1. Essay Help Common mistakes in your essays that you can fix to make your next essays better.

2. Table of Contents: click on the information button to view the appropriate slide Page limits Titles Background information Introduction Thesis Conclusion We, I You Informal Language Author’s Name Present Tense Sentence patterns/to be verbs Confidence No over-praising Quotations Final touches

3. Page Limits 2-3 pages means at least 2 FULL pages. Not 1.5, not 1.75, 2 full pages

4. Titles This is your title, not the title of the work you are writing about. For example: “The Fall of the House of Usher” should not be your title. Your title could be something like this: –Analyzing Tone in “The Fall of the House of Usher”

5. Titles of Works Novels and plays should be underlined or italicized –Example: Catcher in the Rye or Julius Caesar Short Stories and poems should be in quotation marks –Example: “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “I Hear America Singing”

6. Background info Any background information needs to either be in your words or in quotations. Any plagiarism will be severely punished.

7. Introduction Your essay must have an introduction. –Hook –Generally introduce topic –Mention author and title –No quotes (leave these for the body paragraphs) –Thesis (last sentence of introduction)

8. Thesis What to avoid in a thesis: Do not use “I” in a thesis—keep it objective Cluttering the thesis with unnecessary phrases –“in this essay, I will show you” –“in my opinion” –“which I will explain later” Lists—too general and do not lend themselves to in- depth analysis Simply stating a fact Taking a stand without a reason Expressing the thesis in the form of a question Unsupported thesis—when the paper goes off in a different direction

9. TPR Step One: Topic –State the topic under consideration Cats Grades Step Two: Position – State the specific issue in the form of a debating proposition Cats should be subject to leash laws. Grades are unnecessary in college. Step Three: Rationale

10. TPR Step Three: Rationale –Using a because-clause, convert the resolution into a sentence that states your position on the issue and provides a main rationale for that position. Cats should be subject to leash laws because they are inveterate wanders. Grades are unnecessary in college because students learn more rapidly without them. Step Four: Reverse and Test –Test your faith in the thesis and expose potential counterarguments by reversing your position. The cat’s independent and adaptable nature makes it the only pet capable of living an unrestricted existence within the city. Traditional grading procedures may offend educational purists, but public school systems require pragmatic approaches to evaluation.

11. Conclusions Your essay must also have a conclusion. Your conclusion should restate your thesis, summarize your main points, and tie everything together to make the essay sound complete and finished.

12. We, I, You In an analytical essay, stay in third person. This means do not write about yourself or directly address the reader. Incorrect examples: –What I’m saying is… –I believe that… –This makes you feel like… Correct examples: –Poe argues… –This gives the feeling of… –One can assume…

13. No Informal Language In an analytical essay do not use informal language. Make yourself sound academic and smart. Examples: –For “cocky” use “arrogant” –Don’t write “u,” write “you” –Don’t be a valley girl. “He was like a total Romantic” This also means no contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t). Write out both words.

14. Author’s name When you first mention the author, use their full name (Edgar Allan Poe) After that time, however, only use the last name. (Poe describes the horror of the human existence) Only use the full name again in the first sentence of your conclusion.

15. Present Tense When writing about literature, use present tense even if the author is dead. Example: Poe writes about gruesome details in his texts, which is Romantic because he feels that the ordinary had no place in art.

16. Sentence Patterns— “to be” verbs Try to use strong action verbs instead of “to be” verbs Fire belched from the dragon’s mouth. (instead of: the dragon was belching fire) The cloud darkened with the moon (instead of: the moon was darkened by the cloud)

17. Be sure of yourself Do not write weakening phrases such as: –Sort of –Kind of –Basically what I’m saying is Include your own analysis—don’t merely summarize someone else’s ideas. Contribute new ideas

18. Over-praising the author It weakens your essay to over-praise. Focus on the text and the prompt. Examples: –In this magnificent story –What Poe so marvelously shows in this paragraph

19. Quotations The comma and period come before the quotation mark of a title or single word. Example: “blah blah blah,” The comma and period come after the page number when quoting a text. Example: “He suddenly turned around” (3).

20. Block Quotes Use block quotes whenever the quoted text goes over four lines. No quotation marks End your embedding with a colon Start the quote on a new line Indent the entire quote one inch from the left margin. Maintain double spacing Example Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone…

21. Quoting Poetry When quoting 3 lines or less, if you are incorporating more than one line, separate the lines with an / to indicate a break. Include line numbers in parentheses after the quotation. –Example: Lao-Tzu warns, “Real words are not vain, / Vain words not real” (1-2). For more than three lines, block quote the lines. –Example: Though we often think of absence or emptiness in negative terms, Lao-Tzu emphasizes the positive importance of unoccupied space: Doors, windows, in a house, Are used for their emptiness: Thus we are helped by what is not To use what is. (5-8)

22. Embed quotes You cannot simply put a quote in your essay and leave it alone. You need to introduce (embed) it and then explain it. Example: –In his short story, Poe writes, “blah blah blah” (4). This quote explains the narrator’s erratic behavior be…

23. Quotations and Analysis Do not begin or end a paragraph with a quote. Make sure you both explain what the quote explains and how that quote applies to what you are saying. –Explanation and analysis WHY/HOW: always ask yourself why and/or how the quote proves your point or says what it does.

24. “This shows that…” Many essays rely too heavily on the phrase “this shows that.” When re-reading your essay, make sure you don’t use this too many times.

25. Finalizing SPELL CHECK!!! Read your paper aloud to check for errors.