Formal Essay Info/ Helpful Hints Miss Foster

Issue #1 -- Works Cited Page One of the easiest issues to fix from FE #1 would be the problems that occurred on almost all of your works cited pages. In 2016, there’s really no need to have to learn proper Works Cited formatting anymore (Praise Jesus and Hallelujah!). Instead, there are sites out there that will do almost all of the work for you. Easybib.com and Citationmachine.net are two of Foster’s favorites. You simply plug in information about the resources you’ve used and then these websites make your Works Cited entries for you. Copy and paste each entry in ALPHABETICAL ORDER onto your Works Cited page and waaalaaaa! Dunzo.

Issue #2 – Last names, not first… When referring to anyone in a formal essay, you want to only state first names if it’s the FIRST time you’re introducing that person or character. From then on out, it’s last name city. For example: In his bestselling book, Why Miss Foster is the Love of My Life, Brad Pitt goes into detail about his love for a small-town Ohio girl and the life he plans to give her as soon as he convinces her to quit teaching. Pitt then examines the ways in which her love has changed him for the better, and delves into his dreams for their long future together.

Issue #3 – Don’t be GENERIC Good writers say exactly what they mean; being vague is a huge no-no. That being said, certain words make your English teacher want to tear her hair out and run screaming from your essay. Words like “stuff” and “thing” are enough to make her want to light your paper on fire. Generic adjectives such as “good” and “bad” are also vomit-inducing. Soooooo…SAY WHAT YOU MEAN and be SPECIFIC about it! Thesauras.com needs to be a friend of yours. Besties, even. 

Issue #4 – Contractions Get rid of them. In formal writing, NOTHING should be written in contraction format. So spell it all out. Don’t = Do not Haven’t = have not Etc. Issue #5 – “Said” is dead There are SOOOO many ways to say “said” – stated, commented, declared, argued, agreed, voiced, revealed, supposed… If you find yourself saying “said” too often, Google “said” is dead and you’ll see 100+ options you can use instead!

Issue #6 – Quotes When to use a quote from a source? Here are two rules of thumb: *You’ve found a quote that you LOVE and think it’s perfect for your paper; you then find the perfect spot for it to be included and effortlessly “fold it in” *You’re making each of your points in your paper. In order to back up each point with expert opinions, you include 1-2 quotes, facts, statistics from your sources to show that others feel the same way you do Quote integration example: http://mrnorr.weebly.com/uploads/9/2/8/7/9287986/persuasive_sample_2.pdf