1. The essay Common Mistakes
Things to do that will earn you a terrible grade

2. Common Format Mistakes – 10 pts off
Not following the MLA format for set up and spacing
Everything is doubled spaced
Headers- top right hand side of page- your last name and page number
Heading- top left hand side of first page (double spaced)
Your name
Ms. Tanier
English II
Date
Do not underline the title of your paper. Only underline the title of a novel
Margins – one inch all around

3. Common citation mistakes- 10pts off
Not citing information (plagiarism) if the information you used is not original to you, you must cite it- dates of birth, places of birth, list of works ect. Next year any form of plagiarism will result in a 0 for the assignment.
All quotes –no matter how small- must be cited
Not following MLA format- after you use a quote you put your citation- (last name of author page# if there is one).
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens). - from the internet source
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 4). - from the book

4. Citation mistakes – 10 pts off
Citing works not on your work cited page.
Using a different font for your quotes – everything should be in the same size and type except for italicizing the title of books.
The period at the end of the sentence goes after the citation, not inside the quotation marks
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 4).

5. Work Cited Page Mistakes 10- pts. off
Works listed on work cited pages that were not used in the paper
Works not in alphabetical order
Works not reverse indented

6. Style mistakes- 10 pts off
Use of first (I, we) and second person (you)
Use of contractions

7. Grammar Mistakes Fragments – incomplete idea
Run on - more than one idea in a sentence that is incorrectly punctuated
Verb tense problems – use the present tense when writing about literature.
The characters are always alive in the book
When writing about the historical or author background use past tense

8. Grammar mistakes Misused words
Confused words –your vs. you’re, there vs. their
Unclear pronoun usage
Misspelling

9. Content Mistakes in First Paragraph
Not stating the work or the author of the work you are writing about
Not stating the significance of the work you are writing about
Not having a clear thesis statement as the last sentence of your opening paragraph

10. Common Mistakes in Body Paragraphs
Not having a topic sentence – the reader needs to know what this paragraph is about
Not setting up your quote – if you use the quotes without putting it in context, the paragraph will be awk.
Not analyzing the quote – you need to tell the reading how the quote you just used proves your thesis statement.

11. Common Mistakes in Conclusion
Adding new information – the conclusion is to sum up you ideas, not to give new information
Not making global connections –
Tell the reader why what you have proven is important
Not having a conclusion
This will cause you to fail most writing test.