HOW TO WRITE A PAPER AND MAKE YOUR TEACHER

HAPPY

APPEARANCE

One inch margins all around the paper HEADING: single spaced, include name,

teacher’s surname, class, and date EX: Ima Good Student AbernathyBritish Literature, 120 Sept. 2013

APPEARANCE

On the first page, create the heading and place it on the left side, 1 inch from the top.

On subsequent pages, number the pages with your surname and the page number (in upper right corner).

Ex: Goodfellow, 3 Skip one space between the date and the title. Center the title.

Do not bold, underline, or italicize your own title. Do not use your assignment as your title. Do not use the title of the work you are analyzing as your

title. Skip one space between the title and the body.

APPEARANCE

Use 10 or 12 point font; use a standard font (I prefer Arial but will accept comparable fonts)

IF you quote someone or use her ideas, you must give credit for those ideas. Therefore, you must create a Works Cited page.

The Works Cited page must be a separate page. Do not tack it on to the bottom of your paper.

APPEARANCE

The first word of a paragraph should be indented five spaces.

DO NOT skip extra spaces between paragraphs.

If you try to make your paper look longer than it is by using larger fonts, bigger margins, long quotes, etc., remember that these practices are blatantly obvious and insult the intelligence of your reader.

Honesty is always preferable to subterfuge.

FIRST PARAGRAPH

The first paragraph must include the title of the work, the author, and the thesis.

The thesis should be the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.

Obviously, the first paragraph should contain more information. This is, after all, an introductory paragraph and the reader should be introduced to ideas and/or concepts.

A good introduction will prepare the reader for the coming thesis and argument.

STYLE

Use standard, formal English. That means no:

contractionsslangcolloquialismschunks of other languages

TONE

Be modest but confident. If you feel that you lack the competency to write on a subject, I certainly don’t want to waste my time reading that paper. But don’t be arrogant, either. Adopt the attitude of one who has read, researched, and thought carefully about the work and has something of interest and importance to communicate.

THE AUTHOR

The first time you reference an author’s name, you must use it in its entirety. After that, use only the author’s last name.

Ex: Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer; Virginia Woolf, Woolf

Do not use honorifics such as Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss, or Dr.

The only exception is Sir for a knighted author.

Then use the title ‘Sir’ and the author’s entire name or only his last name without the ‘Sir.’

Ex: Sir Thomas Malory, Malory

PRESENT TENSE

A literary work is considered a living thing.

Therefore, one always uses the present tense when speaking or writing about literature.

Remember: History = Past Tense Literature = Present Tense

DO NOT

Do not include extensive plot summary. No one would read an analysis of a work with which they were unfamiliar. Plot summary is a waste of my time and your paper.

Do not include extensive biographical material about your author. The essay is an analysis of a work, not its creator.

PARAGRAPHS

The body paragraphs of a paper should be of approximate size.

Paragraphs that are too brief indicate undeveloped ideas.

Paragraphs that are too long indicate an inability to distinguish important from unimportant points OR

That the writer simply doesn’t know how to construct a paragraph.

QUOTES

Quoting: Quotes should never stand alone. Quotes should be incorporated into your own

sentences and the sentence should make sense. Do not end a paragraph with a quote. Use your

own words to conclude both paragraph and paper. Do not quote extensively; padded papers are

obvious and insulting to your reader’s intelligence. Punctuate quotes correctly. Ex:Most of us have pondered whether “[t]o be or not to be.” (53)

TRANSITION

Ideally, each sentence of a paper should lead smoothly into the next just as

The last sentence of a paragraph suggests the paragraph to come and

The final sentence of the paper brings the entire paper to a neat and logical conclusion.

WRITING ERRORS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY

(because you should already know this)

PRONOUN AGREEMENT AND CLEAR ANTECEDENTS

IT is a pronoun and must have a recognizable antecedent. Do not begin a sentence with “it” unless the antecedent

is the last word of the preceding sentence. The same rule applies to “this,” “that,” and “there” He/their; one/their; she/their = XXXXXX

Singular pronouns must be paired with singular pronouns (or nouns)he/his; one/one’s; she/hers

Everyone is a singular noun (everyone/his)

Everybody is a plural noun (everybody/their) People are ‘who’ not ‘that’. Ex: I met the writer that wrote that book. NO! I met the writer who wrote that book.

BAD WRITER, BAD

Prepositional phrases Be careful not to string prepositional

phrases. They quickly adopt a sing-song rhythm and put your reader to sleep.EX: In the book written by Long, the reader

learns that medieval life, with all its problems, was not for the weak in health or spirit.

Corrected: Long’s book proves that medieval life was not for those weak of heart or spirit.

SIT, STAY, WATCH ME

Infinitive: a verb + to =to dance, to sing, to weep, to check

Split infinitive : “to boldly go” to go boldly to periodically check to check periodically

Beginning/ending sentences with prepositions/linking verbs

Supposition suppose if Consistency

PROBLEMS

Circular logic Defining a word with itself Contradicting self Do not pepper your paper with

questions. Your job as an analyst is to answer questions, not pose them.

CIRCULAR WRITING

“The Franks were a Germanic tribe living in the region we know as France around the third century. France received its name from the Franks, which is why the name is derived from the word ‘frank.’”

LINEAR WRITING

France derived its name from the Franks, a third century Germanic tribe that inhabited the region.

Bad Habits Writers Must Break

An example is taken The word holds a meaning The author displays his thoughts Being that (what’s wrong with ‘is’?) Fatty phrases: on the other hand, a lot, I

have been led to believe, in some ways, the characters are alike but different

Beginning a sentence with a gerund Plagiarism

Go forth, write, and sin no more.