Essay Reflections

General Note—You know if this applies to YOU! Don’t be a weak thinker—come up with your OWN analysis…not someone else’s ideas from online. People who use sites such as shmoop or enotes or some other site that feeds you quotes and analysis are RUINING THEIR OWN EDUCATION. Don’t let this happen to you…have some will power. We do this stuff to practice thinking…if you didn’t pay attention during the text, or didn’t read, or didn’t ask questions, then of course you don’t know what is going on…but if you do that intentionally and then just use the web to find analysis, you are just hurting yourself. It’s easy to get good grades…its hard to think for yourself. The thing is…jobs pay you for the latter.

Grammar/Structure Vague or Undefined Pronouns Title Punctuation: Italics! Possession v. plurality: When something is plural, just add an “s”. When possession is involved, use an apostrophe. Example: “Proctors relationship with the Putnam’s”

Grammar… Number Agreement TS/CS: Example: “The reason why lies are a powerful tool is that it can cause people to make excuses from cordial getting out of ones situations.” Rewrite this, considering possession, number agreement, clarity, and stating what we mean. TS/CS: Topic Sentence is the first sentence of a body…it sets the focus for the paragraph, and should be a part of the thesis. It should NEVER be an example. Concluding Sentence is the last sentence in a body…it revisits the TS and transitions to the next paragraph.

Sentence Fluency Saying what you mean…taking your time…reading your own work critically. “Lying will cause you to protect yourself.” What is being actually said here? What is most likely meant? Word choice: Dead Words To Be Verb Repeated Words

Fluency… Formality/Informality “This shows” In a personal narrative, it is appropriate to be more informal. In an academic essay, strike a more formal tone: 3rd person Avoid Slang Avoid “wishy-washy” language “This shows” Vagueness: “many ways” “since the beginning of time”

Fluency… Transitions—you need them, and they need to be developed… Between paragraphs, (While fear can be a motivator to lie, it can also…) Between different details (Later in the play…) Between different evidence sources (Outside of the play itself…; Historically…; Another example of ….) To show similarity (likewise…) or contrast (on the other hand…)

Analysis v. Plot Summary v. Example Stringing Example Stringing: Just listing examples with no analysis Plot summary: Paraphrase of the quote or the plot of a larger section of play is NOT analysis. We refer to examples so that we can explain our IDEA…and our ideas are contained in the thesis and TSs Analysis: What does your evidence, as stated, REALLY show? Analysis is you explaining how your example relates to both your larger thesis and also your specific topic sentence.