Ms. Gokturk
How To Make Sure You Have the Best Essay
THE LIST OF DO NOTS:
Do not use “I”
Do not use “you”
Do not use sweeping generalizations
Do not use contractions: spell them out!
Do not use the same word for “show” over an over and
over
Do not forget that each paragraph should have a topic
sentence that helps support the thesis
Do not abbreviate words
Do not forget that literary analysis is a three part
structure that you must develop each time you provide analysis and/or evidence
Do not forget that the thesis is your FOCUS for the
entire essay
Literary Analysis is a three part structure:
+
+
_______________________________________
Voila!
A sensible, air tight argument that no one can refute!
Quoting: Periods and commas always go inside quotation
marks.
Piggy says, “I like conchs.” NOT Piggy says, “I like conchs”.
REASON: "In the days
when printing used raised bits of metal, "." and "," were
the most delicate, and were in danger of damage (the face of the piece of type
might break off from the body, or be bent or dented from above) if they had a
'"' on one side and a blank space on the other. Hence the convention arose
of always using '."' and ',"' rather than '".' and '",',
regardless of logic." This seems to be an argument to return to something
more logical, but there is little impetus to do so within the
·
If a page number
is being used, the page number becomes part of the sentence and the punctuation
goes after the citation.
Piggy says, “I like conchs”
(11). [No “p.” or “page” is necessary]
Quoting: Citing pages parenthetically.
English scholarly papers
should always follow the MLA citation style (as opposed to APA in social
studies or Chicago Style for other humanities). In the body of the paper, use
parentheses to note the source:
Holden
says, “I’m not going to tell you about that” (1).
Holden
asserts that he wishes to “catch falling children from falling over the cliff”
(187).
Note that the period is
outside the quotation marks; after all, that citation is part of that sentence,
not the following sentence, so the period holds it in.
If writing a research paper, use the author’s last
name followed by a page number with no punctuation:
Direct quote: “Teen girls today are consumed with the
Paris Hilton fad” (Debillseon 19).
Indirect
Quote: The Paris Hilton fad has consumed teenage girls (Debillseon 19).
Quoting: Question marks, exclamation marks and
quotation marks: Use logic!
For example, if a statement
ends in a quoted question, allow the question mark within the quotation marks
suffice to end the sentence.
Malcolm
X had the courage to ask the younger generation of American blacks, "What
did we do, who preceded you?"
On the other hand, if a
question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question, the
question mark will go outside the closing quotation mark.
Who
said, "Fame means when your computer modem is broken, the repair guy comes
out to your house a little faster"?
In the
"'Design'
is my favorite poem," he said.
"Did
she ask, 'What's going on?'"
Titles: Underline or put in quotes?
Underline or italicize LONG_____
works; put “short works” in quotes (cute bunny ears):
Novels
“Poems”
“Essays”
“Short
Stories”
Newspapers
and Magazines
“Articles”
FYI: Back in the old days, a
handwritten or typed manuscript was given tot he printer. In order to designate
what should be ITALICIZED, the author would underline. Therefore, today with
the joy of the computer, you may underline OR italicize, not both.
Your Title!
Do not underline your title. Always
write a clever title for your essay. The title should reveal the THESIS of the
paper! Titles draw your readers in right away.
Don’t confuse tenses:
Are you in the past or the present?
Students often write
sentences like these:
He walked down the street. He sees a car. (“Walked” is the past tense. “Sees” is the
present.)
Choose one and be consistent: He walks down the street. He sees a
car.
He walked down the
street. He saw a car.
When writing about
literature, the present tense works better:
Mr. Peters is a lonely man who wishes for a
wife.
When telling a story of your
own, the past tense may better:
Last time I played baseball I scored the
winning run.
When writing about literature, ALWAYS use the
present tense.
PAST
TENSE PRESENT TENSE
History: It already happened Literature: The writing is always in front
of you
During WW11, many children
were In LOF, the school
evacuates the children
evacuated to other countries to
for safekeeping.
Voice: Always use the active voice: Get rid of the “to
be” verb “is” and putt he emphasis on the verb.
PASSIVE
ACTIVE
The
dog was biting Hugo. The dog bites Hugo.
Referring to the author
Refer to the author by their
last name ONLY after stating their full name once.
i.e.,
Golding shows how the boys devolve.
Paragraphs. A good paragraph is like a mini-essay:
1.
Has a solid topic
sentence
2.
Provides adequate
supporting points, evidence, examples that illustrate topic sentence
3.
Provides analysis
that explains the supporting points and evidence and how they support the
thesis.
4.
Does not digress
onto points not related to topic sentence
5.
Has a conclusion
and/or transition sentence
An essay is not a text message! Use correct
capitalization and spelling!
An essay is not a text! You
know the rules: you must use initial caps for proper nouns (names), titles, and
the beginning of all sentences, every time. U must spell out
Write out small numbers.
In writing, spell out (write
out) numbers from one to twenty. For larger numbers, 21 and up, you may use
numerals as long as the number does not begin a sentence. Any number that
begins a sentence must be spelled out: Four hundred years ago, I traveled the
seas.
Don’t repeat yourself. Don’t repeat yourself.
Don’t keep saying the same
thing over and over, in order to fill up the page. Don’t repeat the same thing by moving some
words around because you want to fill up the page. Don’t move words around so
that you keep saying the same thing. Don’t say the same thing over and over to
take up space. Decide what you want to
say, and say it clearly. Once. Read your essay aloud and catch your repetitions.