2. MISTAKES IN PAPERS Thesis-think of this as your “road map” to you essay  Should include the three major points of your paper  Example:  The setting of the novel affects the main character because of A, B, and C.  Goes at the end of the intro

3. PROBLEMS Thesis statements  They should not be hard to find  Your three main points should be listed in your thesis.  Body paragraphs should follow the format/order of your thesis.  Point A of your thesis should be the topic of your first body paragraph, etc.  Heading must be correct

4. 5 standard areas  spelling  punctuation  sentence structure  paragraph structure  syntax errors Transition use connections between paragraphs and within paragraphs Use of quotes and cites 2 successes/2 areas of improvement Must be signed!

5. PROBLEMS Delete space between paragraphs. Remember rules for quotes.  Only use the double quotation marks when there’s a break in dialogue.  Not all dialogue gets the double quotation marks. Do not start a paragraph with a quote.  You need to include some explanation and set up the quote. Follow with explanation. Indent quotes longer than three lines 10 spaces.  INDENT THE WHOLE QUOTE, not just the first line.

6. PROBLEMS NO CONTRACTIONS! Too much summary  Need to include some kind of commentary (critique) and your own analysis instead of just retelling what happened. Possessives  If you are using a proper name, such as “Miles,” it would be expressed as “Miles’s.”  Also, notice where the comma and period are placed above when using quotation marks without a citation.  The character is suspicious of her newfound “friends.”  The girl referred to the woman as “Aunt Rita,” despite the fact they were not truly related.

7. Avoid using the synonym selection in Word. Do not start sentences with “And.” Do not use “I” or “You” in ANY paper. Could of – NO!!!  Could’ve  Could have Avoid contractions Use simple language  But be formal Affect/effect Than/then Toward and Towards  Toward and towards are both correct and interchangeable.

8. Possessives  Singular names that end in –s: use an apostrophe and an s  Chris’s house is blue.  Other words that end in –s: use s’  The drinking glass’ crack is noticeable.

9. Between and Among  Between  One-to-one relationships  Let's keep this between you and me.  Choose between green and blue.  More than two items, groups, or people  The differences between English, Chinese, and Arabic are significant.  Among  Things that aren't distinct items or individuals  Taylor and Morgan are among the students featured in this month’s magazine.  The scandal caused a division among the fans.  Indicates that someone is part of a group or left out of a group  He was glad to find a friend among enemies.

10. Clichés  They have no place in formal writing and do not adequately describe what you are trying to say.  Many students try to argue that clichés make the paper more interesting, that what they’re saying is “not really a cliché,” that the phrasing makes them sound witty, smart, etc.  They’re wrong.  They should be avoided in all writing, but especially in formal papers.  Starting off on the wrong foot  In the long run  Writing on the wall  Too much of a good thing  A huge fan of  Sweep under the rug  Tip of the iceberg

11. PROBLEMS Exaggerations ( like clichés)  The governess was losing her mind.  The governess’ mental stability was questionable.

12. Semicolons  Semicolons are used to join independent clauses in a sentence.  If what comes after the semicolon is a fragment and cannot stand on its own as a sentence, YOU’RE USING IT INCORRECTLY!!!  Examples:  Working mothers nationally pay an average of $53 a week for child care; this means that many women pay nearly half of their weekly salary to day care centers or babysitters.

13. Colons  Colons are used after an independent clause that precedes a list.  The use of these punctuation marks often confuses students: comma, semicolon, colon, hyphen, and dash.  Colons are used to separate an explanation, rule, or example from a preceding independent clause.  After a sleepless night, the senator made her decision: she would not seek re-election.  This is a way to remember which direction to move the hands of the clock when changing to or from Daylight Savings Time: spring forward, fall back.

14. Comma splice  A comma splice is the incorrect use of a comma to connect two independent clauses. (Recall that an independent clause is a phrase that is grammatically and conceptually complete; that is, it can stand on its own as a sentence.)  To correct the comma splice, you can:  replace the comma with a period, forming two sentences  replace the comma with a semicolon  join the two clauses with a conjunction such as "and," "because," "but," etc. Examples:  I like Jamie, she is very pretty. INCORRECT  I like Jamie. She is very pretty. CORRECT  I like Jamie; she is very pretty. CORRECT  I like Jamie because she is very pretty. CORRECT

15. Dangling participles  A participle is a verb-form that ends in -ing.  It is called "dangling" when it doesn't agree with its subject.  Incorrect example: While walking down the road, a tree caught Kelly's attention.  The subject of the sentence is "a tree," but it is not the tree that is doing the walking, therefore the participle "walking" is dangling.  Correct examples:  While walking down the road, Kelly noticed a tree.  A tree caught Kelly's attention as she walked down the road. Remember that not all words that end in -ing are participles (e.g. thing).

16. Dialogue within a quote  “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children today?’ she inquired” (Smith 67).  “Nelly walked up the stairs and encountered Martha. ‘What are you doing with the children today?’” (Smith 67). The use of double quotation marks is only necessary for a quote within a quote. Not all dialogue receives the double quotation marks.  “What are you doing with the children today?” (Smith 67).

17. MISTAKES IN PAPERS Even if you use a quote in the middle of a sentence, put the citation at the end. Do not cite the same author more than three times in a row. Indent quotes that are longer than three lines.  Refer to MLA format in packet for proper citations.

18. PROBLEMS Long quotes do not get quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote.  UNLESS it’s a quote within a quote, then you follow the same rules: single marks on the dialogue within the quote. Example:  I went into the stairwell and was surprised at what I saw. ‘What are you doing here?’ Mrs. Callar asked. ‘I’m searching for Mr. Barnes. Is he still on the grounds?’ I had hoped he was gone (Sanders 27).

19. Agreement  If a person has a big decision to make, they have a lot to consider.  NO!  If a person has a big decision to make, he has a lot to consider.  If a person has a big decision to make, she has a lot to consider.

20. Ending a Sentence with a Preposition  Prepositions are little words that indicate position: with, at, by, from, etc.  In general, a preposition should come before the noun it modifies.  Hence the name “Pre"-position  Incorrect example: “That's the person I must talk to.”  Correct example: “That's the person to whom I must talk.”  Winston Churchill: "This is the kind of thing up with which I will not put!"

21.  About  Behind  From  On  Toward  Above  Below  In  On top of  Under  Across  Beneath  In front of  Onto  Underneath  After  Beside  Inside  Out  Of  Until  Against  Between  Instead of  Outside  Up  Along  By  Into  Over  Upon  Among  Down  Through  Without  Before  For  Off  To  Of  With  Around  During  Near  Since  Within  At  Except  Like  Past

22. “Who” and “whoever” are subjective pronouns; “whom” and “whomever” are in the objective case. Examples:  Who is that masked man? (“Who”/subject)  The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted for fraud. (“whom”/object) Rule: Substitute “he/him” or “she/her”  If it's either “he” or “she,” then it's “who;” if it's “him” or “her,” then it's “whom.”