How to Write a Scholarly Essay Mr. Beavers class – English 101, 102
Cardinal Rule of All Essays:
You must communicate effectively and efficiently.
Anything else is inferior.
Introduction
The first thing I need to tell you is this: I am writing this with the singular purpose that the
information contained herein should answer all your questions about writing essays for me. You
should refer to it every time you write an essay for me (especially if you think you don’t have
any questions) because there’s a good chance you’ll be reminded of something here that you may
have forgotten about. And look…trust me. This is my job. Have I given you the impression yet
that I don’t know what I’m talking about? OK. Trust me and do what I say when it comes to
these essays. Some of you will have to forget some of the things your former teachers taught
you. They weren’t necessarily wrong, but many of them use certain essay “rules” that are really
just meant to get you to write something, anything. So, if what I say here is the opposite of what
your mom or your 8th grade teacher said, do what I say. Remember, I’m teaching you to write
college essays, not stuff for a LEAP test.
Overall Format of this Guide
Basically, this guide is structured in two parts. Part one focuses on the product - that is, on what
a scholarly essay is and what it is not. This is important to you because you’ve almost surely
never written essays like these. So, much of your knowledge of writing (excepting grammar,
punctuation, usage, etc.) is going to be useless here. Scholarly essays are nothing like journals,
informal responses, book reports, research papers, biographies, poems, or whatever else you’ve
written in school. Part two focuses on the writing process - that is, on what you’ll be doing
mentally as you prepare to write, are writing, and then are editing your essay.
Part One - The Writing Product
Tone
You must understand the tone of a scholarly essay. Tone is the overall mood or atmosphere of
something. Think of the tone or mood of a comedy club, a funeral, a wedding, graduation, the
lunchroom. A scholarly essay’s tone is always formal. No jokes, no sarcasm, no exaggeration,
no slang, no informal phrases like, “you know what I mean?” or “here’s the deal” or anything
that you’d say in casual conversation. This includes words like but not limited to: sucks, stuff,
crap, junk, like (as in, “Tom was like whatever.”), sorta, kinda, crazy, messed up (as in, “that was
totally messed up.”), etc. All of these words can be replaced with more formal language.
Instead of “crazy,” say “insane” or “mentally unbalanced,” for example.
All of the essays that you will do for me will be expository. You should know both what that
means and what it does not mean. It does mean that you will explain or “expose” information. It
does mean that you will state a claim about an author or an author’s work or a literary period (or
some similar topic), and you will then support that claim by using evidence from the appropriate
readings from class or discussions or your own research. It does not mean that your claims are
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opinionated or personal. It does not mean you are being persuasive or rhetorical. It does not
mean that the information you are giving is in a “how-to” or educational format. It is very
important for you to understand that if you write a personal essay or a persuasive essay, etc., you
are not actually writing what I asked for. I assume I don’t need to explain to you how bad it
would be for your grade to write something other than what I ask.
Audience
This is closely related to tone, but it’s fairly specific. Understanding your audience means
understanding the correct tone for you to use when it comes to guiding your reader through the
information in your essay. For my classes, you are always to write for a reader is slightly less
sophisticated than you. For example, if you’re writing an essay on Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
Wrath, you can safely assume that nearly everyone a year less experienced than you has heard of
that book and may even know the author, but they may not have read that book. (This, of course,
assumes that you, as a worthy Honors student, will have actually read the material about which
you are writing!) So, you can’t just start a paragraph with something like, “Ma believes Tom is
destined to be greater than others.” Who’s Ma? Who’s Tom? You can’t mention specific
information without giving your reader enough (but not more than enough) information so that
he isn’t confused. Rule of thumb: as long as it’s introduced information, you can freely talk
about it; if you haven’t introduced the information, you must.
This also implies that you are not writing for me. You are writing for a reader who is slightly
less sophisticated than you. This is a rule of mine, so follow it. The reason I require this is to get
you into the habitat of writing in a logical progression and explaining information linearly. In
other words, if you’re writing about A, B, and C (where C represents information that can’t
really be understood without knowing A and B), you can’t start with C. This is essentially
practice for the skill of clarity. Remember the cardinal rule? Knowing your audience requires to
write effectively so that your reader is never confused. But it’s your job to make sure he is never
confused.
Finally, in terms of audience, you really need to understand that you have to present your
information in such a way that you make it as easy as possible for your reader to understand
everything. That creates effective writing. This doesn’t mean you need to use baby words and
avoid complex or intellectual points; it means that you have to present those complex or
intellectual points....in such a way that you make it as easy as possible for your reader to
understand everything. If your reader is confused, how are you being effective? You’re not.
Remember the cardinal rule.
Format
The good news is that you are already very familiar with the paragraph format of a scholarly
essay. It contains an introductory paragraph, a multi-paragraph body, and a conclusion. The bad
news (not too bad, really) is that your idea that an essay must contain 5 paragraphs is entirely
wrong. It is a myth, right up there with Bigfoot, the boogeyman, “no, that doesn’t make you
look fat,” and the idea that men should wear cologne. You have been told to write 5 paragraphs
for reasons of formula. In other words, teachers know that you need to be exactly what to do, or
you’ll do nothing at all. 5 paragraphs = 1 intro, 3 different points, 1 conclusion. It’s easy to
write, easy to grade, and it gets the job done when teaching you how to write persuasively. But
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that’s all gone now. Your multi-paragraph body can contain 3 or 4 paragraphs, or it can contain
8 or 10 or any number, just so long as what you say belongs in the essay. My Honors Juniors
last night wrote 10-page papers on Transcendentalism. I recently had to write a paper over 20
pages for a class at Tech and 40 pages at Northwestern. Do you really think those were only 5
paragraphs? Equally juvenile is the idea that paragraphs are a certain number of sentences. A
paragraph should end when the momentum ends. That is to say, when you have discussed every
necessary aspect of the paragraph as effectively and efficiently as possible, you start a new
paragraph. That may take five sentences or fifteen sentences, but I’ll talk more specifically
about this on page 5.
That’s the paragraph format. The paper format is as follows:
-It must be typed. (Rough drafts can by hand-written, but they should still adhere to all other
rules. Don’t even ask if you can turn in a hand-written essay. Is it also going to be in Crayon?
-Do not submit a cover page. (no points for “pretty”)
-Do not submit your paper in a plastic sleeve, folder, or anything else.
-Your heading should read as follows and should be single spaced in the top left corner:
Title (I invite clever titles, but don’t be obnoxious or whiney.)
Your name
The name of this class
Josh Beavers (and don’t misspell my name)
Lakeside High School
The date
A brief note about the heading: It continues to blow my mind every year how
students pay absolutely no attention to the very first thing I look at on their
essays!!!!!! Don’t you think it would be a good idea to at least make the heading
like I asked?
-Use 12-point font. (And look. I can tell the difference between 11pt, 12pt, and 13pt font. I’ve
graded hundreds of essays and written hundreds of pages. What am I, stupid? And don’t try to
be sneaky and use 12.5, either.)
-Use Times New Roman or a similarly standard-looking font.
-Must be printed in black ink only.
-Use 1-inch margins. (These should be pre-set on your computer, so don’t screw around with
them; I can spot margins that aren’t 1 inch from a mile away.)
-The entire essay must be double-spaced except for any block quotes you may include.
-Do not set your line spacing to 2.2 or 2.5. Realize that your essay will look funny compared to
all the other essays I’m grading. Only losers do this or change their margins or use 13pt font.
Man up and write the essay I’m asking for.
-Do not skip a line between paragraphs. If you are using Microsoft Word 2007 or later, click the
pull-down for the Paragraph box, and then click “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the
same style.”
-The length of most essays in my classes varies from 2 to 4 pages. When I say “pages,” I don’t
mean “sheets of paper.” “2 pages” means you filled 2 pages. “2-3 pages” means you wrote over
2 pages but not 3 full pages.
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Plagiarism
You already know my feelings about plagiarism and what will happen to you if I catch it. But
you honestly may not know exactly what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. So, listen
closely: anytime you write any statement that did not originate directly from your own thoughts
or from what you’ve been taught by me, you’re plagiarizing. So, that means if you read
something, anything online or in a book or anywhere about what you’re writing on, and you
mention that information in your essay, even if you change the words (!!), you are committing
plagiarism. I’m not exaggerating; I’m telling you the definition of plagiarism. There are two
ways not to do this: 1, (and this is the option you are required to take in my class) never, under
any circumstances, refer to any information or sources other than what I gave you. 2.
Include the source you looked at in your essay’s bibliography. Obviously, you’ll only use
number 2 in a course (not mine) in which you are allowed to use outside sources (internet,
biographies, articles, etc.), but you will never use outside sources in my classes.
Format - Works Cited
Part of your format is that you must have a works cited page. “Citing” a work means that you
quoted from that work. The last page of any essay will be a page listing the works from which
you cited - a “works cited” page. I will provide information later on creating this page correctly.
Students often forget to do their works cited page; please try not to.
Part Two - The Writing Process
I’ve divided the following information into six sections: What to say, Pre-writing, Writing,
Editing, Citations, and Works Cited. Some of these sections contain subsections. When you
find yourself debating what to do next, how to start a paragraph, how to end a paragraph, how to
write your conclusion, or basically any decision concerning what to say or how to say it, refer to
this section.
First, understand that writing is not always a clean, linear process. In other words, you probably
won’t plan, write, edit, and print it out. Writing is a recursive process. That means that, even
though you must have those three basic steps of planning, writing, and editing, you may realize
you need to re-plan something after you’ve been writing for three paragraphs. Or, while editing,
you may decide you need to rewrite a sentence or two or an entire paragraph. It’s sort of like
packing a suitcase. You get out your bags, pack them, and load them in the car. But while
packing you may realize your bag is too small and have to start over with a bigger bag, or you
may realize you packed the wrong shoes, find the right ones, and replace them. In other words,
the writing process is now considered by teachers as a thinking process. This makes sense
because of the cardinal rule; in order to be effective and efficient, you must consider every word
you use, before you use it, while you use it, and after you use it.
What to Say
The Big Picture
Any essay you write for me should always be organized in the same way. What I want to do for
you in this little section is give you an overall idea of the process or structure of a scholarly
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essay. This is so you can envision what I envision every time we talk about essays. I promise
you - the quicker you digest this, the quicker you’ll get a good grade.
- introductory paragraph with thesis statement at the end.
- multi-paragraph body.
-each paragraph fully explains one point; it may have more than one supporting
element for that point, but it still only explains one point.
-each paragraph is arranged in the following order:
-a clear, firm opening sentence that provides an obvious realization for the
reader of what the paragraph’s main point is. (this sentence may often need
transitional language and will occasionally need to use words that directly
refer to your thesis)
-1-2 sentences that provide just enough context (background information) for
the quotation you’re about to use so that your reader won’t be confused. These
sentences should also use a word or two that directly relates to your thesis.
-a sentence that contains a quotation that supports your thesis. Do NOT simply
write the quotation; this sentence contains the quotation. That means you write
something like: Ma tells Tom, “Tom, you ain’t like the others.” Notice the “Ma
tells Tom” part? Without that, how would your reader know who’s speaking?
-1-2 sentences that explain the importance of this quotation as it relates to and
supports your thesis. Do NOT say something like, “Here, Ma is telling Tom
he is not like the others.” Really, genius?? Thanks for clearing that up. Look,
the reason you have to explain your quotation in terms of your thesis is that
you’re making it so that your reader doesn’t have to do it himself. You guide the
reader through your essay.
-1 sentence (sometimes 2 if things are getting complex) that provides an overall
or summarizing commentary on the point of the paragraph and how the that
point supports your thesis.
-You may find it necessary (depending on the works you’re using and what you
have to say about them) to include more than 1 quotation in a single paragraph.
If so, repeat steps 2-4.
-enough paragraphs in the above style and arranged in the most logical order for your
reader to support the thesis and address the topic.
-a conclusion that should comment on the topic as a whole and still including some of the
language from your thesis.
What Not to Say
This is actually very simple, but it’s the part the beginning writers cry about the most. Basically,
there are 2 rules involving content: 1. stick to the freaking topic. 2. stick to your freaking thesis.
Sounds easy, right? Yeah. Of an average Honors class of 25 students, 5-15 of them will include
entire paragraphs that have nothing to do with their topic or their thesis. I’m not kidding. When
I read a paragraph that’s irrelevant, I don’t even correct any part of it; I just put a slash through
the whole paragraph and move on. Tip: the most common cause of this is plot summary....
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Plot Summary
*sigh* Plot summary makes me sad, mainly because when I read a plot summary paragraph (or
worse, a plot summary essay), I think, “Wow, you poor dumb student. You thought you were
writing an essay the whole time, but this isn’t an essay, and I won’t even give it a grade. You’ll
have to do it all over.” That isn’t a joke. Ask around. *sigh* again. Okay, so what exactly is
plot summary? Let me first explain what you should do. Let’s say you’re writing an essay on
Romeo and Juliet. Remember how you’re writing for a reader slightly less sophisticated than
you? Okay, that means you have to give just enough background information so that your reader
isn’t confused, right? So, check out this sentence: In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,
two young lovers take their lives because their feuding families forbid their love. There. That’s
it. That’s how you sum up a work - one, maybe two sentences. “But Mr. Beavers, what about
other stuff like Tybalt or the Prince? How do we mention that if we’re supposed to sum up the
whole story in one sentence? How can we talk about other stuff?” Shut up. Quit whining, and
use your head. How about: Tybalt, Juliet’s hot-tempered cousin who hates all Montagues, blah,
blah, blah......” There. Now your reader knows who Tyblat is; you may know freely discuss
Tybalt.
What you DO NOT do is explain, through the use of multiple sentences and/or multiple
paragraphs, every or nearly every event, character, setting, mood, dramatic moment, bowel
movement, and speck of dust contained within the book!
Let me explain that this way. Take a look at the following essay prompt:
Explain Shakespeare’s use of internal and external conflict in Romeo and Juliet and show how
the conflict is the driving force of the play.
That’s your topic. NOWHERE does it say for you to list everything that happens. Does it? And
the topic itself does not assume such responsibility that you need to explain the details of even
one scene. You should be able to sum up anything in 1 to 2 sentences. So, guess what you do
write about for this topic? You write about how the internal and external conflict within Romeo
and Juliet is the driving force of the play. Know what your thesis is? It’s, “This essay will
explain Shakespeare’s use of internal and external conflict and show how it is the driving force
of the play.” This is so simple, students become confused by it. Don’t....just...stop...that irritates
me. It’s really simple: 2 rules - stick to the topic; stick to the thesis.
Your Thesis
I’ll have more specific information on how to make your thesis later, but you must understand
now that your entire essay depends on your thesis and especially your thesis support. As soon as
I realize your paragraphs don’t contain any thesis support, I stop reading, write, “thesis support?
C-” at the end, and move on to the next essay.
Pre-writing
If you don’t pre-write (brainstorm), you’re an idiot. I’m not kidding. I’ve written so many essays
that I can pre-write in my head. You are simply not there yet, and you won’t be there for years.
Accept your fate, and move on. Suck it up, and pre-write. The pre-write is just another part of
the process. You have to do it. Or let me put it this way, the best writers pre-write. There are
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only 2 reasons students don’t pre-write: they’re too lazy, or they think they’re too smart for it. I
assure you, neither student does very well on one of my essays. Do you really think you have
enough experience writing college level essays that you’re going to outsmart me by not prewriting?? Don’t you think I’ve designed essay topics that are complex enough to require you to
pre-write?? These aren’t LEAP test essays, people. Duh.
Your pre-write should contain the following, and they should be in this order:
-The topic, write down the topic at the top of your page. This is to serve as a constant reminder
of what you’re supposed to write on. You may think that’s so simple right now - just wait.
-Your thesis statement. Same thing - a reminder of what you’re supposed to write on.
-The points, themes, etc. that BEST SUPPORT YOUR THESIS. You should, if at all possible,
assign a full paragraph to each major point or theme. Now, if you’re writing a 3-page essay, you
simply cannot list 9 points in your pre-write; your paper will be far, far too long. Sooo....
-You may need to combine related points into a single point. If one point becomes too crowded,
you may need to shave some information off that isn’t as important as other information you’ve
got.
-You may need to arrange the points, themes, etc. in a logical order or you may not need to. It
depends on what kind of essay you’re writing. If it’s a compare/contrast paper, for instance,
you’ll have to decide if you’ll do best comparing/contrasting within each paragraph or to create
one paragraph for comparison and one for contrast, etc. (I suggest the latter for beginners, by the
way.)
-Quotations from the works you’re using that BEST SUPPORT YOUR THESIS. Honestly, if
you don’t use quotations in your essay, I’d rather you not even turn it in. I’m not making a joke.
I’m dead serious. Your thesis makes a claim. The body supports that claim. How can you
solidly support that claim without evidence? Your quotations are your evidence. As soon as I
realize you didn’t use quotations, I’ll stop reading, write “Quotations?? D” on the paper, and
move on to the next essay.
Writing
Introduction
Your introduction should begin with general statements and gradually become more specific
until you reach your thesis, which should be the last sentence in the introductory paragraph.
Why the last sentence? Simple. Let’s say the first sentence in your first paragraph is the most
important sentence in your whole essay, the sentence that tells the reader exactly what the paper
will say. What do you say next? The only effective and efficient way to follow your thesis is to
discuss information that supports it. Does in-depth discussion sound very introductory to you?
To me, it doesn’t. The only logical place your thesis can be is at the end of your introduction.
We’ll take this part step by step. Let’s say you have the following essay topic:
Explain Shakespeare’s use of internal and external conflict in Romeo and Juliet and show
how the conflict is the driving force of the play.
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First, key in on your target words. In this case, those words are “Shakespeare,” “internal and
external conflict,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “driving force.” Focus your thoughts on the most
general of the key words. In this case, it would be “driving force.” How do I know? Because
Shakespeare names a specific person, Romeo and Juliet is a specific play, etc. Gradually move
from the most general word or concept to the most specific. Here, that would be “driving force”
– “internal and external conflict” – “Shakespeare” – “Romeo and Juliet.” Now watch.
The driving force behind any drama is the deciding factor that makes that drama
a success or a failure. One of the standard driving forces of drama is the element of
conflict, which can be external between two or more forces or internal within a single
character. William Shakespeare, the world’s most famous playwright, used conflict as
the driving force in a myriad of his tragedies. The beloved Romeo and Juliet is a fine
example. This essay will explain Shakespeare’s use of internal and external conflict in
Romeo and Juliet and show how the conflict is the driving force of the play.
Now, take a second and read that again, but this time read it on your own.
That’s a really good introductory paragraph, isn’t it? Do you see how processed it is? I mean,
do you see how you just follow the steps mostly? That isn’t hard, is it? Notice how the thesis
does not begin with (or even contain) “I think” or “I will explain” or “I” at all? Did you catch
what I did to create the thesis? I just stole it from the topic. Duh! The intro is the easiest part.
Also, notice that the thesis begins with “This essay will” and then incorporates the language of
the prompt. That is how you will make every thesis for me. If you do not have a thesis at all, the
highest grade you’ll get is a C-, but a D is more likely.
Okay, the reason that’s a really good introductory paragraph is that your reader knows exactly
what to expect now. Because of the clarity and specificity of your thesis, he knows exactly what
will be contained in the essay. There is one catch, however. By creating a clear, specific thesis,
you now must limit your writing only to the information contained within that thesis. So the
above essay could not get away with a comparison and contrast of Romeo and Mercutio, or
reasons why the character of Tybalt makes a great villain, or the historical accuracy of the play,
or anything else except what is mentioned in the thesis. Stick to the topic!
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Multi-paragraph Body
This is the part that involves the most work and the most thinking on your part. I strongly
suggest you refer to the standard process involved in each paragraph as I laid it out for you on
page 5.
Remember your pre-write? Remember how you wrote down the points or themes that best
support your thesis as well as the quotations from Romeo and Juliet that best support your thesis?
You should be glad you already wrote those down in the pre-write, because now you don’t have
to figure out what to say here. This is why writers who pre-write get better grades.
So, now let’s say your first paragraph will focus on the conflict between the Capulets and the
Montagues. Fine, you got that from having it in your pre-write. But most new writers sit and
say, “I don’t know how to start it.” Trust me; don’t over-think this. You start with what the
paragraph is about. Start with something like, “The most obvious and continuous conflict in the
play is the family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.” Now, this does two things. It
gets your started, which is a relief, but it also presents a clear, logical main point for the reader.
He nows exactly what this paragraph should be about.
Following the information on page 5, you should realize you’re headed toward giving a
quotation, but you can’t just say it. If you do, your reader won’t really understand it. You must
give just enough background information so that your reader isn’t confused about the
information in the quotation and so that the relevance of the quotation to your thesis is clear.
Now, you’re ready to introduce a quotation that supports the evidence that this conflict is
important. You could say:
Juliet expresses her anxiety over Romeo’s Montague family when she asks, “Wherefore
art thou Romeo? Refuse thy father doff thy name” (Romeo and Juliet, p. 10).
Then, explain the quote in terms of your thesis.
Here, she is actually asking why the man she has fallen in love with must be Romeo, a
Montague. Her worry is so great that she hopes that Romeo will deny his family’s name
in order to be with her, a Capulet and a sworn enemy of the Montagues. The external
conflict between the two families creates a permanent barrier between the young lovers,
forcing the audience to pity them throughout the play.
How about the entire paragraph now, so you can see exactly what a full body paragraph looks
like?
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The most obvious and continuous conflict in the play is the family feud between
the Capulets and the Montagues. Although Shakespeare never explains the origin of the
feud, the quarrels and fights between the two families are enough to make the reader
understand the serious of it. However, rather than angering Romeo or Juliet, the feud
saddens them because it is what keeps them apart. Juliet expresses her anxiety over
Romeo’s Montague family when she asks, “Wherefore art thou Romeo? Refuse thy
father doff thy name” (Romeo and Juliet, p. 10). Here, she is actually asking why the man she
has fallen in love with must be Romeo, a Montague. Her worry is so great that she hopes
that Romeo will deny his family’s name in order to be with her, a Capulet and a sworn
enemy of the Montagues. The external conflict between the two families creates a
permanent barrier between the young lovers, forcing the audience to pity them
throughout the play.
Notice exactly what I did. I followed the paragraph prescription on page 5. A clear opening
sentence that presents the main point, a couple sentences the contextualize the quotation, the
sentence containing the quotation, an explanation of the quotation in terms of the thesis, and a
summarizing sentence that focuses on the essay topic itself. Also notice how I used words from
my thesis like “conflict” and “force” to politely guide the reader through the essay by sticking to
the point. Again, this is all very processed.
Here, you have two options. Use another equally relevant quotation in an equally effective way,
or move on to the next paragraph and use a quotation about your next point or theme the same
way. Once you’ve finished that process and used up all the points or themes you need to cover,
you’re finished with the body, and you move on to your conclusion.
Conclusion
For many writers, the conclusion is the most difficult part of an essay. You have to sum up
everything you’ve said in five or six sentences. My advice here is to take a break before you
write it. Take a whole day if possible, but at least take a couple hours. I also recommend starting
the conclusion with the words “In conclusion” because it can really help you focus. But what do
you say and what do you not say in the conclusion? The content of your conclusion is
determined by your tone, which should be an overview or summary of your paper. But rather
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than focusing specifically on the same quotations you’ve already discussed, you should sum up
the topic of the essay. You should write your conclusion so that, if a person only read that one
paragraph, he would still have a good idea of the topic and basically what the paper says. You
do not want to say things like, “I have shown...” or “This essay has shown...” Altogether, your
conclusion should be about 4-7 sentences or so.
Editing
When I say editing, I’m talking about looking at your first draft and asking, “Did I say
everything as effectively and as efficiently as I can say it?” Lucky for you, your thesis is your
measuring stick. Generally speaking, if the information in your essay does not correspond to
your thesis, it is neither effective nor efficient. There are a few other very important points to
consider, however.
Did you use enough transitional language? Transitional language consists of using words like
“however,” “nevertheless,” “on the other hand,” “for instance,” “additionally,” or
“consequently.” There are dozens of these words, and you should use them periodically to assist
the reader in feeling the flow of the thoughts that the essay expresses.
Are your paragraphs too long or too short? If one is too long, find or create an appropriate place
to split it up. If it is too short, make sure you have introduced and explained the information in
the paragraph as effectively as possible. You probably haven’t.
Did you use enough sophisticated language? Find words like “thing,” “very,” “really,” or “big”
and replace them with more sophisticated language.
Did you use informal language? Remember that essays are strictly formal. Contractions are
informal. Never use them in essays.
Did you apply what you’ve learned in bellringers? This means did you proofread. Check for
punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, usage, redundancy, subject-verb agreement, pronounantecedent agreement, and everything else. If you don’t check for it, I will. And, trust me, I’ll
find it.
Are you specific enough? If you give me an opportunity to ask “why,” I’m going to ask it.
Remember, I’m grading on how effective your words are to a reader who is slightly less
sophisticated than you are. So, if you don’t fully explain something that needs to be explained,
it’s not specific enough. This pertains to points you’re trying to make, but it also pertains to
word choice. Words like “thing” are off limits because they’re not specific. Look at your
sentence, and you’ll realize you’re probably not just talking about a random “thing.” You’re
probably talking about an event, an emotion, an attitude, an item, a behavior, or something else
very specific. So, change “thing” to a more specific and more appropriate word.
Are you too wordy? Did you write a long, convoluted sentence when a simpler, more elegant
sentence would be just as effective? If so, fix it.
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Do you make awkward sentences? Awkward sentences usually mean that you put down an
unfinished thought. At this level, anything your reader doesn’t get right away is not written well.
Are you personal? Did you say “I” or “you” or “we” or use any other similar language? If you
did, you need to get rid of it altogether. These will not be personal essays. This also means that
you should not be humorous or opinionated.
Did you use active voice and avoid passive voice? Notice the difference:
Passive: A party was thrown for Tom’s birthday.
Active: Tom’s friends threw him a birthday party.
English professors hate passive voice because it sounds weak and lacks authority. I’m not sure
why, but most students who incorrectly use passive voice do so in their first body paragraph, but
you should check all over for it.
These are the usual problems I see that cause essays to lose points. They are all important points
to remember when reviewing your first draft. Seriously. If you want a better score, go over
these points when you finish your first draft. Another point to consider is this: if I see “I” or
improper subject-verb agreement or contractions or several other mistakes that I just told you to
consider, I can safely assume that you paid very little, if any, attention to my advice. At that
point, why would I care what your grade is?
Citations
A citation is the information contained in parentheses after you quote from a source. Some
professors in college (typically, history professors) will want you to use footnotes, but I’m not
going to worry about that now. The main point is twofold: You all must learn how to cite
quotations properly and you must all apply that information every time you quote a source.
Here are (probably) all the types of citations you could possibly use in my class:
SINGLE AUTHOR, SINGLE SOURCE (meaning your essay includes information from one
work that has one author; it’s the only work you’re using from just that one author.)
Example: Candy tells George, “I ought not to have let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck, p.
25).
What to learn here:
-look very carefully at the punctuation. The period is at the end of the sentence, NOT at
the end of the quotation. The quotation marks surround the quotation, not the citation.
-Citations should contain only enough information so that your reading knows exactly
where your quotation came from. For single author, single source, use the author’s last
name and the page number.
-If the following quotations you use are by the same author, just include the page number
in the citation.
-Place your citation as close as possible to your quotation.
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Ex: When Dr. Rieux tells Castel, "And obviously contagion is never absolute," (Camus, p. 47)
Camus is pointing out our natural tendency towards hope in a crisis.
SINGLE AUTHOR, SINGLE SOURCE - POETRY
Example: In his poem to Lou Andreas-Salome, Rilke writes, "As one puts a handkerchief before
pent-in breath-- / no: as one presses it against a wound / out of which the whole of life, in a
single gush, / wants to stream, I held you to me: I saw / you turn red from me" (Rilke, lines 1-5).
What to learn here:
-use slash marks to represent the line breaks from the poem.
-leave all other punctuation as it is in the poem.
-rather than a page number, use the line numbers.
SINGLE AUTHOR, SINGLE SOURCES - DRAMA
What to learn here:
-use slash marks and line numbers if you are quoting from a verse play.
-use normal citations if you are quoting from a prose play.
SINGLE AUTHOR, MULTIPLE SOURCES (meaning you’re using two or more works by the
same author)
Example: Example: Candy tells George, “I ought not to have let no stranger shoot my dog” (Of
Mice and Men, p. 25).
What to learn here:
-Use the title of the work in the citation, not the author’s name. This is to differentiate
which work by Steinbeck you’re quoting from.
SOURCE WITH AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR
Example: The narrator writes, "The brilliant light shown, suddenly, / As though burning in that
hall" (Beowulf, lines 526-527).
What to learn here:
-use the title of the work and line numbers (if a poem) or a page number (if prose).
BLOCK QUOTES
This is very important, so pay attention. Any quotation significantly longer than three lines (on
your computer screen, not from the book) must be block quoted.
That means you single-space the quote and center it with bigger
margins; tabbing twice should do it). This should be rare! If you
have a block quote, it better be necessary to your essay, and you
probably shouldn't have more than one per essay. PLEASE pay
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attention to this when I discuss it in class right now! There’s no
reason to be confused by block quotes, though. If you just look at
how I’m formatting what you’re currently reading, you can see
what a block quote looks like on the page. (Beavers, p. 1)
FAQ'S on quotations and citations:
Where does the period go? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IF YOU ALL SCREW THIS UP, MY
HEAD WILL SPIN, FIRE WILL SHOOT FROM MY EYES, AND I WILL HUNT YOU
DOWN AND FORCE FEED YOU YOUR ESSAY! Where do periods normally go? Duh! At
the ends of sentences! Then put them at the ends of sentences! Why is that so hard?
What about quotations that contain question marks or exclamation points? Those marks of
punctuation are considered part of the quotation itself; always include them within the quotation
marks, but place a period at the end of the sentence (after the citation).
Do I have to repeat the same information in multiple citations? This is very important.
-If you are include more than one quotation by the same author/work within the same
paragraph, you only need to include the page or line numbers only after mentioning
the author’s name and/or the name of the work in the first citation or in any sentence
before your first quotation.
Can I quote from your notes? If you're using information from them that seems to be common
knowledge, just put the information in your own words. If you're not quoting something that's
common knowledge, you probably need to get another quote. So, “no” don’t quote from my
notes.
Can I quote from something we didn't read? Yes, so long as it is a reliable source. We will go
over this more in-depth.
How many times should I quote? You should quote in every body paragraph. Generally, the
longer the paragraph, the more you may need to quote. Don't quote so much that the essay is
less yours and more someone else's. One quote for every four to seven sentences in a
paragraph is probably a good guideline.
Do you cite after every quotation? YES.
How do I know what to quote? In your brainstorm you should find passages in the texts you’re
using that are most relevant to your thesis and the assigned topic.
Will you actually look up the quotes we use? I probably won't have to because I have a semiphotographic memory; when I read your quote, I'll be able to tell if something is wrong with it
because I will have read the text several times already.
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Works Cited Page
A works cited page is not the same thing as a bibliography. A works cited page simply lists the
bibliographic information for each work from which you cited (quoted). A bibliography lists the
bibliographic information for each work that you used for an essay (or, typically, a research
paper), whether or not you quoted anything from those works.
Here are the most likely types of entries you'll have to make:
SINGLE TEXT WITH SINGLE AUTHOR
Camus, Albert. The Plague. Vintge Books; New York, New York. 1972.
SINGLE TEXT WITH SINGLE AUTHOR IN A TEXTBOOK OR ANTHOLOGY.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Language of Literature, British Tradition,
pages 323-416; McDougall Littell, Inc.; Evanston, Illinois. 2000.
TIPS:
-If the copyright page contains multiple dates, use the most recent one.
-I'll supply you with the copyright pages of any texts we use that are from photocopies so
you can list them on your works cited page.
-The works cited page should be on a separate piece of paper stapled on back of your
essay.
HOPE ALL THIS CRAP HELPS!