* '''Misconception:''' ''[[Paragraph]]s must be at least three sentences long.''
Richard Nordquist states thatwrites, "no rule exists regarding the number of sentences that make up a paragraph"," noting that professional writers use "paragraphs as short as a single word".<ref>[[#Nor11|Nordquist 2011]].</ref>. According to the ''Oxford Guide to Plain English'':<blockquote>If you can say what you want to say in a single sentence that lacks a direct connection with any other sentence, just stop there and go on to a new paragraph. There's no rule against it. A paragraph can be a single sentence, whether long, short, or middling.<ref name="Cutts 2009. p. 112">[[Common English usage misconceptions#Cut09|Cutts 2009]]. p. 112.</ref></blockquote>
TheAccording to the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's]] Writing Center states on its's website, "Many students define paragraphs in terms of length: a paragraph is a group of at least five sentences, a paragraph is half a page long, etc." The website explains, "Length and appearance do not determine whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. For instance, in some styles of writing, particularly journalistic styles, a paragraph can be just one sentence long."<ref>[[#UNC11|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2011]].</ref>
* '''Misconception:''' ''[[Contraction (grammar)|Contractions]] are not appropriate in proper English.''
Writers such as [[Shakespeare]], [[Samuel Johnson]], and others since Anglo-Saxon days have been "shrinking English". Some opinion makers in the 17th and 18th century eschewed contractions, but beginning in the 1920s, usage guides have mostly allowed them.<ref>[[Common English usage misconceptions#Wal04|Walsh 2004]]. p. 61, 67–68.</ref>. Most writing handbooks now recommend using contractions to create more readable writing,<ref>[[Common English usage misconceptions#CK09|O'Conner and Kellerman 2009]]. pp. 32–34.</ref>, but many schools continue to teach that contractions are prohibited in academic and formal writing,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjprep.org/academics/english/style.html |title=SJP: English MLA Style Sheet |access-date=2012-04-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830135545/http://www.sjprep.org/academics/english/style.html |archive-date=2011-08-30 }}. Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School</ref><ref>[http://www.basiccomposition.com/resources/AVOIDINGCONTRACTIONS.pdf] [http://www.basiccomposition.com/ABOUT.html Basic Composition.com] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120129134401/http://www.basiccomposition.com/ABOUT.html|date=2012-01-29}}</ref><ref>[http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/tip_formal_writing_voice.htm] [http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/style.htm Illinois Valley Community College].</ref>, contributing to this misconception.
