Writing your final paper

1. Writing your final paper English 1301

2. 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

3. 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

4. Examples of guiding principles • “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.”

5. 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.

6. Good grammar/sentence structure • 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.

7. Good grammar/cont. • Work on using action verbs rather than linking verbs • Use a thesaurus to find synonyms to avoid repeating words

8. How to embed quotes • Your quotes need to be embedded—you begin writing a sentence, and then you add the quote. • Do NOT have a quote all by itself • 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.

9. 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 ( ).

10. 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).

11. 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).

12. Martel • Life of Pi quotes will end with (Martel page number).

13. 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)