Common Mistakes
Made on essays…
Spelling and Conventions
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Aloud vs.allowed
Lose vs. loose
Bye vs. buy
Principle vs. Principal
There-Their-They’re
Meen, posestions, tooken, alot, oprutunities,
Exclamation point! WHY ARE YOU
YELLING!
 Edgar Allan Poe
 Poem or short story….a poem is not a story
Thesis Statement
 A thesis statement is a sentence in your
introductory paragraph that tells your
audience/reader what your main point is that you
are making in your paper.
 Generally a thesis has a subject and then an
opinion. Which is where you provide your three
reasons.
 Thesis= Subject + opinion because 1, 2, & 3!
 Then it is also included in your conclusion
paragraph. Re-worded, not exactly the same!
Thesis
Citations
New rules in MLA…
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 From The Great Gatsby to The Great Gatsby
 The medium has also changed. At the end of the
information on Works Cited page…ex: Print,
Web, Radio, Television, DVD, etc
 They are constantly changing MLA. It is
impossible to memorize all of it. We just need to
know how to find the correct information/way
with MLA.
 Font 12, times new roman, double-spaced
 “The Bells”
 And list the title and author in introduction!
MLA format
 Make sure your heading is correct and you
have a header for each page!
 12 font, Time New Roman, double-spaced
 Mandy Massaro
Massaro 1
 Mrs. Jorgenson
 L.A. 7
 13 December 2013
 Header:
Massaro 2
Like like like like!
 Word Choice: Don’t write “like” you speak.
Use formal speech in your writing.
Confidence!
 This is your opinion, your paper. Be
confident in what you are presenting to the
reader. Even if you don’t know if you are
right but you are confident in your writing,
your reader may not even notice…
 No more “seems”! It is or it isn’t.
 No “I” “you” or “we”
Proper use of quotation marks!
Proper use of quotation marks!
 Some questions to ask yourself…
 Are you using them because it is “so
called”?
 Who are you quoting?
 After a “quote” did you cite your source?
 The narrator states, “the pit- typical of Hell”
(Poe).
 “The pit- typical of Hell” is evidence that
the pit symbolizes Hell (Poe).
 Poe writes “the pit- typical of Hell.”
Showing vs. Telling
 Your title is a good indication of what your reader is about
to read. Plus, you spent an entire introductory paragraph
telling your reader what they are about to read….
 It is hard to say similar or different so many times…I
know! But the reader knows this so continue on without
wearing those words out.
 Do not ever tell the reader: My paper is about a, b, and c.
Or: You will be reading about how…
 No “I” or “you”
 This is higher order of thinking for you, the writer, and for
the reader. You are good writers somewhere deep in there!
Just try!
 Give the reader some credit!
Your Essay
 The Characterization of ________________
 You drafted this in your worksheets
 How does your character develop over the
course of the novel: how do they change for
better or worse?
 What did they learn about themselves?
 What is the point? (connection w/ audience?
Message from author?)