MLA FORMATTING 1. All margins are 1‖. If typing in Microsoft Word, you will need to change the left and right margin settings. a. Click on File, Page Setup, and then change the margins. 2. The page numbers go in the top right corner. a. Click on View, Header and Footer, Click the right justify button. b. Type your last name. c. Click on Insert, Page Numbers. d. Then exit the header. 3. Hit ―CTRL and 2‖ at the same time to double space your paper. 4. Type your name on the first line of the paper. 5. Type my name (Ms. Smith). 6. Type the course (9th _____ LA). 7. Type the date in MILITARY TIME. Ex. 12 August 2003. 8. Center your title (do not bold, italicize, make bigger, or put in quotation marks). ============================================================================ Smith 1
Amanda Smith Mrs. Sailors 9th Language Arts 12 August 2003 Discovering Home It was not until I left for college that I realized the extraordinary comfort that home can bring. The smells of freshly cut grass; the sight of clothes-line-hung pink sheets blowing in the breeze. As I drove up the dusty driveway of home to leave for college, I recalled all of the times I ran down that same dusty driveway to escape the pressures of the world—and the splash of mud from the school bus tire. . . REMEMBER: 1. Always put your last name and page number at top right. 2. Always include your name, my name, class, and date on first page. 3. Always center a title. 4. Always type EVERYTHING double-spaced!! 5. ALWAYS TYPE ENOUGH TO MEET THE LENGTH REQUIREMENT!!
MORE MLA INSTRUCTIONS!! Setting up Word Processing File – MLA Format Guide Sheet Microsoft Word – Windows Getting Started and Setting Margins and Font: 1) Create a new word processing file using Microsoft Word 2) Select from the menu bar at top: File + Save As. Name your file and save it to the location desired. 3) Select from the menu bar at top: File +Page Setup. Make sure your top, bottom, left and right margins are all set at 1.0. Look towards the right for a drop down box that says Apply to and select Whole Document. Select OK. 4) In the tool bar, make sure the three drop down boxes are set to Normal, Times New Roman and 12 point font respectively. Putting Last Name and Page Number in Header 1) Select from the menu bar at top: View + Header and Footer 2) Select the Align Right icon on the Formatting Toolbar across the top of your screen just under the menu bar. 3) Type your last name. 4) Press the space bar three times. 5) Click on the Insert Page Number icon on the Header and Footer toolbar 6) Select Close on the Header and Footer toolbar. Setting Double Space: 1) Select from the menu bar at top: Format +Paragraph. 2) Set line spacing at Double 3) Select OK Heading and Centered Title 1) Type your name, press Enter. 2) Type your teacher’s name, press Enter. 3) Type your class name ( 9th Grade College Prep Language Arts), press Enter. 4) Type the date the paper is due in military format (6 August 2004), press Enter 5) Select the Centering icon on the formatting toolbar. 6) Type in your title, press Enter. 7) Select the Left Alignment icon on the formatting toolbar 8) Indent your first paragraph and begin typing! SAVE!!!!
WORKS CITED PAGE INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put it at the end of your essay. Still include a page number with your last name at top right. 2. Call it ―Works Cited‖—centered.
3. List your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (or by the titles if you are missing the authors! 4. DOUBLE SPACE EVERYTHING!! 5. Indent the second line of the entry if you need two lines. SAMPLE: Smith 5 Works Cited Anderson, John. Mark Twain: America’s Writer. Chicago: Doubleday, 2000. Jordan, Lisa. ―How To Make Better Cookies.‖ Woman’s World Oct. 2001, 48-56. Lohr, Steve. ―Now Playing: Babse in Cyberspace.‖ New York Times 3 Apr. 1998, D1+. Wilson, Mary and Amanda Siler. History of Antebellum Attitudes Among Modern Southern Women. Atlanta: Bantam, 2004.
FORMAT FOR VARIOUS REFERENCES (check MLA Handbook if you are unsure!!) Book: Author. Title. City of Publication. Publisher, Year. Story or Poem in a Book: Author (of short work). ―Title.‖ Title of Book. Editor of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages. Encyclopedia: Author of article. ―Article‖. Encyclopedia Name. year/edition. Magazine: Author. ―Article‖. Magazine Title. Month and Year, pages. Newspaper: Author. ―Article‖. Paper Name. Date (MLA Format). Page. Internet Resource (Check MLA Handbook for specific information): Author. ―Title of Page.‖ Title of Overall Site (if available). Date Published in MLA Format (if available). Publisher (if available). Date Accessed. The Thesis Statement
A thesis statement in an essay or research paper is a sentence that explicitly identifies the purpose of the paper or previews its main ideas.
A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or an observation. Fact or observation: People use many lawn chemicals. Thesis: People are poisoning the environment with chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean.
A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a subject. Announcement: The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of solving our environmental problems. Thesis: Solving our environmental problems is more difficult than many environmentalists believe.
A thesis is the main idea, not the title. It must be a complete sentence that explains in some detail what you expect to write about. Title: Social Security and Old Age. Thesis: Continuing changes in the Social Security System makes it almost impossible to plan intelligently for one's retirement.
A thesis statement is narrow, rather than broad. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully supported. Broad: The American steel industry has many problems. Narrow: The primary problem if the American steel industry is the lack of funds to renovate outdated plants and equipment.
A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general. Vague: Hemingway's war stories are very good. Specific: Hemingway's stories helped create a new prose style by employing extensive dialogue, shorter sentences, and strong Anglo-Saxon words.
A thesis statement has one main point rather than several main points.More than one point may be too difficult for the reader to understand and the writer to support. More than one main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a world-renowned physicist, and has book is the subject of a movie. One Main point: Stephen Hawking's physical disability has not prevented him from becoming a world renowned physicist.
What is it, and why do I need it?
A thesis statement tells a reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. Such a statement is also called an "argument," a "main idea," or a "controlling idea." Note that a thesis is an interpretation of a subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or
Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel that others might dispute. A single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph should present your thesis to the reader. The body of the essay gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation. Your thesis statement gives the reader a preview of the essay's purpose and goal.
How do I get a thesis?
You can't just pluck a thesis out of thin air. Even if you have a terrific insight concerning a topic, it won't be worth much unless you can logically and persuasively support it in the body of your essay. A thesis is the evolutionary result of a thinking process, not a miraculous creation. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Let me repeat that: deciding on a thesis does not come first. Before you can come up with an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the beneath-the-surface significance of these relationships. After this initial exploration of the question at hand, you can formulate a "working thesis," an argument that you think will make sense of the evidence but that may need adjustment along the way. Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic. For example, freewriting gives you the license to write nonstop for 15 minutes about anything that pops into your head about a topic. Once the 15 minutes are up, you go back over what you've written to see what kind of insights unexpectedly leap out at you. This often gets the creative juices flowing. If you are comparing and contrasting two events, you might make two columns on a piece of paper and write down everything you know about each event in the columns. Then, look back and forth between the two columns and see if anything unusual or unexpected or just plain interesting catches your attention. Formulate a working thesis, and see where it takes you. Reassess and revise your thesis. Reassess and revise your essay. Repeat as necessary.
How do I know if my thesis is any good?
"Do I answer the question?" This might seem obvious, but it's worth asking. No matter how intriguing or dazzling, a thesis that doesn't answer the question is not a good thesis! If you are being asked to "take a stand," do you? If you are being asked "what's the most important event of the 20th century," do you just state why your selection is important, or do you state why you think it's the most important when compared to other important events? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. "Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?" If not, then you probably do not have a strong argument. Theses that are too vague often have this problem. If your thesis contains vague words like "good" or "successful," see if you could be more specific: why is something "good"; what makes something "successful"? "Does my thesis pass the 'So What?' test?" Also known as the "What's the Big Deal?" test, the "So What?" test asks whether your thesis presents a position or an interpretation worth pursuing. If a reader's first response is, "So what?" then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue. Once a reader says, "Gee, this argument has the potential to broaden my understanding of the significance of this topic," then you have successfully passed this test. "Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering?" Just as a thesis that doesn't answer the question ultimately fails, so does a thesis that isn't properly supported with evidence and reasoning. If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. Generally, this means revising your thesis to capture more precisely the argument in your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
Outline for A Body Paragraph To have a well-developed body paragraph, you must include enough evidence to support your main point as well as explain the evidence thoroughly (and how it links back to your thesis). To have a cohesive body paragraph, you must include enough transitional words and phrases to move your reader easily through the argument and connect all ideas together.
Follow the outline below to write a well-developed, cohesive body paragraph for an essay. **Remember—You are NOT ALLOWED to use the words “there,” “it,” “are,” “is,” “was,” “were”. Sentence One-T3 Transition—Include a Transitional word or phrase that links the Topic of this paragraph to the Thesis of your overall essay. (Ex. Early in the novel, Scout encounters Mrs. Dubose, and she learns that courage includes following through even when obstacles are great.)
Sentences Two and Three—Background/Set-Up for Example 1—You must set up the first piece of evidence that you will give. In sentences two and three, you should provide any background/set-up for that piece of evidence. Sentence three might connect to your first quotation with a colon. Remember to make sentences two and three flow with sentence 1. (Ex. Mrs. Dubose, who insults the Finch children, has an addiction to morphine and wishes to overcome her addiction before her death. As punishment for destroying her flowers, Atticus forces Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose on certain afternoons.)
Sentence 4 (Piece 4)—Evidence in the form of Quotation—You must include evidence in the form of a direct quotation from the text that you are discussing. This sentence can be a quotation, can have a quotation inserted into it, or it can include several sentences of quotation. Make sure that you have connected the quotation to your own writing—either with a colon or by introducing it and putting a comma. (Ex. During these afternoons, the children notice that something appears not quite right with Mrs. Dubose: “Something had happened to her . . . cords of saliva would collect on her lips; she would draw them in, then open her mouth again” (107).)
Sentences 5 and 6—Linking Quotation to Thesis/Argument—You must link the evidence that you have just given back to the thesis/argument that you are attempting to make. In some cases, it may take you more than two sentences to thoroughly explain it; in some cases, you may be able to say it in one sentence. (Ex. Scout and Jem do not realize that Mrs. Dubose is addicted to morphine, so they do not understand that her body is physically withdrawing from the drug and attempting to overcome dependence upon it, a great obstacle for an old lady who feels pain.)
Sentences 7 and 8—Background for/Transition into Second Piece of Evidence—After thoroughly discussing your first example, you will need to transition into example number 2. Provide the reader with any background needed to understand the context of the second example and also use transition words and phrases to move the reader along. (Ex. After Mrs. Dubose’s death, Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose courageously overcome her addiction in order to be “free” before her death:)
Sentence 9 (Piece 9)--Evidence in the form of Quotation—You must include evidence in the form of a direct quotation from the text that you are discussing. This sentence can be a quotation, can have a quotation inserted into it, or it can include several sentences of quotation. Make sure that you have connected the quotation to your own writing—either with a colon or by introducing it and putting a comma. (Ex. “She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing” (111).)
Sentences 10 and 11--Linking Quotation to Thesis/Argument—You must link the evidence that you have just given back to the thesis/argument that you are attempting to make. In some cases, it may take you more than two sentences to thoroughly explain it; in some cases, you may be able to say it in one sentence. (Ex. Even though the morphine makes Mrs. Dubose suffering easier, she courageously strives to overcome the addiction to it so that she can die without being dependent on a substance.)
Optional Third Piece of Evidence (w/ Transitions and Link to Thesis)—If you decide to include a third piece of evidence, you should follow the same pattern that you did for evidence 1 and 2—provide a transition/background information; the evidence in the form of a quotation; and link it all back to your thesis/argument. (Ex. Finally, Atticus makes the connection between Mrs. Dubose’s actions and courage very clear when he tells the children, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked . . . but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (112). Atticus implies a comparison between Mrs. Dubose, who overcomes a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and himself, who shoots Tim Johnson. He sees Mrs. Dubose’s struggle as the more courageous act.)
Final Sentence--Conclusion—You must conclude the paragraph by wrapping up your point and helping the reader get ready for the next paragraph. Make a final strong statement about the topic of this paragraph. (Ex. Scout and Jem learn, through their encounter with Mrs. Dubose, that courage is not overcoming when you have an obvious advantage (like Atticus with Tim Johnson); rather, courage involves overcoming a seemingly insuperable obstacle.)
Basic Outline for a Literary Analysis Essay I. Introduction A. General Statement about topic B. Information about the author’s life that would pertain to the poems selected C. Begin to narrow topic down (focus on author’s style and technique)
II.
III.
D. Thesis Statement: one very specific sentence that will be the focus for the rest of the essay 1. title(s) 2. author(s) 3. genre(s) At least one of the detail 4. topic to be analyzed sentences must contain an Body Paragraph(s): same format for each embedded quote with the A. Topic sentence (weave in a transition word) page number of the source B. sentence with detail and supporting evidence in parentheses. C. another sentence with detail and supporting evidence D. a third sentence with detail and supporting evidence E. Closing sentence (include a transition word to show that you are about to shift focus and move to another paragraph) Conclusion Restate the Thesis (do not merely copy it and do not begin with ―In conclusion‖)
Begin to broaden topic
End on a general note with observation/lesson about the main topic Helpful Hints— This is a FORMAL ESSAY. Do not use any personal pronouns and do not directly state your opinion. This essay has nothing to do with whether or not you like the poem. Do not use BE VERBS if at all possible. You are limited to a total of 3! Remember to follow all writing conventions listed on your grading sheet. Review how to complete a works cited page and make sure to do it correctly!!! Do not forget to include both primary and secondary sources in your essay. ALL QUOTES MUST BE INTRODUCED!!! You must use two primary quotes and two secondary quotes in your essay. Your essay should be at least two pages long.
TRANSITIONS Addition: Also First Initially Third another first of all last (lastly) to begin with besides furthermore moreover too equally important in addition second finally in the first place then too
Differences: Although In any event Nonetheless Still Emphasis: Actually Fortunately Truly Result: Accordingly Therefore Time: After Before Meanwhile Similarities: By comparison Likewise Location: Around Juxtaposed Examples: Especially To illustrate Conclusion: In essence On the whole
despite in contrast notwithstanding
even so in spite of on the contrary
even though however instead nevertheless on the other hand otherwise
basically in fact unfortunately
certainly in reality
clearly indeed
essentially of course
as a result thus
consequently
for this reason
hence
afterward finally next
at last immediately simultaneously
at length in the meantime soon
at the same time later then
equally similarly
in a similar way such
in the same way
below next to
beneath on
beside on top
flush against to the right/left
for example
for instance
in particular
specifically
in fact that is
in other words
in short
INCORPORATING AND DOCUMENTING QUOTATIONS: The PURPOSE of QUOTING a source in a paper is to give STRENGTH to the argument. A quotation CANNOT STAND ALONE!! The quotation must somehow be attached to your sentence.
When documenting the source of your quotation (where you got it), you put the author’s last name and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence in which you have used a quotation: 1. In the parentheses, you put the author’s last name, a space, then the page number. 2. The closing quotation marks come BEFORE the parentheses. 3. The period comes AFTER the parentheses. 4. If you have a question mark or an exclamation point, you put those inside the closing quotation mark, then the parentheses, then the period to end the sentence. (see 2c below) 5. You do not have to put the author’s last name in the parentheses if you have used it in the sentence. (see 2b below) 6. If you need to add words to or change the quotation in order to make it fit your sentence, you put those changes in brackets. (see 3a below) 7. If you are referring to a PLAY, you don’t put page numbers; you refer to the play by act, scene, and line (see 2c below) 8. If you are referring to a POEM, separate the lines of the poem with forward slashes (/) and refer to the poem by line number instead of page number. (see 2d below) Methods for Inserting Quotations into Your Essay: 1. EASY method—attach quotation with a comma to a fragment that introduces who is saying or writing it. a. Miss Maudie says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us . . . that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 90). b. Harper Lee writes, “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town” (Lee 5). 2. Method with STYLE—attach quotation with a colon to a complete sentence that introduces the quotation (only use a colon if you are attaching the quotation to a complete sentence! a. Atticus tries to teach Scout to see the world from the perspective of others: “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 30). b. Dickens shows us Estella’s heartlessness: “I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing” (222). c. Romeo expresses his appreciation for Juliet’s brightness: “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” (Shakespeare 2.2.3). d. One of the greatest love poems in the English language is E.B. Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee”: “How do I love thee? / Let me count the ways. / I love them from the depth and breadth . . . “ (lines 1-3)
3. SOPHISTICATED Method—incorporate a section of the quotation or one or two words into your own sentence so that it flows with your writing. If you do this, you will only add punctuation to the sentence as needed. a. Estella’s heartlessness is shown in her lack of “tenderness,” for she has never had “such [a] thing” (Dickens 222). b. Aunt Alexandra’s classism becomes all to clear when she calls Walter Cunningham “trash” and fears that Scout will begin “picking up his habits” (Lee 225). 4. QUOTATIONS THAT ARE FOUR OR MORE LINES LONG a. Caution: ONLY USE THIS METHOD IF EVERY SINGLE WORD OF THE QUOTATION IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR POINT. You can always use ellipses to leave out unimportant parts and shorten the quotation! b. Use the “method with style” to introduce the quotation. End your original sentence with a colon as usual. c. Press enter to go to the next line and indent TWICE. d. Type the quotation—DO NOT USE QUOTATION MARKS TO SET IT OFF. e. All lines of the quotation will be indented twice. f. At the end, put the period that goes with the last sentence and THEN put the parentheses with author and page number (THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THAT THE PERIOD CAN COME BEFORE THE PARENTHETICAL CITATION!!!!!) Example: Atticus explains true courage, as represented by Mrs. Dubose, to his children: I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do . . . [Mrs. Dubose] was the greatest person I ever knew. (Lee 112)
HELPING VERBS: (In critical essays, avoid the highlighted ones, as they are past tense! AM, IS, ARE, BE, WAS, WERE, BEEN, BEING HAS, HAVE, HAD DO, DOES, DID MAY, MIGHT, MUST CAN, COULD SHALL, SHOULD WILL, WOULD
PUNCTUATING PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION
EXAMPLE: According to a product claim expert, ―the average product claim has actually increased over 1,200 percent over the latest 10 years [but] the overall CPI [Consumer Price Index]. ..has increased only 50 per cent from 1965 to 1975‖ (Smith 220).
CHECK LIST FOR CRITICAL WRITING
HAS MY PAPER MET THE LENGTH REQUIREMENT?????
1. ARE MY MARGINS CORRECT?
1/2 INCH FOR HEADER, 1" MARGINS EVERYWHERE ELSE? 2. IS MY HEADING CORRECT? (YOUR NAME, TEACHER, CLASS, DATE AS 12 DECEMBER 2003) 3. HAVE I ELIMINATED ALL DOUBLE DOUBLE SPACINGS? 4. DO I HAVE A CLEAR THESIS STATEMENT? 5. DOES EACH PARAGRAPH BEGIN WITH A T3? TRANSITION INTO TOPIC WHICH LINKS TO THESIS 6. DO I HAVE A TRANSITION WITHIN EACH PARAGRAPH FROM IDEA TO IDEA 7. DOES EACH PARAGRAPH END WITH A CONCLUDING SENTENCE WHICH LTT? 8. HAVE I MADE SURE NOT TO USE "THIS" BY ITSELF? 9. HAVE I AVOIDED "NOT" WHEN IT FORMS A CONTRACTION? 10. HAVE I LIMITED MY HELPING VERBS TO 3 OR LESS? 11. HAVE I PROPERLY DOCUMENTED EVERY QUOTATION? ………………., "…………….." (9). 12. DO I HAVE A LEAD IN TO MY QUOTATION WHICH INTRODUCES MY QUOTE? 13. HAVE I AVOIDED "HE SAYS, SHE SAYS"? 14. HAVE I EXPLAINED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH QUOTATION? 15. HAVE I AVOIDED USING "THE READER" 16. HAVE I AVOIDED USING "IN THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END"? INSTEAD, SAY WHERE IN THE WORK YOU ARE 17. HAVE I USED PRESENT TENSE THROUGHOUT MY PAPER 18. HAVE I USED SPECIFIC EXAMPLES TO PROVE MY WORK AND AVOIDED PLOT SUMMARY 19. HAVE I AVOIDED QUOTATIONS STANDING ALONE? 20. HAVE I AVOIDED ENDING ANY PARAGRAPHS WITH A QUOTATION? 19. HAVE I AVOIDED "IN THE NOVEL, "IN THE BOOK," "IN THE POEM" 20. HAVE I RE-READ MY PAPER TO AVOID CARELESS ERRORS? 21. IS MY WORK CITED PAGE CORRECT?
GRADING SYMBOLS
THE FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL ERRORS WILL BE 10 POINT DEDUCTIONS: F SENTENCE FRAGMENT. A fragment is an incomplete sentence. Correct it by adding whatever is missing or by attaching it to the preceding or the following sentence.
RO
RUN-ON SENTENCE. Correct it by placing a comma and a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb, or a semicolon alone between the two main clauses. You could create two separate sentences. Finally, you might try subordinating one of the ideas into a phrase or a dependent clause. COMMA SPLICE. A comma alone cannot be used to join two sentences. Use the same methods of correction described for a run-on. Any error in MLA format.
CS
MLA
THE FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL ERRORS WILL BE 5 POINT DEDUCTIONS: P AP PUNCTUATION. Punctuation errors are errors other than a comma splice APOSTROPHE ERROR. Check to be sure that any possessive nouns contain apostrophes or that you have not used apostrophes to make nouns plural. Remember, if the apostrophe makes a contraction, you need to eliminate the contraction. SUBJECT/ VERB AGREEMENT. Be sure that the subject and verb agree in number. Compound subjects, collective nouns, and indefinite pronouns as subjects are particularly tricky. The verb may agree with a word which is not, in fact, the subject. VERB USAGE. Check the tense first. WEAK VERB. Avoid helping verbs when possible and use strong action verbs.
SV
V WV
WT PP CT REF
WEAK THESIS PERSONAL PRONOUN. Avoid using personal pronouns in critical writing. CONTRACTION. Never use contractions in critical writing.
REFERENCE PROBLEM. Either the antecedent is missing or ambiguous or the pronoun does not agree with its antecedent in number, person, or gender. SENTENCE STRUCTURE. Sentence structure errors are errors other than fragments and run-ons. Check for dangling or misplaced modifiers. Otherwise, your sentence may simply be awkwardly structured, making it difficult to read. SPELLING ERROR OR TYPO. Use a dictionary and proofread carefully. FAULTY PARALLELISM. Be sure that sentence parts that are equal in emphasis have the same grammatical structure and/or that parts of a correlative conjunction are properly placed. CARELESS ERROR. means ―what?‖ (??? means ―Oh my goodness! What could you possibly mean?‖) Either something is illegible or the sentence makes little sense. DEADWOOD. Deadwood is material that adds nothing to the meaning of a sentence or an essay; it is used to serve as a filler.
SS
SP/T //
X ?
DW
¶ PARAGRAPHING. Either you did not start a new paragraph where you should have or where you started a new paragraph unnecessarily. T TRANSITION. The ideas do not flow smoothly. Add words, phrases, or even sentences which show relationships between ideas. REPETITION. Some repetition for effect is good, but what you have repeated is unnecessary or distracting. WORDY. Try stating ideas more concisely. WRONG WORD. Check your diction. The choice of words is either incorrect or inappropriate for the topic, purpose, tone, or audience. PASSIVE VOICE. Employing the active voice results in stronger, more direct sentences. ABBREVIATION. Do not use abbreviations in formal writing. (Contractions are included.)
R
W WW
PAS AB
VSP TMQ
VARY SENTENCE PATTERN – Avoid using simple subject/verb sentences. TOO MUCH QUOTED MATERIAL – use quotations sparingly. Remember that quotations are used to support your proof. VARY WORD CHOICE - With so many words to choose from, repeating the same word throughout a paper is weak. AWKWARD. Your wording or sentence construction is awkward or makes no sense. Reword.
VWC
AWK
CONTENT ABBREVIATIONS: LTT BLTQ Link to your thesis. Better lead in to your quotation – may denote a lack of background information, or a lead-in of any kind. Explain the significance of your quotation. Quotation by itself No topic sentence Avoid!!! These are words, phrases, or grammatical constructions which should not be used.
ESOQ QBI TS A
GUIDELINES: 1. If page length requirement is not met, then a zero will be given in content. 2. Once you have reached a total of 100 points in deduction for mechanics, your teacher will stop grading for mechanics at that point.
3.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. If any part of your essay is plagiarized, you will receive a zero! IF YOU ARE FOUND GUILTY OF PLAGIARISM, YOUR PARENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED, AND YOU WILL BE TURNED IN TO AN ADMINISTRATOR FOR VIOLATION OF SCHOOL POLICY.
The chart below is provided to you so that you can keep track of your grammar/mechanics mistakes. When your teacher returns a graded essay, you should look over the mistakes your teacher has marked, think about why you lost points, and learn how to correct the mistake before turning in the next essay. Grammar/Mechanics Mistakes Rule/Reason
Grading Mistake Symbol
Correction