Common Errors Seen in Essays The following information is intended to help you write a better rough draft. In writing a better rough draft, hopefully you will create a well-written final draft. By creating a well-written final draft, in theory you will earn a respectable grade. Earning a better grade allows your parents and me the opportunity to be proud of you. If we are proud of you, one of us may buy you a new car!

Common Errors Seen in Essays Yeah, right! The chances that writing a great essay will get you a new car are slim, but you should STILL pay attention to this power point. After all, (whether you’re willing to admit it or not) you would rather do well on the final product than horribly!

Common Errors Seen in Essays All of your sentences should have a subject and a verb. In other words each sentence should be a complete thought. Your sentences should also vary … meaning you should have a variety of sentences structures. Your DGP notes include examples of simple, compound, and complex sentences.

Common Errors Seen in Essays If all of your sentences were simple sentences that would be BORING! This story had a setting. Imagery was used a lot. Its mood was dark. THESE ARE ALL SIMPLE SENTENCES AND A “SNORE FEST!”

Common Errors Seen in Essays A Compound Sentence looks like this: The author heightened suspense by leaving the cause of the accident unknown, so the point of view was quite limited. A Complex Sentence looks like this: The main character was forced to exercise self-control, which began to emerge as a central theme throughout the story.

Common Errors Seen in Essays Be careful with subordinating conjunctions like because. I like cheeseburgers. Because they taste good to me. (NO!) I like cheeseburgers because they taste good to me. (YES!) Because they taste good to me, I like cheeseburgers. (YES!)

Common Errors Seen in Essays More about because…… There is NEVER a comma before the word because. Trust me. I KNOW what I’m talking about!

Common Errors Seen in Essays In a formal essay (and this WILL BE a formal essay) you should not have the following: Contractions---do not write didn’t; instead write did not (2) Abbreviations---do not write TV; instead write television (don’t use “&” either, for example) (3) Mnemonics---letters like IDK in place of I don’t know

Common Errors Seen in Essays Also….. (3) Spell out numbers less than 100 (4) The final copy should be written in blue or black ink (No pencil will be accepted) (5) Skip lines (6) Do not write on the back of your paper

Common Errors Seen in Essays And just so you know….. A lot is TWO words!!! If you write alot it will be considered a spelling error, and I will take off two points!

Common Errors Seen in Essays Be mindful of “splitting up” or hyphenating words at the end of the line. If you don’t want to be guilty of this common error, simply avoid it all together. If you must though, make sure you break the word up at its complete syllable. Examples: dig-ging; read-ing

Common Errors Seen in Essays Here are a few more rules….. Never break up a one-syllable word. Never hyphenate a word that already has a hyphen. Never split a proper noun (any noun starting with a capital letter). Never leave one or two letters on either line. Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line. Never start the new line with two-letter suffixes.

Common Errors Seen in Essays Again, to be on the safe side simply avoid splitting up your words all together!

Common Errors Seen in Essays Keep in mind that your teacher has assigned you this essay; therefore, there are a few things you should NEVER write in your essays! Are you paying attention??

Common Errors Seen in Essays For example: In this essay I am going to explain….. In the following paragraph I will…. These are the reasons why… Now you know about…. I hope you enjoyed reading my essay….

Common Errors Seen in Essays As you prepare to write the rough draft of your body paragraphs, you will need to include transitional words or phrases. Transitional words or phrases help your writing “flow” better. They assist the writer in going from one thought to another, one idea to next, or even one paragraph to the following one.

Common Errors Seen in Essays You MUST have TWO transitional words or phrases per body paragraph. You are being given a very limited list of transitions. You must choose from this list only. Why?? You lack experience with these types or words/phrases; therefore, I see students using them incorrectly in their writing all the time!

Common Errors Seen in Essays Transitional words or phrases from which you should choose: First Second Third Next For example For instance Finally In conclusion

Common Errors Seen in Essays Make sure the transitional words or phrases are placed correctly. Do not just plug them in anywhere to fulfill the requirement. Again, you must use TWO transitions per body paragraph. Additionally, use a transitional word or phrase only once. Soooo, after you have written “third”, do not use it again.

Common Errors Seen in Essays I have graded NUMEROUS essays, and the same problems tend to come up every year. APPLY the information you have been exposed to today in order to produce a better essay.