1. Do Now:  Turn in your turnitin.com reflection half sheet to the black tray on the front table  Take a writing self assessment sheet from the front table  Pick out 3 colored pencils  Take a seat and get out your draft – start working on your self assessment

2. Avoid starting a sentence with a conjunction  Example: “And divorce was unlikely since it was against the Protestant religion.” “But women had limited roles in society.”

3. Stay consistent with verb tense  Don’t switch back and forth from past to present tense. Example: “William was an amazing play writer because he has such a vast vocabulary.”  Literary analysis should always be written in PRESENT tense  For research papers, past tense is acceptable

4. You don’t need to refer to the structure of your essay  You do not need to explicitly mention paper format or purpose  The evidence shows…  This quote shows…  The assertion is proved  This supports the assertion because…

5. Avoid sentence fragments  Sentence fragments may look like sentences, but they actually are not fully formed. They do not contain an independent clause (cannot stand on their own)  Examples: “Even though Shakespeare seemed to have written the plays.” “Working difficult, manual labor jobs.” “Although the lower class sometimes attended plays.”

6. Avoid using “I” or “you”  This includes any plurals of these forms  “As we all know, Shakespeare was a 16 th century playwright who had no idea what the future would entail.”  Shakespeare was an amazing poet, as many of us know from reading his plays.”  “I believe without blood feuds, the conflicts in Shakespeare’s plays would have been different.”

7. How to Correctly Integrate Quotes  Avoid floating quotations!  If a sentence starts and ends with quotation marks without any of your own words in between, then it is a floating quotation Floating quote: Correct quote integration: Shakespeare honed his acting skills and “became a master at his literary craft” (Honan 45).

8. Make statements (supported by evidence)  Avoid posing questions “Could these events have affected Shakespeare’s plays and characters?”  Avoid constantly using qualifiers “This probably influenced Shakespeare’s writing.” “These customs were possibly somewhat important to the process of courtship.”

9. Dialectical Journals  LEFT SIDE (CONCRETE) You will choose passages that stand out to you and record them on the left side of the page (always include Act ___ scene ___ line # ____).  RIGHT SIDE (ABSTRACT) On the right side of the page, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and connections on each passage). Do NOT simply summarize!

10. How to Respond  You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember is that your observations should be specific and detailed.  Responding with one sentence will not be enough  Simply stating that “this was strange” or “I like this quote” will not be considered a thorough response

11. Types of Responses - Basic  Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text  Give your personal reactions to the passage  Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)  Write about what it makes you think or feel  Agree or disagree with a character or the author

12. Higher Level Responses  Analyze the text for use of literary devices  Make connections between different characters or events in the text  Make connections to a different text (or film)  Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)  Consider an event or description from a different POV  Analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as a whole