Other important things for your paper

Basics Have a proper double-spaced heading: Your name, AP English 12-hour, teacher’s name, due date Have a header (last name and page number) Don’t know how to do this? Ask! 12 point font, double-spaced, 1” margins, readable font (Times New Roman is standard) Title should be simple and point to thesis directly or indirectly Your paper will have several paragraphs and should be about 3-4 pages long. Include author and title in the introduction; short story titles go in “quotation marks”

Basics of a Topic Sentence: 1. It fits the size of the assignment. 2. It states a single main point or position related to the thesis 3. It is specific. 4. It is an idea you can show, explain, or prove. 5. It is a forceful statement written with confidence. *Although topic sentence states a single main point or position, this main point or position may include more than one idea; however, the ideas should be closely related. Example: Planning a vacation carefully can be time-consuming, but it is well worth doing.

CEW Claim or Thesis (your topic sentences all go back to proving your thesis: think of these as mini claims): Opinion, not fact Debatable Provable (Reasonable) Evidence: From the text Specific (needs to say something that supports the claim) You must cite your source even if you paraphrase or quote directly you must cite your source (See next slide for ICE) Warrant: Explanation: answers the “so what?” How and why evidence proves the claim (thesis) Ties back to your theme (the overall meaning of the work) Must explain all the connections in your head. Pretend you are explaining to someone who has never read the book. Key to a good warrant: Re-use key phrases from the claim and evidence. See the next few slides for a basic CEW pattern. This is what you are trying to accomplish in your paragraphs.

What to notice: Claim (topic sentence) Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

What to notice: Evidence Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

What to notice: Warrant Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

What to notice: key words/phrases repeated from the claim What to notice: key words/phrases repeated from the claim. They’re not exact, but they’re pretty close. Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

What to notice: All together Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

Uh oh! What’s the part still in black? Transitions! Wes Hayden is a bad husband because he is loyal to his father at the expense of his own family. Wes was originally a lawyer. However, when his father asked, he “set aside his fledgling law practice” (Watson 21) and agreed to become sheriff. His loyalty to his father came before his own dreams. This wasn’t necessarily what was best for his own family though. Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (Watson 19). By doing what his father asked, Wes was ignoring the wishes of his family, and jeopardizing their happiness. His loyalty to Julian came at the expense of his own family.

See next slide for more ICE information ICE: How to use evidence (Please note: this is used in conjunction with CEW. This is how to set up your evidence so you aren’t just dropping quotes into your paper.) Introduce, Cite, Explain Integrate evidence into your OWN sentence. (This is the E in CEW) Never begin a sentence with a quote or paraphrase Explanation = how this piece of evidence helps prove your thesis (This is the W in CEW) Citation depends on piece of writing: AP essays, cite in intro (In paragraph 2, Sanders uses the words…) Research papers, cite in intro or use MLA parenthetical doc. See next slide for more ICE information

ICE Analysis Question\ICE.doc

First, a word about Quoting: Quote: using EXACTLY the words and punctuation in the original text: According to the Batzler foundation, “20% of students have interviewed for a job” within the last two months. Pitfalls Using too often (should be only 2-5 times in paper) Using wrong quotes (lame, long) Quoting wrong (ungrammatical, misspellings) The moral of the story: don’t quote very often.

Paraphrasing You still have to cite your source when you paraphrase! Put in your own words, own voice MUST CHANGE ORDER OF WORDS; any more than 4 of the same words in the same order you must put “quotes” around it. Main ideas and details of original text Same level of detail as original Roughly same length as original (maybe a little shorter)

To Quote or Paraphrase? Quote when: Paraphrase when: Short, specific language is important. You can’t say it any better yourself Ok to quote only part of a sentence, individual words. Use ellipses (…) if you omit part in the middle of a sentence. Use “quotation marks” to note it’s word-for-word Paraphrase when: Long, content is important but language is not

More to notice: using brackets Original text word-for-word from the book: “My mother fervently believed my father, indeed all of us, would be happier if he practiced law, and if we did not live in Montana” (19). Text I used in the essay: Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (19).

More to notice: using brackets Original text word-for-word from the book: “My mother fervently believed my father, indeed all of us, would be happier if he practiced law, and if we did not live in Montana” (19). Text I used in the essay: Gail Hayden believed her family “would be happier if [Wes] practiced law, and if [they] did not live in Montana” (19).

Works Cited Page A separate document; last page of paper The title Works Cited is the only thing centered on the page It is alphabetical order by first word of source Source should be properly formatted from the database; if you didn’t do this, you can follow the form given here Is double spaced Has a hanging indent (Format>Paragraph>Special indentation>hanging)

Other things to consider as you write your paper

Style Don’t show off Take a risk Be critical and analytical Get to the point Don’t moralize Be yourself! Don’t apologize

Grammar Use active voice Use present tense for literature Use strong verbs

Avoid Reader’s response: “I liked” Lists: Writer’s use…,…, and … Fluff Personal discussions Apologies Plot summary Formulaic writing-esp. opening! Creating a title for your essay.