College English- Mrs. Curley
Please note the following tips regarding your upcoming paper.
Do:
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Include an MLA heading on the first page and a header on each page.
Craft a title that reflects your thesis statement.
Construct a strong thesis statement that allows for a paper loaded with original analysis. The
worst thesis statements are those that simply reiterate plot summary. You may wish to review
the “Thesis with Style” handout. (For example, if you are writing about symbols in a literary
work, ask yourself: what does the text ‘do’ with these symbols that really is noteworthy or
intriguing?)
Place your thesis statement as the last sentence of your opening paragraph.
Formulate commanding topic sentences in each body paragraph. Think of your thesis
statement as a signal leading into your body paragraphs. Similarly, think of your topic
sentences as baby thesis statements for each body paragraph. Your topic sentences should be
strictly relevant to your thesis statement and should be proven in your body paragraphs.
Write with formal or elevated language. Aim for vocabulary that is sophisticated and not
overly pretentious. Consider contractions, colloquialisms, use of the second person, and
vague, imprecise language to be part of your writing past! You are better than that!
Vary your sentence structures. Why not play with compound and complex sentences? As we
discussed, a mix of long and short sentences works well in each body paragraph. How so?
Well, long sentences allow you to grapple with more weighty issue whereas shorter sentences
can help emphasize a point but limiting the ‘clutter’ around it. Not all sentences have to
follow the ‘subject-verb,’ ‘subject-verb’ pattern. We can begin sentences with words such as
to, gerunds, adverbs, and adjectives.
Engage well with textual evidence in the form of direct quotation.
Engaging with your chosen direct quotations means just that: immediately following a
sentences with a direct quotation, you need to then explain the context of the quotation: the
speaker, the meaning- literal and figurative- of the words themselves, and the significance of
the quotation itself. After all, if you chose to include this quotation in your paper, then,
chances are, it should be unpacked carefully for your reader.
Sentences containing a direct quotation must end with a parenthetical citation as in (Glaspell
70). Notice the elements and lack of punctuation contained in the parentheses.
Remember that good papers ‘show’ and do not merely ‘tell.’ Slow down your points, and be
precise in your explanations of the characters and your direct quotations.
Be sure your paper meets the page requirement of 4-5 pages.
Review the previously distributed STAC grading rubric and all of our grammar tips.
Bring your paper to class stapled.
Submit your paper to www.turnitin.com by 7 AM Friday, October 10. Review syllabus for
policies on late papers.
Don’t:
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Include a title page.
Have a lame title as in Gender Relations in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles.
Mess up the MLA formatting of your chosen title!
Get cute with weird spacing or margins- 12 pt. Times New Roman with 1” margins is where
it’s at! (And don’t write colloquially or ‘slangy’ as I just did. No ending sentences in
prepositions!) And don’t be a cheapie: 3.5 pages is not 4, my friends!
Have sloppy grammar in the form of improper sentence punctuation, poor spelling, ‘lazy’
sentences, or silly typographical errors. That is just bad form.
Begin sentences with a direct quote. Why? It is the writer’s job to give the quotations the
proper context and to set them up properly for the reader.
Do not end paragraphs with a quotation. Doing so is abrupt.
Write “this quotation shows.” Write “this quotation is significant because.” Write “this
quotations means that…” Think of it this way: your same point can be achieved by simply
getting rid of the “this quotation” part.
Overpopulate your paper with direct quotations. They should be well-chosen and completely
relevant to your point.
Discus the events of a literary work using the past tense.
Construct ‘cluttered’ sentences. Aim for clean sentences that contain a measured flow. Do
not allow your syntax to interfere with the point you are trying to make.
Please do not include block quotes, or direct quotations of more than four lines, in this essay.
Block quotes are more suitable for longer papers.
Neglect your conclusion.
Praise the author or the literary work in general! We know it is a fine piece of literature; that
is why it has been anthologized and studied in college classes across the country!
Panic. Panicking about having to fill up four complete pages of text. Panicking is never
productive in any situation.