I pledge allegiance to brevity and clarity
and the making of bold, clear claims.

And to the Core Values of the Writing Arts Department:

• Writing is social and multi-stage
• Revisions are needed on every page
• My readings will be critical
• My writing analytical
• And I would rather die than plag(iarize).

I pledge to never use 2nd person, to ever say “due to” for any reason, or to ask a rhetorical question. My voice is “we,” my citations informal, my first draft is crap and so is my last, I will hunt down and cross out my favorite sentence, and periods always always always always always belong inside the quotes. And so do commas.

This and more I pledge to remember in return for feedback and cake. And if anyone asks, the answer is NO, we don’t have a final exam.

[NOTE]
As a first draft, this pledge is quite obviously lousy. I invite recommendations, reviews, suggested revisions, and additional commandments. Thank you.
–DSH