1. Finishing your essays
On we go!

2. Commas Themes Quotes The author believes that ___________
The biggest surprises
Commas
Themes
The author believes that ___________
Quotes

3. The biggest problems Missing information Gross factual errors
Things we haven’t learned yet (parallelism, embedded quotes, MLA formatting, etc.)
Jargon

4. Subject vs. Theme

5. Subject What a story is about, summed up in a few words: Racism Hope
Conformity
Identity
Bildungsroman

6. Theme The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work
A theme is NOT a topic or subject
Themes BUILD on a topic or subject
Themes may be major or minor (a theme in a chapter chapter vs. a book-length theme, etc.)
Not every literary work has a theme

7. Theme
An abstract idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment of its subject matter
A main idea about human life stated in a complete sentence

8. ICE
I – Introduce
C – Cite (quote)
E - Explain

9. DON’T randomly capitalize
The “NO” items
DON’T randomly capitalize
Proper nouns SHOULD be capitalized
Proper nouns are specific things
The Atlantic vs. the ocean
Christian vs. religion
English vs. math

10. Do a spelling check and fix the mistakes
The “NO” items
If you see squiggly red lines on your paper, it means you’ve spelled something wrong…
Do a spelling check and fix the mistakes

11. The “NO” items I We Us
You Me
Our

12. Informal language (guys, don’t, stuff, pretty, etc.)
The “NO” items
Informal language (guys, don’t, stuff, pretty, etc.)
Nix the “very” bad word
Check spelling of character names & locations

13. Fragments
If it doesn’t have a (1) subject, (2) verb, and (3) complete thought, it’s not a sentence!

14. MLA formatting Book titles are italicized: The Help
NO quotations marks or underlines
You need a running head, header, and title
EVERYTHING is Times New Roman, Size 12
NO bolds, underlines, or italicized words (obviously with exceptions)
Citations look like: (Stockett 47).
No double spaces
You need an actual essay title

15. Random FYIs Years: ‘60s or 1960s People are “who”s, not “that”s
You can cut the nonsense (brilliant, exciting, thrilling, life-changing)
Stockett wrote, “‘What happen?’ [Minny] ask[ed] again.”
Don’t italicize your quotes

16. Adding context The Help has sold 10 million copies
Your essay will make sense to 10 million people
Adding context expands your audience to 7.53 billion people
Who?

17. Unclear pronouns/words
The word “IT” is often unclear — who or what is “it”?
Same goes for “they,” “he,” or “she” — make sure readers know which character you’re referring to

18. Paragraph breaks Basic rule: Keep one idea to one paragraph Ask:
Does your paragraph focus on ONE person?
Does your paragraph focus on ONE idea?
Does your paragraph focus on proving ONE point?

19. Term 2 material: Don’t stress over fixing it in your essay
Things we will learn

20. Transitions Transitions act as “bridges” between ideas in writing
They are found between ideas in a single paragraph
They are also found between paragraphs

21. Embedded quotes
When Francie learned to read, her world changed. “Books became her friend, and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours.”

22. Embedded quotes
When Francie learned to read, her world changed. The author explains, “Books became her friend, and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours” (Smith 27).

23. Subject/verb agreement
Subjects and verbs MUST AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural)
If a subject is singular, its verb must be singular
If a subject is plural, its verb must be plural

24. Subject/verb agreement
1. Apples picked at the beginning of the harvest season (is/are) firm but delicious.
2. Younger students who work well with each other (make/makes) a good team.
3. His unusual strength and surprising speed (make/makes) Tom a challenging opponent.
4. The most interesting paintings that are sold in the museum (have/has) simple composition and limited color ranges.

25. Parallelism
Unparallel: Melvin enjoyed rock music, football, and to collect stamps
Parallel: Melvin enjoyed rock music, football, and collecting stamps
Unparallel: Susan pushed the hair from her eyes, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and the volleyball was served
Parallel: Susan pushed the hair from her eyes, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and served the volleyball

26. FYI
One last thing

27. What is plagiarism?
To steal and pass off another person’s ideas or words as your own
To use information without crediting the source
To commit literary theft
To present as new and original an idea or product created from an existing source

28. Scanning your papers
SmallSEOTools.com/plagiarism-checker QueText.com Grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker