How To Write An Essay

Yes - You Do Need To Know This

Why does it matter?

The same reason we have these....

A suit changes this...

Into this...

Or - The Same Reason Women Use Make-Up

Without Make Up, this...

Looks...

Like....

(Same woman - really!!)

THIS!!!

What does a suit do?

Underneath the suit - the person remains the same. A great person in a suit is a great person in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

But a suit gives a good impression.

When you go out on a date - you look your best. The person you like has to like you for things to work, but you want to start off impressing them.

ImportanceWhat you have to say is ultimately more important then how the essay looks on the surface.

But, the less effort the teacher spends being distracted by all the problems with the presentation - the more they can appreciate the brilliance of your work.

Little mistakes distract the reader. Follow all the rules so that every words will be fully appreciated. No distractions.

Which is better?

or

They might say the same thing - but they don’t ‘start off’ the same.

One makes the reader think poorly of the writer. The other looks good and impresses

me. Impress me!

Simple Things - Absolutes

Font: Times New Roman or Ariel - 12 pt.

Left Alignment

Black Ink

Double Spaced

Properly Label at Top of First Page: Name, Class, Subject, Date AND Title

Font

Legibility

Font might not seem like a big deal - and it usually isn’t - unless it is distracting.

Some fonts might look nice and seem ‘cool’ but to a reader, it is a pain.

Is this ‘easy’ to ready?The history of rock and roll music is a

fantastic and interesting story. There are many twists and turns through the course of the last century leaving us with the music of the modern day. One can easily draw a line to connect the rhythmic blues of the migrant workers brought over from Africa, through the Beatles and connect it to the modern Gangster Rap and Hip Hop.It is not ‘difficult’ but it is harder than it needs to

be.

Left Alignment

Hardly anyone would think to use Right

AlignmentThe history of rock and roll music is a fantastic and interesting story. There

are many twists and turns through the course of the last century leaving us

with the music of the modern day. One can easily draw a line to connect the

rhythmic blues of the migrant workers brought over from Africa, through the

Beatles and connect it to the modern Gangster Rap and Hip Hop.

But A Lot Of People Think Centered is Cool

The history of rock and roll music is a fantastic and interesting story. There are many twists and turns through the course of the last century leaving us

with the music of the modern day. One can easily draw a line to connect the rhythmic blues of the

migrant workers brought over from Africa, through the Beatles and connect it to the modern

Gangster Rap and Hip Hop.

But - it is not ‘cool’

But Left Alignment is the way it should beThe history of rock and roll music is a fantastic and interesting story. There are many twists and turns through the course of the last century leaving us with the music of the modern day. One can easily draw a line to connect the rhythmic blues of the migrant workers brought over from Africa, through the Beatles and connect it to the modern Gangster Rap and Hip Hop.

Properly Label

Every piece of paper you hand in should have the follow information easily visible, on the front page and at the top right side of the page.

You need - Name, Class, Course, (Teacher*), Date.

Title - Centered and Underlined

*Optional - depending on the subject

Example

The Brilliance of The Beatles

Bob Newheart

Mr. Hageman

English 1D0H

June 6, 2010

Paper - Absolutes

White

Clean

Crisp

Doodle-free / Stainless

Stapled

NEVER

Hand in late (in fact try to hand in early)

Use emoticons or text language

Use slang

Talk about the essay as an essay

Self Evident sentences...

This is an example of what I do NOT want to read...

“I am going to write this essay about the history of jazz music. Jazz music is often referred to as America’s native art form”

Instead....

“Jazz music is often referred to as America’s native art form”.

I am reading it - I know it’s an essay!!!

Now...the ‘Essay’

The Format

Tab

Every new paragraph deserves to be indented. To do this push the TAB button once...

Double Spacing•In order to read easily and make corrections

• - there needs to be some space between all

•the lines. If the lines are too close together, I

•can’t write corrections/comments unless you

•double space the lines.

•The above is much easier to edit then this paragraph. It would be much harder to make corrections and notes between the lines if there is no space between the lines

Most importantly

Never

Ever....

Under ANY circumstances...

cheat

When It Comes to Writing Essays Cheating means

PlagiarismClaiming to have written something that you did not write.

Copying something word-for-word off the internet, from a book, etc.

Even one sentence of copying is cheating.

Copying a classmates work. Even if you work together - you still have to write your own words.

Cheating

You cannot cheat by accident.

You will be caught.

A failing mark is automatically assigned as is a call home.

Keep It Simple!

Rather than try to look overly smart - just write in simple terms. Try to sound intelligent, but don’t use words that you don’t understand or so many ‘big’ words it sounds convoluted.

When you read the newspaper, they use simple language to explain their point. That is what we want from you too.

The Bibliography

The Bibliography is a list of sources (Books, Magazines, Internet Sites, Television Programs, etc.). This list shows the person reading it all the sources you used incase they want to check out the information for themselves.

Information...The order is important

Author (Last Name, First name)

Title

Publication

City

Date

URL Address.

Example

Sendak, Maurice. Where The Wild Things Are. Doubleday Publishing, Inc. Toronto, 1991.

or

Hubbard, L. Ron. Scientology. Micromedia, Inc. April 2, 2002. www.scientologyonline.ca

BibliographyThe order of the list of information is important.

When dealing with more than one source, list them alphabetically by the last name.

Not all information is going to be possible, but do your best to include as much as possible.

If you can’t find the author of a website - you probably shouldn’t be trusting it as a reliable source

If this is your bibliography...

• http://www.allmusic.com/

• http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=73:41

• http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:djfwxq8gldte

• http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1282575872/tt1375670

Expect an incomplete for that part of the essay

Why Wikipedia Sucks!

Wikipedia is a website that allows anyone to write anything they want about anything.

Do I REALLY have to say anything else to explain why you shouldn’t use it when trying to look smart?

REALLY?

Wikipedia itself writes ‘this site should not be used as a primary source of research’.

Your Most Common Mistakes

•Have a Title (a REAL title)

•Make True Statements

•Don’t Ask Questions (just think about what they would be - and answer them)

•Mention Title and Author in Introduction

•Don’t mention Title/Author in body

•Never be confusing

•Don’t use a gutter or extra space between paragraphs

•Don’t write like you speak

•Don’t use figurative language or expressions

•Tab new paragraphs

•Try not to be repetitive (within paragraphs, outside paragraphs)

•Quote faithfully (spelling, punctuation)

•Make sure you quote to prove a point

•Quote only what you need to prove your point

•Every quote needs explaining

•Prove your point

•Don’t use ‘they’ when you mean ‘him/her’

•Don’t use personal pronouns (I, You, We, Us)

•Don’t use the words ‘essay’ or ‘quote’ in essay

•Cite correctly (Author ##).

•Don’t use corrections (can’t, don’t, won’t)

•Try not to use ‘in conclusion’

•Always explain quotes - by themselves AND how they prove their point

•Don’t use a semicolon unless you know how to use it (or any punctuation)

•Always have a bibliography!

•Make sure ALL your sentences are full sentences