Common Writing Problems (Friendly Reminders to keep in mind for Test 2 and other Essays)

Titles 1. Do not give your essay the same title as the poem/article/story you are analyzing. For instance, “Barbie Doll” and “Those Winter Sundays” are not appropriate titles 2. Do give your essay a compelling and relevant title like the one below: Plastic Perfection in “Barbie Doll” The Ideal Man: Understanding Masculinity in “Those Winter Sundays” 3. Do not put your own title in quotes. However the title of other short works that you refer to such as poems or essays should be in quotes.

Use 3 rd Person Avoid using words such as you, we, us, and I unless the prompt asks you to use personal examples. If you must use “you,” only do so in the lead-in or in the conclusion. Substitute other words for “you.” – one, people, the public, society, or individuals

Do Not Tell the Reader Your Intentions Do not say “In my paper I will examine” Do not say “I think this quote means” Do not say “I am writing a paper about” Instead, simply state your point.

Writing About Literature In poetry, do not confuse the speaker with the poet. Even though the poem might seem autobiographical, the speaker and the poet are separate personas. In short stories or novels, do not confuse the narrator with the author. The narrator and the author might be different people.

Body Paragraphs Be specific rather than vague Use quotes from the poem to support your claims Analyze and explain your examples—they don’t speak for themselves Do not begin or end a body paragraph with a quote. It should start with a topic sentence and end with an explanation of the quotes or examples your provided.

Other Tips Beware of pronoun confusion! Sample Confusing Sentence: In his poem “Those Winter Sundays” he talks about how he felt that he always would do nice things for his son, and he feels that he never appreciated him. Avoid meaningless words such as good, very, and really. Use synonyms. Do not use “text lingo” such as ur and thru. Remember that poems and novels do not speak--they are inanimate objects. The speaker, author, or narrator speaks. Try not to say “the poem argues” or “the story encourages readers to.”

In Text Citations: How to Use Quotes in your Essays These rules are determined by the MLA (Modern Language Association). See the OWL Purdue Website for complete info. The link is on the left side of my website.

When Do Writers Use Quotation Marks? 1. To set off the title of short works – Poems – Short Stories – Articles – Essays – Songs 2. To set off the exact words of a writer or speaker

Quoting Spoken Words or Common Phrases The longest palindrome in the world is the following: “Doc note, I dissent, a fatness? I diet on cod.” After Harbor College won the game, the fans cheered, “Go Harbor!” The period (or other punctuation mark) goes INSIDE the quotation marks if you don’t include a page number, line number, or source. The quote should begin with a capital letter, unless it is a split quote and the second phrase is not a complete sentence

Quoting from Written Works For books, articles, and short stories, always include the author and page number. Once you have listed the author’s name once, you do not need to do it again, unless it seems appropriate. Examples: – 1. According to John Miller, “The ocean is another world” (27). – 2. While some think the ocean is boring, others believe “The ocean is another world” (Miller 27). For poetry, always include the line number in parenthesis. Blah blah blah, “blah blah” (4-5).

Quote Within a Quote Use double quotation marks to set off a regular quote. “ ” Use single quotation marks to set off a quote within a quote ‘ ’ – The author recounts how his brother won the chess game: “As he moved the chess piece, he shouted, ‘Yes! I won’” (Miller 2).

Introducing Quotes A Quote CANNOT stand by itself, even if it is a complete sentence. It must be attached to another sentence. Wrong: “Everybody went to the tavern to escape the summer heat” (Hill 4). Right: The author recalls the family’s activities: “Everybody went to the tavern to escape the summer heat” (Hill 4). Right: The author comments, “Everybody went to the tavern to escape the summer heat” (4).

Quoting Rules Do not quote more than 3 lines at a time. There is an exception to this rule, but it only applies to longer papers. You may add words to make the quotation fit into your paper, but you must put them in brackets. – According to Firth, “Those [people who eat vegetables] report feeling full” (2). You may also omit words from the quotation, but you must include a ellipsis marks (... ) to indicate where you have omitted words. – The author states, “I had an ideal childhood... My grandparents had a farm in France” (Jennings 2).