English 20-1
Essay Revision and Editing
Titles and Authors
• Authors need to be introduced in either the
introduction (usually the blueprint) or topic
sentences of body paragraphs.
• Titles need to be separated from the rest of the
writing:
– Novels and plays can be underlined or italicized
(choose one and stay consistent).
– Short stories, poems, and any other text that is part of
a larger anthology should be in “quotation marks”.
– Do not underline your own title: it hasn’t been
published… yet.
Oh, those little conventions…
• The words ‘but’ and ‘and’ should never appear
at the beginning of a sentence.
• Be cautious of the word ‘so’ as a sentence
starter: most times, it is not needed.
• Alright is not considered a word. Use all right.
• Then = time Than = comparison
• The apostrophe is used to show ownership.
– She cannot meet the expectations of others.
– She cannot meet others’ expectations.
And now… more conventions.
• Example of a run-on: The apple is tasty I want to eat it.
• Run-on sentences can be fixed in one of three ways:
– Identify the different, complete, ideas within the sentence, then make
them each their own.
Ex. The apple is tasty. I want to eat it.
– Place a semicolon between the complete ideas.
Ex. The apple is tasty; I want to eat it.
– Make use of FANBOYS;
The apple is tasty, so I want to eat it.
• I would like you to meet your friend, the colon: wonderful, useful,
and misunderstood.
– Colons are often used to extend the idea(s) of a sentence. Most often,
the information that follows a colon is in the form of an incomplete
sentence.
Quotes
• Remember: quotes are used to support your
ideas, not be them. I have read and viewed
these texts multiple times; I do not need you
to copy them word for word.
• Ideas that are lacking in strength often benefit
from the INTEGRATION of a quote.
• You are required to have three INTEGRATED
quotes in your essay. This means that they will
sound as though they are part of your writing.
Quote Integration
Example One:
Evelyn wants Ed to notice her so badly that she even goes to an organization
which, “[believes] that women [can] find complete happiness if they, in turn,
[will] dedicate their entire lives to just making their man happy” (43).
– Commas separate your writing from the quote.
– Use square brackets to change any words that disrupt the flow of your writing
(pronouns, verb tense, etc.).
– Page citations are indicated with only a number.
Example Two:
She feels so helpless that when, “she [wants] to scream out for help…she
[just lays] there in that dark pit of her own personal hell” (Flagg, 133).
– Ellipses can be used when leaving out chunks of a quote.
– If using more than one text, you must indicate which text by referring to the
author’s name.
Example Three:
Once again, Idgie finds herself alone, and this time she, “just can’t take it,” so
she decides to leave (93).
– Page citations come at the end of the sentence, regardless of where the quote
may appear.
Finally, my pet peeves.
• Space properly. Indents are used to indicate the
beginning of a new paragraph; this removes the
need to leave an extra space between
paragraphs.
• Using the title of the text(s) as your own title.
These have been taken… you cannot use them.
• Signposting
– This proves…
– In this paragraph….
– In this essay…