Download Writing your final paper

INTRODUCTION
You need a strong introduction.
• Strong opening sentence
• Enough background information that the
reader has an idea about what you are writing
about
• A strong thesis statement or guiding principle
THESIS STATEMENT V. GUIDING PRINCIPLE
• A thesis statement lists the topics of each
body paragraph for the rest of the paper
• A guiding principle makes a strong statement
about the direction your paper will take
EXAMPLES OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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“Our perceptions of “the wild” appear to be more
glamorous than it actually is; in fact, escaping
civilization is an impossibility in the twenty-first
century.”
“McCandless had dreams of what the Alaskan
wilderness would look like, but the reality was
harsh and hindered his experience. However, his
death can teach people many things about the
way they live and carry out their dreams.”
GOOD IDEAS
The next part of an essay is getting your ideas on paper.
This can be difficult, but write them down, even if it
doesn’t sound perfect yet.
GOOD GRAMMAR/SENTENCE STRUCTURE
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After you have gotten your ideas on paper, then
go back and fix any errors to make your writing
smooth.
Make sure you have several different types of
sentences.
Make sure that every sentence is well-stated and
punctuated properly. Read and make sure that
every sentence says exactly what you want it to
say.
GOOD GRAMMAR/CONT.
• Work on using action verbs rather than linking
verbs
• Use a thesaurus to find synonyms to avoid
repeating words
HOW TO EMBED QUOTES
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Your quotes need to be embedded—you begin
writing a sentence, and then you add the quote.
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Do NOT have a quote all by itself
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Make sure that your embedded quote reads like
a complete sentence. Your writing and the quote
need to blend in such a way that it has a subject,
a verb, and a complete thought.
HOW TO CITE YOUR SOURCE TEXTS
• Write a fabulous sentence with an embedded
quote.
• The punctuation will look like this:
• This sentence “will have a fantastic
embedded quote” (Author page number).
• Notice—quotation marks BEFORE the ( ) and a
period AFTER the ( ).
GILBERT
When quoting Gilbert, you only need his last
name because there are no page numbers on
the original article.
Gilbert states that we “are wrong to believe that
a new car will make [us] as happy as [we]
imagine” (Gilbert).
STOUT
• Since there are actual page numbers on the
article, then you need to quote Stout’s last
name and the page number.
• Stout claims “That the psychological patterns
and the primary behavioral results of
distraction, escape, dissociative state, and
trance are virtually identical, regardless of
method” (Stout 587).
MARTEL
• Life of Pi quotes will end with (Martel page
number).
QUOTING SHAKESPEARE
When quoting Shakespeare, you do NOT cite the page number. Instead, you need to
give the act, scene, and line numbers in parentheses.
Also, you need to put a slash / that shows where there is a line break.
Ex. “I bear a charmed life, which must not yield/ To one of woman born” (5.8.12-13).
If you quote more than four lines of Macbeth, then you must put it in the form of
poetry. Set it off from the rest of your paper by hitting the tab button two times.
Macbeth continues in his delusion of being invincible when he tells the audience
“They have tied me to a stake, I cannot fly
But bear-like, I must fight the course. What’s he
That was not born of woman? Such a one
Am I to fear, or none. (5.7.1-4)