SUMMER READING ESSAYCOMMON ERRORS

Introduction Paragraph• Needs to include author and title you are referencing• Need to begin with an attention grabber

• Series of questions• Bold and challenging statement• Interesting incident or anecdote• Definition• Quotation• Little known or striking fact• Statement of opinion that you intend to challenge• Short bursts that describe a scene

Arguable Thesis Statement• Your thesis statement must answer the prompt, but most

importantly be arguable.• For example, “Esperanza and many other characters in

The House on Mango Street face gender inequality.” is not really arguable• We know that she faces this issue in the story, but you are trying to

argue that one of the issues is more dominant in the book and how the characters come into contact with that issue.• Better example: “Esperanza and many other characters in The House

on Mango Street face more issues with gender inequality compared to issues regarding race.”

Main Points• Must be distinctively different than other main points• Each should strongly prove your thesis

• Read through a main point aloud and ask yourself, “Does this really help prove the point I’m trying to make?”

Quotation Integration• When integrating quotations, you should make it sound

like a part of your own writing.• Good example: When Esperanza explains to the nun that she

“live[s] there…it made [her] feel like nothing” (Cisneros 17). The way in which the nun asks Esperanza displays…

• Bad example: “You live there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing. There. I lived there. I nodded” (Cisneros 17). This quote explains that…• The quotation in this case is not integrated into your own words and is

less concise.

Concluding Sentences• Each body paragraph should end with a concluding

sentence. This will allow you to…• Wrap up the main idea of the paragraph• Transition to next paragraph• Eliminate choppiness of essay

In-Text Citations• Need to go at the very end of sentence even if they

quotation is used midway through• Period belongs after the parenthesis

• Example: “Quote” (Cisneros 9).

• If the author is used once, do not include in the in-text citation again unless you include another author

Some MLA Tips• Titles:

• Do not bold or underline• Needs to be point 12 font

• Spacing:• Double spaced everywhere• Go to “line spacing options”

• Click on “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style”

Comma Usage• Commas are needed after introductory clauses

• Examples:• After waiting in line for hours, I was finally allowed into the concert.• Although he did the act out of love, his actions are considered evil.• While she worked on her homework, her sister finished the snacks.• Therefore, she was right.

Tense• When writing about a novel, you should always be using

present tense, even if an event had already occurred.• Bad example: Esperanza tried on heels that made her feel

beautiful.• Good example: Esperanza tries on hells that make her feel

beautiful.

Subject-Verb Agreement• Your subject and verb should always match• Your subject should remain the same throughout the

sentence.• Bad example: How a person is raised affects their development.• Good example: How a person is raised affects his development.

• In this case, the author refers to “a person” meaning one. Therefore, the author cannot say “their” because it refers to more than one person.

Contractions• Do not use them in a formal paper!

Works Cited Page• A works cited page always needs to be included• 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

• Title of the novel needs to be italicized• Example:

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J.

Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996