Writing a Formal Essay Composition

Is About…  Knowing how to communicate effectively.  Understanding what instructors expect in a formal essay.

Mature Writing  Voice: adult, formal, educated.  No slang language: guys, back in the day, 24/7, w/out  Avoid immature adverbs: really, totally, actually, so, definitely/defiantly  Do not questions EVER. No questions as hooks.  Do not write in first-person, unless specified. No I, we, our.

Mature Writing Cont’d  Use precise, mature vocabulary. Use a thesaurus. Instead of saying bad, say dreadful. Instead of saying good, say superior.  Do not use contractions.  Avoid “fluff” writing. Do not try to fill space – teachers know when you’re doing this.  Avoid split infinitives. NO: to really write well. YES: to write really well.

Mature Writing Cont’d More  Never speak to the reader or reference the essay you are writing. “In this essay…” “This quote shows…” “The first example …”  All verbs should maintain a consistent tense Literature is always discussed using present tense  Do not use abbreviations.  Any number that can be written out in two or less words should be spelled out Ex: 2 is incorrect; should be written as two, but 103 is correct; not one hundred and three

Language  Avoid all vague language: Things and stuff are not acceptable words. Replace with specific nouns.  There are many things a writer can use.  There are many techniques a writer can use.  Do not use like except as a verb or in a simile. NO: This would be like if a criminal was set free. YES: This would be similar to setting a criminal free.

Cliches  Avoid clichés. If you’ve heard that saying before, you can say it better if you use your own words. Examples:  Be true to yourself.  Love stinks.  All in a day’s work.  Bored to tears.  Eye for an eye.

Indefinite Pronouns  Never use you in an essay (second-person).  Do not use they, this, or it unless you’ve already stated the noun the pronoun replaced. They said on the news it would rain today. The weatherman said it would rain today.  Avoid using which. Students tend to create wordy sentences when using which. Wordy: Today is May 5 th, which is my favorite day of the year. Concise: May 5 th is my favorite day of the year.

Topic and Clincher Sentences  Topic sentences and clinchers: Should…Should not… Act as summary sentences. Act as a thesis supporter. Be persuasively worded. Reflect the same idea in different wording. Quote. Simply inform the reader.

Sources  Wikipedia is NOT an acceptable source – EVER!!!  The World Wide Web should be the last resource you use for research.  Begin your research in the library: Books, journals, magazines, newspapers Library databases – SIRS, Ebscohost, ABC-Clio, etc.