The English Essay Compiled by Mrs. D. Wittmann
How to do I choose a citation style? There are many different ways of citing resources from your research. The citation style depends on the academic discipline involved. The three most common styles are the following: MLA (Modern Language Association) style is generally used by the Humanities. First book form 1951. APA (American Psychological Association) is generally used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. First book form 1952. Chicago/Turabian style is generally generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts. First book form 1955. *You will need to consult with your teacher to determine what is required in your specific course. Official Sites http://www.mla.org http://www.apastyle.org/ http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/index.html
Modern Language Association (MLA) Essays written in English class must follow the rules set out by the MLA Style Center: https://style.mla.org/
History of MLA Style In 1951, the Modern Language Association published the first MLA Style Sheet. It was thirty-one pages long and included sample footnotes. Its purpose was to teach scholars how to prepare their manuscripts for publication and it deliberately left much unsaid with the insight that, indeed, many problems of style cannot be reduced to rules even if everyone could agree on the uniformity of rules. The revised and expanded 48 page edition was published in 1970. By 1977, the 163 page long first edition of MLA Handbook was published based on the previous Style Sheets. Where the Style Sheet helped scholars to prepare manuscripts for publication, the MLA Handbook was designed to meet the needs of students in writing research papers, theses, and dissertations. In 1984, the second edition was published. Now, 221 pages long with an additional MLA Style Manual. This edition marked a big change for MLA Style citation because it replaced footnotes with a handy works cited page and in-text citations.
Editions continued to be published and with each new edition, the page count grew to hold the growing complexity that was being built into MLA formatting. In 2009, the seventh edition was a whopping 292 pages long and it contained a daunting level of detail. The eighth edition published in 2016 marks a looser approach to scholarly documentation. With less pages than the first edition, it no longer contains a prescriptive list of formats to be fretted over. Now more flexible and modular and adaptable to today's reality of highly mobile texts where the same content can come in many different containers. The focus is no longer on the format that resources are packaged in, but on the actual purpose of source documentation which enables the reader to participate in the conversation between writers and their sources. MLA eighth edition asks the writer to consider the core elements for the resource and to list them in a certain order within the citation. NOTE: In April 2021, MLA made further revisions and has published a ninth edition.
General Guidelines Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper. Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (Times New Roman). The font size should be 12 pt. Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor). Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times. Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works
Why Use MLA? Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for readers to navigate and comprehend a text by providing familiar cues when referring to sources and borrowed information. Editors and instructors also encourage everyone to use the same format so there is consistency of style within a given field. Abiding by MLA's standards as a writer will allow you to: Provide your readers with cues they can use to follow your ideas more efficiently and to locate information of interest to them Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not distracting them with unfamiliar or complicated formatting Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their needs as fellow researchers (particularly concerning the citing of references)
Last Name 1 Student Name Teacher Name Course Code Day Month Year Creative (catchy) Title: Context (informative) Title Indent and type your LEAD sentence (to introduce the topic of your paper)
The Essay Structure General Guidelines: Introduction: 10% of word count Body: 80% of word count Conclusion: 10% of word count Essays are fluid. Once you have a firm understanding of the rules, you may make adjustments - particularly to the number of body paragraphs. Paragraph length can vary from 150 words to 300 words. While your directional statement is normally made up of three major points; one point may require only one paragraph to deal with it, the next point may require three or four paragraphs and the final one, two paragraphs. You need to think about major points you want to make and their order, but you don’t have to force what you have to say into the five paragraph structure.
The Introduction This paragraph’s primary purpose is to identify the essay’s main topic and argument. For that reason, you are on the right track if your introductory paragraph answers these two questions: 1. What is this paper about? (Introduce in the Lead) 2. What argument does this paper make? (State in the Thesis) Note: When writing your introduction, try to engage your reader, but do not be overly concerned with providing an initial “hook” to capture your reader’s interest. You best accomplish this by having an interesting and thought-provoking argument. AVOID sweeping (blanket) statements: "Since the beginning of time ..."
The Introduction Often, the introduction is the hardest part to write. Here you make your first impression, introduce the topic, provide background information, and, most importantly, present your thesis, upon which the entire essay hangs. If you are having trouble with the introduction, here are a couple of things you can do. 1. The first is to write your thesis down but leave the rest of the introduction until later or last and start on your first point. You may find a body paragraph is easier to write, and you can go back to your introduction after you have finished the body.
2. If you find you are still struggling with writing the introduction, try this: give your introduction your best shot and get something - anything - down, telling yourself again, that you can revise it later. For now, get something down to act as a prompt for you. Then, sit down with someone, a classmate, a family member and tell him what you are writing about and what your thesis is. We often speak more clearly than we write. Listen to what you say and ask yourself if what you have written resembles at all what you just said. If it doesn't, copy as closely as you can what you said and use those words.
General Format for the Introductory Paragraph 1. The Lead: To introduce the topic of your essay. 2. The TAG: State the title, author, and genre of the text being analyzed (in no specific order). 3. The Context: The frame within which you will approach your topic. Narrow your topic and take a step toward focusing your essay. 4. The Thesis Statement: State what you are proving - it is the focus of your essay - the claim or assertion. 5. The Directional Statement: State how you will prove your assertion.
THESIS AND DIRECTION IN ONE SENTENCE (COMBINED) Although the persona of Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is that of a polite, self-effacing man, wronged by his unappreciative wife, his true misogynistic attitude toward women is ultimately perceived through the poet’s use of smartly-placed symbols, superior tone, and tight structure. THESIS AND DIRECTION IN TWO SENTENCES (SEPARATE) While the speaker in the poem “To A Sad Daughter” describes his daughter as sad, he inadvertently reveals his own sadness. His melancholy disposition is revealed through Ondaatje’s expert use of similes, visual imagery, and literary allusions. THESIS AND DIRECTION IN TWO SENTENCES (SEPARATE) Through the use of an implicit listener, the speaker reveals himself as a working-class man, forced by unforeseen circumstances, to acts of desperation. This collapse of his morality is revealed through the poet’s use of topical symbols, strong comparisons, and clever repetition.
The Body The body of the essay will be made up of the claims or points you are making, supported by evidence from the primary source. Your supporting evidence may be quotations of words or phrases from the text, as well as details about character, setting, plot, syntax, diction, images, and anything else you have found in the work that is relevant to your argument. The words from the text are the support for the argument you are making, and they show that your ideas came from somewhere and are grounded in the text. Try to keep your quotations as short and pertinent as possible. Quote to support points you are making yourself; don't let the quotations speak for you. *Hold the thread of your thesis throughout your essay
General Format for the Body Paragraph Topic Sentence: State the main idea of your paragraph Point: Make a statement furthering your topic sentence Evidence (textual): Effective and relevant proof to support argument = Apt Specific References (A.S.R.). Explain: The commentary that establishes and explains relationships among textual evidence, the line of reasoning, and the thesis. Point: Make a second statement furthering your topic sentence (Include a transitional word or phrase) Evidence (textual): Effective and relevant proof to support argument = Apt Specific References (A.S.R.). Explain: The commentary that establishes and explains relationships among textual evidence, the line of reasoning, and the thesis. Concluding Sentence: An effective statement as to why the paragraph is important. It should not circle back to the topic sentence, but provide a destination.
The foundation of a good paragraph is the topic sentence, which expresses the main idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence relates to the thesis, or main point, of the essay and guides the reader by signposting what the paragraph is about. All the sentences in the rest of the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. Six characteristics define a good topic sentence: 1. A good topic sentence provides an accurate indication of what will follow in the rest of the paragraph. 2. A good topic sentence contains both a topic and a controlling idea or opinion. 3. A good topic sentence is clear and easy to follow. 4. A good topic sentence does not include supporting details. 5. A good topic sentence engages the reader by using interesting vocabulary. 6. A good topic sentence does not require a lead-in transition word. Do be wary of paragraph openers that lead off with "time" words ("first," "next," "after," "then") or "listing" words ("also," "another," "in addition") – lacks sophistication.
Explain The commentary that establishes and explains relationships among textual evidence, the line of reasoning, and the thesis. One way to remember what your options are for commentary (Explain your evidence) is to use the acronym SPIES: SIGNIFICANCE, PURPOSE, IMPORTANCE, EFFECT, or SUGGESTION.
Example One: Two symbols to reveal theme Your paragraph contains two different symbols. You introduce the symbol, provide the quotation, and explain. You then introduce the second symbol, provide the quotation, and explain. Example Two: One symbol to reveal theme Your paragraph contains one symbol. You introduce the symbol, provide the quotation, and explain. You introduce your symbol's development (Note: symbols may only appear once), provide the quotation, and explain. Example Three: A motif to reveal theme Your paragraph contains one motif. You introduce the motif, provide several short quotations to demonstrate the pattern, and explain the motif in greater detail.
Support for Your Essay For an English essay, the TEXT is the source of support. It is not enough to say that a certain piece of literature says or means something. You will need to show this. The selection of apt specific references is the key to a successful essay. Your essay must be grounded in the text. Whenever possible, use an integrated quotation: For the townspeople, Miss Emily Grierson was “a hereditary obligation on the town” (237). Robert Frost uses a variety of words and phrases such as “frozen” (7), “darkest evening” (8), and “before I sleep” (15) to imply thoughts of solitude and the desire to not return to his obligations. After Winston is released from the Ministry of Love, tortured and broken, he comes to the realization that "he had finally won the battle over himself. He loved Big Brother" (306).
No quote ever stands alone Follow your quotes with commentary (SPIES). NEVER begin commentary with words such as “this quote shows” or “this quote reveals.” Example: The story alludes again and again to the sheltering comfort of the garden. The man tries to maintain an illusion that nothing serious has happened to him, that in time he will “feel as if he had always been like that” (397). The garden is his refuge against reality.
Dictionary Make sure you don't use or quote words whose definition or meaning you are not sure about. As a student of English literature, you should make regular use of a good dictionary. Not knowing what a word means or misunderstanding how it is used can undermine a whole argument. When you read and write about authors from previous centuries, you will often have to familiarize yourself with new words. To write good English essays, you must take the time to do this.
General Format for the Concluding Paragraph This paragraph’s purpose is to summarize the paper’s major points of evidence and to remind the reader of the thesis statement. In addition, conclusions can offer recommendations or establish the significance of the topic from a broader, real-world perspective. 1. Rephrase the thesis statement by capturing the essence of the essay. DO NOT begin with a transition (i.e. In conclusion, ...) 2. Explain the significance of your essay - synthesize your argument (captured in a photograph) 3. Broader implications
Putting It All Together If you have picked a good topic, read and come up with a workable thesis, taken good notes and quotations from the text and noted page numbers carefully, and put some thought into a logically ordered outline, writing your essay is much less difficult than if you simply sit down and plunge in with a vague topic in mind. The work you do before you start to write is the most difficult and the most fruitful, but if you do it, you will find that you do indeed have something to say and it is yours.
Revising the Essay Let twenty-four hours go by before sitting down and reading a complete draft (in hard copy after running a grammar and spell check). You may want to first read over your outline to remind yourself of what your intentions were before reading the outcome of those intentions. This is the time to do the following: Ask yourself if you have been successful in your attempts to turn outline and notes into a coherent piece of writing. Refine and improve your phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Make your introduction and conclusion the best they can be. Supply smooth transitions between ideas. Correct and eliminate anything irrelevant or repetitious. Supply any missing details or evidence. Decide if a point or link is missing, what it is and where it should be added. Make sure all your quotations are integrated smoothly. Make sure your grammar and syntax (sentence structure) are correct.
Editing the Essay Editing is not the same as revising. When you proofread, you turn your attention to the so-called "surface details" of format, spacing, pagination, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and documentation style. To proofread your essay effectively, you must still do it from a hard copy. For some reason, errors are not as easily detectable on the screen as they are on the page. Proofreading a hard copy ensures that the details are all that they should be, and it also ensures that you don't inadvertently leave in misplaced leftovers from cutting and pasting. If you won't disturb others, try reading the essay aloud when you are proofreading. Reading aloud forces you to concentrate on the words in a way that just reading silently does not. Also, your ear may catch awkward phrasing or incorrect grammar that your eye might miss.
If you have decided to proofread on the screen, explore programs, such as Read Write Gold, which have the function of text read, so you can follow along to a voice reading your essay. Take the time to do the final step. Your reader can always tell when you haven't, and no matter how compelling your argument and elegant your writing style, many little mistakes make your essay look sloppy. Nobody expects a completely error-free copy, but the fewer the mistakes, the better. Your ideas will come through that much more clearly and effectively.
Do you have the vocabulary to make your thoughts visible on paper? How to Build Your Vocabulary Read. Read. Read. Dictionary and thesaurus. Use a journal. Write more. Learn a word a day. Engage in conversation. Use precise and accurate adjectives, nouns, and verb.
VOCABULARY APPS and WEBSITES "Word of the Day" Word Puzzles Vocabulary.com PowerVocab Magoosh Vocabulary Builder 7 Little Words Word to Word Words with Friends Penny Dell Crosswords Power Thesaurus
Effective Writing When writing your essay avoid vagueness by using specific, engaging language. Use concise writing, strong diction (word choice) and correct syntax (punctuation and sentence structure). Concise Writing: The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words that can be deleted or replaced. Words and phrases should be deliberately chosen for the work they are doing. Like bad employees, words that don't accomplish enough should be fired. When only the most effective words remain, writing will be far more concise and readable. The tone of the essay should be formal, but not stuffy (no contractions) Beware of over-writing! Focus on clarity. If a word sounds impressive, be sure it is used correctly. Third-person (No "I", "We", "You") Literary Present
Conciseness: Words Overboard ttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/5h72/ Replace several vague words with more powerful and specific words. Often, writers use several small and ambiguous words to express a concept, wasting energy expressing ideas better relayed through fewer specific words. As a general rule, more specific words lead to more concise writing. Because of the variety of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, most things have a closely corresponding description. Brainstorming can lead to the word best suited for a specific instance. Notice that the examples below actually convey more as they drop in word count. Wordy: The politician talked about several of the merits of after-school programs in his speech Concise: The politician touted after-school programs in his speech. Wordy: Suzie believed but could not confirm that Billy had feelings of affection for her. Concise: Suzie assumed that Billy adored her. Wordy: Our Web site has made available many of the things you can use for making a decision on the best dentist. Concise: Our website presents criteria for determining the best dentist. Wordy: Working as a pupil under someone who develops photos was an experience that really helped me learn a lot. Concise: Working as a photo technician's apprentice was an educational experience.
ASK FOR = REQUEST COME AFTER = FOLLOW COME UP TO = REACH/ATTAIN DEAL WITH = MANAGE GO BEFORE = PRECEDE GO OUT OF = EXIT LEAD TO = CAUSE LOOK AT = REGARD LOOK FOR = SEEK LOOK INTO = INVESTIGATE LOOK LIKE = RESEMBLE PUT UP WITH = TOLERATE REFER TO = CONSULT SETTLE FOR = CHOOSE SPEAK TO = ADDRESS TALK ABOUT = DISCUSS/CONSIDER THINK ABOUT = CONSIDER/PONDER THINK OF = CONCEIVE WAIT FOR = AWAIT BREAK DOWN = FAIL/COLLAPSE BREAK OFF = SUSPEND/ADJOURN BREAK UP = DISINTEGRATE BRING IN = INTRODUCE COME BACK = RETURN COME/GO IN = ENTER GET AWAY = ESCAPE GO AHEAD = PROCEED GO AWAY = LEAVE/DEPART GIVE/BRING BACK = RETURN GIVE IN = YIELD GIVE OUT = DISTRIBUTE GIVE UP = QUIT LINK UP = CONNECT MAKE OUT = DISCERN PUT/SET DOWN = DEPOSIT SET OUT (1) = DISPLAY SET OUT (2) = DEPART TAKE AWAY = REMOVE THROW AWAY = DISCARD THROW OUT = EJECT
Prepositions A preposition is a word such as after, in, to, on, and with. Prepositions are usually used in front of nouns or pronouns and they show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. WIFFABOOT is a word formed from the first letters of the nine most common prepositions in the English language: with, in, for, from, at, by, of, on and to.
Conjunctions A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words or phrases. A conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses. Conjunctions help add variety to your writing because they can be used to create sentences with different styles and meanings. The different kinds of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions correlative conjunctions, and conjunctive adverbs. FANBOYS is a word formed from the first letters of the SEVEN coordinating conjunctions in the English language: for, and, nor, but, so, yet, so WABBITS is a word formed from the first letters of the most common subordinating conjunctions in the English language: when, where, while, after, although, before, because, if, though, since.
The Apostrophe The apostrophe may be the most unstable element in the English language — unstable, that is, in the hands of those who don’t know how to handle it. It is probably misused more often than any other single mark, which seems surprising when you realize that all most of us need to know about it is that it has two purposes. One is the possessive, as in “This is Susan’s book.” The other is in a contraction — it turns “do not” into “don’t, "could have" into "could've."
Who could have guessed that a tiny tadpole-shaped punctuation mark could cause so much consternation? Of course there are people who refuse to take the apostrophe crisis seriously but for many others it represents nothing less than a threat to civilization. It symbolizes lowered standards, carelessness, and of course the failure of our schools. There are now passionate “correctors” who go about armed with thick-nibbed pens and markers so that they can correct advertising signs that contain the most widespread apostrophe errors, the culture-eroding, literacy-destroying blunders like “Diamond’s are Forever” or “Sofa’s from only $198” or “This store is now open from 10am on Sunday’s.” Sometimes sign-age critics take pictures of their sign-correcting activities and display them on the web. Google Images Apostrophes exhibits hundreds of apostrophe catastrophes committed on public signs. There you can find, aside from the assembled blunders, a cartoon in which a weeping young woman says, “I was willing to overlook his comma abuse but when he started misplacing his apostrophes, I knew it was over.” You may also come upon a picture of a man with lettering on his cap: “Every time you use an apostrophe to make a word plural, a puppy dies.” Meanwhile, squads of apostrophe police roam the world wide web, nailing those who misuse, or fail entirely to use, the apostrophe.
“Affect” is generally used as a verb: A affects B. The eye-patch affected my vision. In this sentence, the eye-patch (A) influenced my vision (B). “Effect,” on the other hand, is almost exclusively used as a noun: A had an effect on B. Acting like a pirate has had a negative effect on my social life. The basic rule of thumb is that “affect” is almost always a verb and “effect” is usually a noun. There are deviations from this, but when in doubt, stick to the rule. If you need help remembering, think of this mnemonic device: The action is affect, the end result is effect.
Avoiding Plagiarism The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism, which the Code defines as "the presentation of the work of another person, in whatever form, as one's own or without proper acknowledgement." Plagiarism involves copying material, either word from word or as a paraphrase, from anything ranging from books, to Internet sites, course notes, oral or visual presentations, lab reports, computer assignments, or artistic works. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone - it can also refer to copying images, graphs, algorithms, tables, and ideas. A "presentation" means more than written work: it means any method by which you submit work to your instructor. Even translating the work of another person into another language without citation is plagiarism.
General Guidelines There are two ways that you MUST include each source in your essay using MLA style — a brief, in-text parenthetical citation and a detailed reference list, the Works Cited, at the end of your paper. In-text citations must match the initial element of the item in the “Works Cited” list. Eighth edition (the new way): Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford UP, 2011. In this version, only the most essential information is included (author’s name, book title, publisher, and date). Note that the city of publication is not needed, and the medium of publication is eliminated. Seventh edition (the old way): Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. This version includes the city of publication (Oxford) and the medium (print), which the new eighth edition does not require.
Single author Parenthetical (in-text) Caughie examines the confusion surrounding definitions of modernism in the humanities and social sciences (1). (Danto 31) Works Cited Caughie, Pamela L., editor. Disciplining Modernism. Palgrave, 2009. Danto, Arthur C. Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective. Farrar, 1992.