PROF. AXEL-LUTE

GUIDELINES FOR ESSAYS

1. Proofread for careless errors like typos and repeated or missing words.

2. Check spelling, especially things a Spellchecker won’t catch, like names or sound-alike words. Some sound-alikes to watch for:

• whether/weather
• of/have
• your/you’re
• there/they’re/their
• are/or
• too/to/two
• its/it’s
• accept/except
• than/then
• through/threw

3. Make sure you have an introduction that clearly identifies what your essay is about (including the name of the work that you’re discussing) and that states your thesis. Do not start with “I am going to talk about” or “This paper is about.”

4. The body of your paper should have at least three points to support or explain your thesis. There should be examples and quotes from the writings you’re discussing.

5. Your conclusion should wrap up what you’ve said, restating your thesis and major points. It should not bring in a new topic. Do not start with “In conclusion.”

6. Your paper should be divided into paragraphs. There should be at least one paragraph for the introduction, at least three for the body, and at least one for the conclusion. Check each paragraph for a topic sentence. Make sure the entire paragraph relates to this topic.

7. Check each sentence to make sure it is a sentence. It should have a subject and a verb. There should not be two sentences linked by a comma. Dependent clauses beginning with subordinate conjunctions are not complete sentences and cannot stand alone.

Examples of subordinate conjunctions:

• although, though
• since
• if
• when
• whereas
• where
• because
• so

8. Do not use “you” except in quotes.

Physical layout of the paper:

No cover sheet

First page should have your name, my name, and the course number (ENG2403:03) at the upper right.

Double space. 12 pt. font, Times New Roman or Arial. Black ink. Standard margins.

All papers must be loaded onto TurnItIn.com AND handed to me in hard copy. Both formats are due on the same date.