more than before. Especially if your goal will eventually become publishing articles in journals where rigorous formatting has no place!

Writing conventions are the elements that help make writing clear and understandable. When you read something without understanding it, it is more obvious when the writer breaks the rules of English. Learning these rules is important for good grades on English Language Arts assignments.

Students do not like to follow the rules. As a result, they get bored and want to do things their way. But it is important for them to learn to plan ahead and be organized to score good grades.

Importance of Writing Conventions

The main goal of writing conventions is to make the reader understand what they are reading. If you write with mistakes, no one can read it. School exams and tests are often graded according to the use of writing conventions, so it is important to learn them.

But using these writing conventions isn't just a skill a child will need throughout their school years - it will help them in adulthood too!

For example, following the convention specific to resumes that have correct spelling and punctuation will help people get a job later on in life. It shows the importance of proper writing conventions throughout my academic career.

Let’s dive through these writing conventions checklists in order to create high-scoring content.

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Major Writing Conventions

Students will get plenty of instruction in each convention area, but if your student is struggling with one or more, they need to know why. Knowing the reason behind a Convention can often help young writers overcome frustration and grasp difficult material easier!

Let’s discuss every writing convention in detail:

  • Spelling

    One of the most important things to know about children is that they are always learning. At an early age, even before they realize it themselves and through simple observation of their environment or peers-kids start developing skills in spelling!

    Spelling is an important convention of writing that students must pay attention to if they want their papers graded correctly. When spelling out words through patterns of sound, children break down each word into syllables and map them alphabetically.

    This helps when it comes time for math homework or English tests because there's less room for error!

  • Punctuation

    Without punctuation, writing would be quite difficult. Punctuation is the glue that holds written language together. It helps us to know when and where pauses are needed, so we can read more closely for meaning in between words or sentences.

    Without punctuation, our reading voice becomes flat. It's difficult, if not impossible, to tell whether a pause was intentional or just happenstance. Therefore, spelling and punctuation are very necessary elements while essay writing.

  • Capitalization

    Capitalization is important in written language. It also helps to shorten long sentences with necessary words and proper names and titles. It also helps to emphasize certain phrases or acronyms that take up less space while being easier for students' minds to remember overtime periods.

    Capitalization rules will be hard at first, but once you get used to them, they won't pose future struggles as well!

  • Grammar

    When it comes to grammar, speaking and writing are different. You should use the same time in both writing and speech. If you do not, your reader might get lost about what happened a long time ago or what will happen next.

    You should use formal speech when necessary but also be able to speak casually to other people about a topic at a party or informal work setting. Also, you should have knowledge of present perfect and past simple sentences to writing a good paper.

    Examples of grammar elements that students need to know include:

    • sentence and paragraph structure
    • phrases and clauses
    • parts of speech
    • word-choice

Poorly worded sentences, excessive paragraphing, and the wrong words can all be avoided by using writing conventions. While writing conventions include grammar and punctuation to show a good grasp of your writing skills.

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Writing Conventions for Different Genres

All texts have rules, but not all genres are the same. Rules in different types of writing help readers to determine what kind they're reading and how well-spoken or illiterate an author may be based on these conventions.

Here is a brief decision on writing conventions of some standard English genres:

  • Narrative Writing Convention

    The purpose of narrative writing is to make the story engaging for the reader. You can start this by making sure that you have a good introduction and ending, but there are other ways too!

    One way is to plan your narrative using a 'story mountain.' This will help guide you through what parts of your story should be introduced and resolved at different stages in order to keep readers interested from beginning till end.

  • Persuasive Writing Convention

    Persuasive texts are the types of writing that aim to convince readers of their point-of-view. They might be formatted like a speech, article, or poster and will often feature emotive language with rhetorical questions as well.

    One example would include having an introduction that presents arguments clearly before moving into conclusions that elaborate on these points in more detail.

  • Letter Writing Convention

    When you are reading a letter, there are many clues that help to understand the text. For instance, an address in the top right corner and any date or greetings at the start - such as Dear Sir/Madam-, paragraph breaks between sentences and sign-offs near their conclusion.

  • Instructional Writing Convention

    Instructional writing is for recipes, how-to articles, and instruction manuals. There are many conventions that make it different from other genres of writing. For example, instructions are written in chronological order and include commands with verbs like "mix the batter.”

    They are unlikely to include speech or detailed descriptions. However, the conventions of instructional writing help readers know they are reading instructions and follow them accurately.

  • Format Writing Convention

    There are also writing conventions for specific types of writing. For example, if you are writing a formal text, such as a letter to your headteacher, there is a set of rules that will help your reader know that you are writing formally.

    This includes avoiding contractions and slang terms. These rules will help you to make the right tone for your piece of writing.

Writing Convention Checklist

To make sure your writing is good, you need to have a checklist that should include:

  • What are the sentences about?
  • Are the sentences complete? Or do you have to start a new sentence?
  • Is there any sentence that is too long or has no end?
  • Are all of the pronouns used correctly in each sentence?
  • Is every verb in agreement with its subject?
  • Does every verb have a tense throughout the whole paragraph(s)?
  • Are all capital letters at the beginning of each sentence and paragraph put where they belong?
  • Do you use punctuation correctly at the end of each sentence?

You need to check if everything is done right. In this way, it is easier to remember whether you have fulfilled all the requirements or not.

Now you know the formal writing conventions in a paper. There are a whole bunch of rules that you should follow to do it right. This is the final step for your paper. Make sure that you go through and check it for these rules before handing in your essay, or else you might have some trouble.

If you still feel you are in trouble, our essay writer is here to help you out with active round-the-clock support.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are academic writing conventions?

There are other academic conventions to follow. Examples of these include the appropriate use of headings and subheadings, spelling out acronyms when they are first used in the text, avoiding colloquial language or slang, avoiding emotive language or unsupported statements. Similarly, you should avoid contractions and use the first person.

What is a set of conventions for writing a language?

Orthography is the set of rules for how to write words in a language. For example, it has rules for spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, punctuation, and so on. It also includes the study of what sounds words make.

Donna C.

WRITTEN BY

Donna C. (Education, Literature)

Donna has garnered the best reviews and ratings for her work. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics but is particularly interested in social issues, current events, and human interest stories. She is a sought-after voice in the industry, known for her engaging, professional writing style.

Donna has garnered the best reviews and ratings for her work. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics but is particularly interested in social issues, current events, and human interest stories. She is a sought-after voice in the industry, known for her engaging, professional writing style.

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