Ratiocination Paper Editing

First things first… Highlight the thesis statement ◦ Does it CLEARLY respond to the prompt? ◦ Is it debatable? Highlight body paragraph topic sentences ◦ Does each one state the purpose/direction of that paragraph? Highlight where the theme is shown in the conclusion ◦ Is it closely connected to the ideas expressed throughout the paper?

BE VERBS Circle all “to be” verbs in any color (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being). Then count all incidences of these verbs. Its, It’s, he’s, & she’s COUNT because they contain the word IS

Bye, Bye Be Verbs Next, divide by 2 (if a remainder, round up to nearest whole number). The remaining number is the amount that will need to be eliminated Place this number at the top of the page on the right hand side. Adios!

Short & Looooong Sentences In any two colors underline alternating sentences beginning with the first word in each sentence and ending with end punctuation (period, exclamation point, question mark). Use contrasting colors (blue and red or red and green). If sentences are extremely short, look for fragments. If sentences are unusually long, look for run-ons (and overuse of “and”). Try replacing them with compound sentences (FANBOYS-for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or complex sentences (before, because, after, if, since….). Check for run-on sentences and comma splices (5 points)

I really want you to X out a lot of very needless descriptors. In any color “X” out every incidence of very, really, a lot. These words are not specific enough Use more definite descriptors instead.

Contractions Circle all contractions. These are a no-no in a professional level essay. (-2 points)

3 rd Person Pronouns ONLY The author doesn’t know us. He doesn’t even know that we exist. So why should you/I/we be in this paper? (-5 Points) Cross out all instances of 1 st or 2 nd person pronouns

Literary Present Tense Using the present tense when discussing fictional events. Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to exist in an eternal present. When you are writing about writers or artists as they express themselves in their work, stay in present tense.  Definition by UCSD.edu Highlight all words that are not in present tense (excluding direct quotes) Ex: was, were, showed, went, said, revealed

Embed and Cite All quotes must be embedded. Think of it as a sandwich with your words as the bread and the quote as the meat. All quotes must be followed by a parenthetical citation BEFORE THE PERIOD (-3 points). ◦ Charles is not allowed to go into the army because it “would let loose things which in Charles must be chained down” such as the ability to take a man’s life when angered, like his own brother’s (Steinbeck 27). Put a star by all quotes that do not have a citation and/or are not embedded properly. Quotes should not exceed 6-8 words.

Repetition is the kiss of death! Draw a wavy ~ line under repeated words or phrases (repeated more than 3 times). Eliminate or change these phrases.

You should have 5 paragraphs In the margin, number the paragraphs. This checks for multiple paragraphs and aids with organization. There should be an indention at the beginning of each paragraph.

SDRAWKCAB DEAR Read BACKWARDS to check for spelling. Start at the end of your paper and read from bottom to top, backwards- forwards. By reading this way, the focus is on single words and not context. Don’t ever depend only on spell check on the computer. Check papers several times. Please don’t type it on your phone. The autocorrects and bad formatting are infuriating.

Read Forward Read forward for spelling. This time look for proper use of homophones (their, they’re, and there). The computer never catches these errors. PS: It’s could HAVE not could OF!!!

What’s next? Make these corrections to your essay before turning in your final draft. We just pointed out 9 different areas in which you could make your paper better. DO IT!

NEWS FLASH: Your essay must be typed, size 12 Times New Roman font and double spaced. Proper MLA Heading: ◦ Student Name ◦ Mrs. Arnst ◦ English II Pre-AP ◦ December 9, 2015 Within the turn in window you will: 1. Turn a copy of your paper in to turnitin.com 2. Turn in a printed copy to me