1. WRITING TIPS

2. TITLE REFERENCES When referring to a novel, magazine, CD, encyclopedia, or any book, UNDERLINE the TITLE. Ex. The Hobbit When referring to a short story, poem, song, or magazine article, put QUOTATION MARKS around the title. Ex. “A Rose for Emily” For ALL TITLES, capitalize every main word in the title. Ex. “Song of Myself”

3. YOUR OWN TITLES Just start every MAIN WORD in your title with a CAPITAL LETTER. You DON’T need to underline your own title OR put it in quotation marks! EX. The Very Boring Story of My Life by Jess Bayerly Breethen

4. TYPING RULES Every essay needs a TITLE. Type all essays using DOUBLE-SPACING. Do NOT quadruple-space between paragraphs. INDENT your paragraphs. When using ELLIPSES, put a space before and after each one (... ) At the end of a sentence put four ELLIPSES(.... ) For a dramatic pause, consider using a hyphen— it shows that you want the reader to hesitate for a moment. Put TWO SPACES after every sentence.

5. PLAGIARISM When using a DIRECT QUOTE (copying someone’s words EXACTLY) or a PARAPHRASE (using someone’s ideas using YOUR WORDING) you MUST GIVE CREDIT TO THE SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION. USE PARENTHETICAL CITATION at the end of the sentence by giving the author’s last name, page # of information used and make a WORKS CITED page. EX. “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks,...” (Shakespeare 376).

6. TRANSITIONS Use TRANSITIONING words at the beginnings of sentences and paragraphs to aid in sentence fluency and a smooth progression from one idea to the next.

7. Transitions for Adding an Idea Moreover*For one thing*Again *Further In additionToo *BesidesNextFinally AndFirst, second, etc.*Last *And thenIn the first placeLastly *Likewise*As well Also*To begin with *Beyond that*Equally important

8. TRANSITIONS TO BRING CONCLUSION Finally*In brief In other words *In short *Inevitably *For this reason Lastly*As noted *As has been *That isLast Consequently Therefore*So *On the whole Hence*Thus Accordingly *As a result

9. Transitions TO SHOW CONTRAST But*And yet However Yet Nevertheless *Still *In contrast *Notwithstanding *Otherwise *Nonetheless *At the same time *In spite of *Even so On the other hand Granted *After all On the contrary

10. TRANSITIONS WHICH ILLUSTRATE *As an example *For example Indeed In other words *In particular That is For this reason *The fact remains *In fact *For instance Admittedly Because *As an illustration TRANSITIONS WHICH SHOW EMPHASIS *Above all*Certainly*Especially *In any eventIn particularIn fact Indeed*Most importantlyNo doubt *SurelyUnquestionablyObviously Of courseUndoubtedly Assuredly

11. TRANSITIONS WHICH SHOW TIME *After a while Afterward At last *At length *At once *Briefly *By degrees *Eventually Finally *Gradually First, second, etc. Later Meanwhile *Instantaneously Soon *Immediately *Suddenly

12. TRANSITIONS TO INDICATE PLACE *Here*Beyond *Nearby *Opposite*Adjacent *Above *At this time *Outside *Within *Next to *To the left of *To the right of TRANSITIONS TO INDICATE comparison Similarly*In the same way LikewiseIn a similar manner

13. THESIS STATEMENT Every essay should have a THESIS STATEMENT. This is a sentence which tells the main idea of your essay—the overlying point are trying to get across—what you are trying to prove. Usually the THESIS STATEMENT is presented in the first paragraph of your essay. Ex. In the short story “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner uses symbolism, foreshadowing, and characterization to relate the importance of being willing to change and make adaptations.

14. POINT OF VIEW First Person Point-of-View I, me, my, our, we, us, myself, mine Second Person Point-of-View you, your, yours Third Person Point-of-View he, she, it, they, them, theirs, his, hers AVOID USING 1 st PERSON POINT OF VIEW IN A FORMAL ESSAY TO THANK OR BEG YOUR READER!!!!! Ex. I hope you learned something from my story. Ex. I hope you enjoyed my essay. Ex. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay.

15. SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT If your subject is singular, use a singular verb. If your subject is plural, use a plural verb. INCORRECT:A myth are a story. CORRECT:A myth is a story. INCORRECT: Whales has interesting habits. CORRECT: Whales have interesting habits.

16. THAT AND WHO People are not THAT; people are WHO!!!! Things and animals are THAT!!! Ex. I love the lady who lives next door to me. Ex. My cousins are the ones who have a Pomeranian.

17. EVERY DAY & EVERYDAY/ A LOT Every day is TWO WORDS unless it is used as an ADJECTIVE!!!! Ex. I go to school every day. Ex. Every day I wear my everyday jewelry except on special occasions. A lot is ALWAYS two words!

18. SLANG Slang almost NEVER has any place in a formal essay. Examples of slang: psycho, goin, wanna, cuz, gonna, cud

19. FRAGMENTS Make sure that EVERY sentence has a SUBJECT (noun or pronoun) and a VERB (linking or action)! FRAGMENTS ruin your sentence fluency and make reading your paper very awkward if not used PURPOSELY and EFFECTIVELY. Avoid them unless it is going to be obvious that they were INTENTIONAL!!!

20. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS A sentence fragment is part of a sentence that is written as if it were a whole sentence, with a capital letter at the beginning and a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point at the end. A fragment may lack a subject, a complete verb, or both. Other fragments may begin with a subordinating conjunction, such as because, and so depend for their meaning on another sentence. Reading your draft out loud, backwards, sentence by sentence, will help you spot sentence fragments.

21. SENTENCE FRAGMENT EXAMPLES