1. NATIVE AMERICAN ORIGIN MYTHS ESSAY COMMON ERRORS

2. Concluding Sentences End each body paragraph with a sentence that wraps up main idea This avoids choppiness Never end a body paragraph with a quotation Doesn’t fully explain importance of quotation Makes paragraph feel like it ends abruptly

3. Formal Language Do not use “you” in a formal essay Do not use contractions

4. No Personal Pronouns We Us Our I My All of these are considered personal pronouns. Do not use them because they take away from your argument.

5. Works Cited Page Title it: Works Cited (each word capitalized and centered) Needs to be double-spaced No extra space needed between title and citations First line of a citation needs to aligned all the way to the left of the page Any line that follows the same citation needs to be indented Citations need to be in alphabetical order (The doesn’t count) Example: Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996

6. Use of However However is a great transitional word to use; however, it only works well if you use it correctly. If using the word at the beginning of the sentence, a comma needs to follow Example: However, the two myths do have several similarities… If using the word in the middle of a sentence, two independent clauses should be on either side. A semicolon needs to follow the first independent clause, and a comma needs to follow directly after the word. Example: There are several differences in both myths; however, the numerous similarities the two myths have make it more alike than different.

7. Conclusion Paragraph Summarize all of your main ideas from each of your body paragraphs That means if your body paragraphs were about the similarities of a significant number, then that idea needs to be brought up again in your conclusion

8. Body Paragraphs Each body paragraph should focus on one main similarity (do not list off several) and go in more DEPTH explaining that similarity and how it ties back to the thesis Looking for quality here, not quantity Tie every main idea back to the the thesis How does this similarity show how one myth influenced the other?

9. Comma Rules Using commas and and: Use and to join two independent clauses Example: I went to the store, and I bought a new pair of shoes. Use when creating a list Example: The similarities were the number seven, the importance of even smaller animals, and the substance from which man was created. Side note: when creating a list, you do not need to use a comma before the last listed item. This is called an oxford comma and is strictly optional, but either way, you need to be consistent.