English 111 Lectures and More

Now that you have turned in your rough drafts of Essay 1 and I’ve read through each sections, here is a list of pointers for REVISION.

1.) Every essay (rough AND final drafts) should have a proper MLA heading.  A proper MLA heading begins on the left margin at the top of every paper, and it will have these elements in this particular order:

Your Name

Instructor’s Name (Amanda McGuire Rzicznek)

The Course (ENG 111)

The Date (9 September, 2007)

Headings are double-spaced, which is a blessing for those of you who worry about page length. 
2.) You MUST number each page in proper MLA format, which means you will have your last name and the page number in the top right hand corner on every page.

3.) For Essay 1 you are NOT proposing a solution.  Rewrite thesis statements that propose a solution by replacing “should” with “is” or “is not.” Also, you simply may choose to write “I agree with ______ policy” or “I disagree with _________ policy.”  No matter how you choose to rewrite your thesis you should NOT propose a solution in this essay; your job ONLY is to argue a position.

4.) Don’t use “you.” When a student writes “you” into an essay, that means he/she does not fully understand audience.  When one writes “you,” without having a sense of audience, most times “you” becomes the reader.  In this case, “you” equals me, your instructor, and I cannot relate to the positions arguing about on-campus policies.  Replace “you” with who exactly who mean.

5.) PROOFREAD!!!  I can’t say this enough.  My favorite example of not proofreading this time around: “This policy does not protect students from the dangerous treats of pedators.”  Show me some dangerous treats! I’m thinking Brownies, Cake, Lemon Bars, etc. And what are pedators? Proofreading is essential for making sure you use the right words to accurately convey your ideas.

6.)  Make sure all of your points are developed LOGICALLY.  Readers do NOT live inside your head.  They canNOT follow your logic.  It’s up to you to explain exactly what you mean, so your essay is Reader-based, not Writer-based.  Use topic sentences to state the paragraph’s main idea.  Then take a few sentences to explain that idea.  If you want to, pretend you are explaining your ideas to an alien for some other planet! Because you basically are explaining your ideas to aliens–those who can’t read your mind and comprehend what your are thinking.  SPELL it out.  You’re not treating your reader like he/she is stupid; you’re actually helping your reader see the world from your perspective.

7.) Connect every main idea that serves as a reason for your position to your thesis.  Don’t just assume that your personal example ties your point back to the thesis.  Actually, come out and state how the example relates to the thesis–essentially, your position.  Again, your reader is not a mind-reader.

8.) Spend more time on your Values Exploration Sheet BEFORE you write your rough draft.  The VES can help you focus and organize your thoughts.  Those who spend more time on their VESs by writing answers in complete sentences and answering questions in several sentences 9 times out of 10 had a stronger rough draft than those who gave one or two word answers.  And having a strong rough draft means less work for you before turning the final as well as raises your chances of Passing on the essay.

I hope you take all of these revision tips seriously and let them help you revise and craft a Passing essay.

Good luck and Happy Writing!

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Hot Tips!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.