2. Title
• Have a title for your essay and
make it interesting and specific
to your essay.
• Here’s a typical academic one:
The Book of Daniel: Multiple
Perspectives of Prophecy
3. Introduction (w/thesis)
Body Paragraph:
The Essay
Explain & Develop Ideas • An essay
Body Paragraph: must have an
Explain & Develop Ideas introductory
Body Paragraph: paragraph,
Explain & Develop Ideas several body
Body Paragraph:
paragraphs,
Explain & Develop Ideas and a
Conclusion conclusion.
4. Thesis
The thesis is
the main point
that you
make in the essay
5. The Body Paragraph
• A body paragraph contains approximately
10-15 sentences and has a topic sentence.
• What is a topic sentence?
– The key point that you make in the
paragraph.
6. Basic Sentence Structure
• This is the minimum required for a simple
and complete sentence with no errors.
1. Subject
2. Verb
3. Complete thought
7. Spacing & Format
• Indent 5 spaces to indicate a new
paragraph.
• Double space your essay.
• Do not put extra spaces between
paragraphs.
• Put two spaces between sentences.
8. Specificity
• If you are specific in your writing,
your communication will be more
clear and powerful.
• Use details, examples, and precise
language.
9. Avoid
• Using the second person point of view
(p.o.v.) “you.”
• These phrases: I believe…, I think…,
In my opinion…, I personally…, I
myself personally believe that…
• Writing like you speak
10. Avoid
• Words such as: thing, a lot, basically,
nice, just, something, would, like
• Contractions: Use cannot (not can’t), I
am (not I’m), I will (not I’ll), it is (not
it’s)
11. Avoid
• Directly addressing the reader
Ex: You are going to learn about how
(or I am going to tell you about how)
after our family trip to Oregon, I
realized how dysfunctional my family
really is .
Correction:
After our family trip to Oregon, I realized
how dysfunctional my family really is.
12. Avoid
• Announcing your purpose and plan
Ex: In this essay, I am going to discuss
how MTV has had an enormous impact on
the spending habits of young people.
.
Revised: MTV has had an enormous
impact on the spending habits of young
people.
13. Avoid
• Abbreviations, and symbols: do not
use & or L.A.
• Using sentences from the prompt.
• Assuming the reader knows the
prompt or your topic.
14. Example prompt
• What is one important goal you would like
to achieve in the next few years?
In your essay, identify that one goal and
explain how you plan to achieve it. Use
your personal observations, experience,
and knowledge to support your essay.
15. Grading Symbols
1. sp.=spelling error
2. pr.=error in using a pronoun
3. s/v=lack of agreement between the
subject and the verb.
Example: The student love poetry.
Correction: The student loves poetry.
16. Grading Symbols
4. frag.=sentence fragment, a part of a
sentence punctuated as a sentence.
– Example: Before leaving for work this
morning. I drank a pot of coffee.
– Correction: Before leaving for work
this morning, I drank a pot of coffee.
17. Grading Symbols
5. RO (run-on) or CS (comma splice)=two or
more sentences incorrectly punctuated as one.
Example: My cousin invited many of her friends, I
did not know all the people who were running
around preparing for the party. (CS)
Correction: My cousin invited many of her friends,
so I did not know all the people who were
running around preparing for the party.
Correction: My cousin invited many of her friends;
therefore, I did not know all of the people who
were running around preparing for the party.
18. Example: The James Brown concert was
amazing I couldn’t believe a man of his age
could dance and sing with such energy.
(RO)
Correction: The James Brown concert was
amazing. I couldn’t believe a man of his age
could dance and sing with such energy.
19. 6. Mm= misplaced modifier. The
modifier is not close enough to the
word it is modifying.
Example: The phone almost rang ten
times.
Correction: The phone rang almost ten
times.
20. 7. Dm=dangling modifier. There is no word
to be modified.
Example: Driving down the road, the dog
was hit by the truck. (Who is driving?)
Correction: The driver of the truck hit the
dog.
21. 8. vt=lack of verb tense consistency,
unnecessarily switching from one
tense to another.
9. a=error in using an apostrophe
10. c=error in using a comma
11. cap.=make it a capital letter
12. lc=make it a lower case letter
22. 13. red.=unnecessary repetition.
14. trans= insert a transition
15. ¶ = create a new paragraph
16. ^ = insert something that I specify
17. | = separate (example: alot = a lot)
18. ‿ = bring together
19. q= error in using quotation marks
23. 20. ww = wrong word. The word doesn’t make
sense in the context. It probably means
something other that what you think it does. Look
up the word in the dictionary.
21. fp = faulty parallel structure.
Example: In the mountains, we went fishing,
biking and walked.
Correction: In the mountains, we went hiking,
biking, and walking.
24. 22. pass= passive voice.
Example: Mistakes were made.
Correction: The quarterback made mistakes.
22. mw= missing word
24. red. = redundancy, omit something that is
unnecessarily repeated
25. ?= After much effort and time, I cannot
understand what you are trying to
communicate.
25. Review these notes before you turn
in your first assignment. Look at
the grading symbols
after you have
received your first
graded work.
