Common Errors

Floating Quotes Warning: Don’t Drop That Quote!: A “dropped” or “floating” quotation is plopped down in your essay with no integration with your own words. It’s as if you’ve copied and pasted the quotation in. To avoid this, use smooth “TIES” between quotations and your own writing.

floating Quote Knowing death was around the corner, he wanted to make big choices in his life. “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” There was so much positive inside of him that he didn’t want to waste a day on being negative and sad when he could be looking for the better things in life.

Integrated quote Because he knew death was around the corner, Jobs was fearless in his decision making. Many of us fear the consequences of our decision, but Jobs points out that the thought of his impending death was the best way he knew how to “…avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose” (pg. 71). There was so much positive inside of him that he didn’t want to waste a single day.

Floating quote On the way to a happy life there will be struggles and obstacles, but along the way you will be able to find your happiness and be able to pass through the misfortunes that life throws at you. “The experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you wanted” (Pausch). Expectations may not have been met, but the unforeseen events make the learning experience in life interesting.

integrated quote On the way to a happy life there will be struggles and obstacles, but along the way you will be able to find your happiness and be able to pass through the misfortunes that life throws at you. As Pausch discussed, experience comes from not getting what you expected. Expectations may not have been met, but the unforeseen events make the learning experience in life interesting.

No citations Warning: Don’t commit plagiarism and ruin your credibiliy, use citations! A “citation” is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. Why do we use citations? To give credit where credit is due. To establish your credibility as a careful scholar. To ensure consistency within the discipline: readers know what to expect. To give readers access to the sources you cite.

Can you spot the error? However, by enduring these hardships, he was able to experience many things that he found benefitted him greatly in the years to come. He specifically mentioned, “...much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.” This story is meant to inform the reader that at times, life may put you on a path with many obstacles, but it is not without reward. Later on, it will be easy to identify the value in persevering through the hard times. No citation. It is a well integrated quote, but where did it come from?

Spelling and Grammar Errors

Second Person

Who, me?! Yea, you! Most academic papers should be written in an academic voice. Academic voice tends to suppress the natural voice of the author in an effort to focus the reader on the material instead of the author's persona. Therefore, you write academic papers in third person. If you write in first person (I, we, etc.), the reader tends to focus on the author. If you write in second person (you), the reader tends to focus on her/himself. I wrote this handout in second person because I am addressing you – telling you to do something. You want your reader to focus on the material about which you are writing; therefore, your paper must be written in third person (him, her, they, etc.).

Who, me?! Yea, you! In a paper based on your opinion and personal experience, it is acceptable to write in the first person. However, typically, academic papers avoid first and second person in order to remain objective. It depends on the paper and the instructor. If you aren’t sure, ask! Nonetheless, it is possible to write a paper in third person and include person experience to support a point without using “I.”

Examples First Person: “I believe that it is very important for the person writing the argument to have an actual opinion about the subject matter. In my opinion, I would not trust someone who does not have an opinion about such a controversial matter.” Third Person: “Writers with opinions about their subject matter tend to present the issues more poignantly because they appear well informed and more involved in the subject matter.”