FORMAT
The essay should be about 3 to 5 pages in length (this doesn’t include a cover page and a bibliography). It must be typed on standard-size (8 1?2 by 11) paper and be double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
Be sure to include your name, course title, and the time of your class on the first page of the essay.
Include a bibliography on an additional page.
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Essay Requirements
Cover Page
1. There is to be a cover page, with
a. the student’s name, date, and course number,
b. a sentence clearly stating the essay question.
Format
1. The essay must be typed.
2. No type smaller than twelve point is to be used.
3. The margins are to be the same on all sides and on every page (1 inch). 4. Each new paragraph is to be indented.
5. Each page is to be numbered.
Structure
1. The paper is to have introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
2. The introduction includes a thesis statement, that is, what the paper is going to cover.
3. Each paragraph should have a strong topic sentence, which will then be supported with additional facts in sentence form.
4. Each supporting sentence is to relate directly to the topic sentence.
5. All opinions are to be given in the conclusions and supported with facts and/or examples that are contained within the paper.
Grammar and Punctuation
1. Use a capital letter to start the first word of every sentence.
2. Sentences are to be correctly punctuated.
3. Verbs are to agree with their subjects, and pronouns must correctly relate to their antecedent nouns.
4. There are to be no dangling modifiers.
5. There are to be no typographical errors or misspelled words.
Bibliography
1. In the bibliography, which is to be on a separate page at the end of the document, all sources EXCEPT encyclopedias and dictionaries are to be cited. 2. Each citation should include the author’s name, the complete title of the work, the publisher, and the year of publication.
3. Citations should be in alphabetical order.
Common Essay Problems
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An essay is a series of paragraphs that relate to a specific topic. In this class, the student is asked to write an explanatory or expositional essay, that is, the purpose of the exercise is to explain a topic. The traditional or standard explanatory or expositional essay is usually comprised of five or more paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three or more paragraphs that explain, expand, and substantiate the essay’s topic, and a final one or two paragraphs of conclusions. More often than not, the student will have to write more than just five paragraphs to complete this assignment.
The Paragraph
This is an area in which students have the most problems. A paragraph is a
series of sentences that relate to a single thought. It consists of a topic sentence, supporting sentence(s), and a concluding/transition sentence—in essay writing there should almost never be a one sentence paragraph! The key is that all of the information in the paragraph is coherent and unified; a paragraph shouldn’t be a garbage can into which every idea is thrown. The focus should be on the first or topic sentence. All the sentences in a paragraph after the first one should directly relate to the first sentence, because they should contain information that expands or explains the generalizations made in the first sentence. If they do not, then a new paragraph needs to be started. As for the last sentence of a paragraph, it should often summarize the topic of the paragraph and provide a transition to the next paragraph. The student should stick to this format; if too many sentences are used, there is a tendency for the paragraph to become awkward or confused; the best idea would be to start a new paragraph.
Sentences
There are several pitfalls to avoid in writing sentences. One is that a
sentence needs to have a subject or a verb; incomplete sentences constitute a serious mistake for a college-level student because they should NOT occur at this level. A second pitfall is that a sentence may be overly long; this can be corrected by breaking the sentence up and making it flow better. A third problem is unneeded words; the sentences should be clear, concise, and simple (i.e., not convoluted). The aim is to explain the topic so that it can be understood. A fourth problem is repetition – don’t fall in love with the same subject over and over again.
Spelling
Possibly the biggest mistake students exhibit in spelling is using the
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apostrophe to try to make a singular into a plural. Correctly, the apostrophe indicates one of two things: a possessive (e.g., the book’s cover), or the absence of a letter or letters (e.g., can’t instead of cannot). A very common mistake in historical writing is using the apostrophe with regard to a decade (the correct form is the 1990s, not the 1990’s).
Punctuation
The colon [:] is usually followed by a series of items: names, places,
people. The semi-colon [;] is used to indicate a compound sentence; this is an example of the correct usage of a semi-colon. Another problem to deal with is long quotes: (a) if a quote is longer than three lines, then it should be indented on both sides (usually five spaces, but ten is fine) and single-spaced to highlight the quote, and quotation marks are not used; or, (b) if it is less than three lines, then quotation marks are sufficient.
Footnotes
Footnotes give students the most problem. The question to ask is this: can
this piece of information or quote be found anywhere else? If it is unique to that source only, then footnote it. If it is something that could be found in an encyclopedia, do not footnote it.
Finally, no one is a perfect writer. Most professional writers revise their works several times. When the student submits an essay, the work should represent the best piece of writing the student is capable of doing.
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