1. LITERARY ANALYSIS Common Mistakes

2. THINGS TO AVOID  Contractions Do not use contractions in formal writing Lennie and George aren’t similar Lennie and George are not similar

3. DO NOT ADDRESS THE READER  You will see that Lennie is very strong Lennie is very strong  I am going to tell you about how strong Lennie is Lennie is very strong

4. EACH QUOTE MUST HAVE A LEAD IN  Every quote must be introduced with a lead in Someone says George says, “’Lennie, stop drinking or you will be sick like last night’” (Steinbeck 8). Blended George warns Lennie that is he continues to drink he will be “’sick like last night’” (Steinbeck 8). Sentence George is a caretaker for Lennie and does not want him to get sick: “’Lennie, stop drinking or you will be sick like last night’” (Steinbeck 8).

5. PUNCTUATE ALL QUOTES CORRECTLY  You have to punctuate quotes correctly or you will be plagiarizing!!! No one wants a “0” on this assignment, right?  Dialogue ONLY- 3 marks on both sides “’Lennie, stop drinking or you will be sick like last night’” (Steinbeck 8).  Steinbeck's words ONLY- 2 marks on each side “Two men walked, one behind the other” (Steinbeck 2).  Mixture of both “George looks over at Lennie and warns, ‘Lennie, stop drinking or you will be sick like last night!’ Lennie pauses and says, ‘Ok George’” (Steinbeck 5).

6. CHARACTER NAMES SHOULD BE SPELLED CORRECTLY!  Lennie- NOT LENNY  George  Curley- NOT CURLY  Slim  Crooks- NOT CROOK

7. AVOID PERSONAL PRONOUNS  I  You  Me  My  Us  We

8. AVOID SLANG  Lennie and George had each other’s backs.  Lennie and George were tight.  The story is about two guys.

9. DO NOT REFER TO THE QUOTE…  JUST DISCUSS IT This quote shows that Lennie and George depended on each other. Lennie and George depend on each other. This part of the book is showing that Lennie and George are good friends. It is evident that Lennie and George are good friends.

10. DISCUSSION SHOULD BE IN PRESENT TENSE  All of your discussion should be in present tense. When talking about literature, you must always discuss it in present tense. When George killed Lennie… When George kills Lennie… George had to take care of Lennie when they were walking to the farm. George has to take care of Lennie as they make their way to the new farm.