MILLER SCHOOL of ALBEMARLE
Writing Manual
By Steven Knepper and Peter Hufnagel
©2011 by Miller School of Albemarle. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from Miller School of
Albemarle.
Writing Center
". . . nothing is more important than to acquire a facility of developing our ideas on paper."
--Thomas Jefferson to his Grandson T.J. Randolph,
April 16, 1810
The objective of the Writing Center is to help you get your ―ideas on paper‖ in a clear and articulate
fashion. We want every student at Miller to be a writing ―maverick‖ and to ―ace‖ research papers and
analytical essays. The primary goals of the Writing Center are to help students formulate a clear and
arguable claim, write an introduction according to the ―Anatomy of the Introduction,‖ organize ideas into
body paragraphs, and format the essay and cite all sources in MLA style. We will also help you avoid
plagiarism by helping you formulate your own original ideas.
The center is run by student coaches who have been selected from 11th and 12th grade A.P. English
classes. Coaches will work individually with students on any academic essay they have been assigned.
The Writing Center is open every day during 7th period. Students are encouraged to make an
appointment. Teachers are welcome to require specific students to work with Writing Center coaches on
research papers.
In many ways writing is like a sport: A good athlete trains and takes advice from knowledgeable coaches
before the big game; a good writer needs to do the same before turning in a writing assignment.
Quick Info
Location: Rm. 31
Phone: Ex. 206
Hours & Schedule
2:50—3:30 Monday-Friday
By appointment only
What You Need To Bring
Essay topic sheet
Drafts of all work
Outline of your ideas for the essay
Any books or online sources that you are using and/ or citing
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Table of Contents
Essay Writing Checklist……………………………………….............……..……………………...……......……..4-5
Writing an Argumentative essay: An Overview…………………….............….……..…………...…….….……..6-15
Planning…………………………………………………..............……..…….……………………..……………16-17
The Claim Statement………………………………….……………………............…..…………..………...…...18-20
The Anatomy of an Introduction………………………………………………..………………………..……….20-21
Body Paragraphs (Reasons and Evidence)…………………………………….…….............……..…..…………22-24
Couching Quotations Effectively..………………………..……………………..…………….......….........................25
Acknowledgment & Response……………………………………………..………………………………….….26-29
Effective Transitions................................................................................................................................................30-31
Conclusions………………………………….............……………...………..………….......………………………..32
Revising…………………………………............…………….……..…………..……..…………………………33-34
Using the Active Voice………………………………….............…………..………………..……………….……...35
Mechanics of Writing………………………………………….........................…………………..……………...36-43
Commas……………..………………………………………………………….….........…35-37
Semicolons………………………………………………………………………..…....….... 37
Colons……………………………………………………………………..…………...…..….38
Hyphens……………………………………………………………………………....…....38-40
Apostrophes…………..……………………………………………………………...….....40-41
Italics (Underlining)…………………………………….…………………………..………....41
Quotation Marks………………………………………………………………….……..…41-42
Parenthesis……………………………………………………………………….…….……....42
Sample Essay (Formatting)…………………………………………………………………………………..……44-45
MLA Citation………………………………………………………………………...................….……………...46-51
Plagiarism………………………………………………………………………………................................……52-54
Taking Essay Tests……..…………………………………………………………..……………............……......55-56
Reports, Summaries, and Reviews……………………………………………………..…………………………57-58
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Essay Writing Checklist
Pre-writing
Annotate your course texts and take good notes.
Comb texts and notes. Assemble list of possible evidence and insights.
Do outside research as necessary, tracking all sources for your works cited page.
Free-write about the essay prompt or topic.
Use a graphic organizer to visualize essay organization.
Come up with a tentative claim and reasons.
Make sure your claim is argumentative rather than obvious, limited rather than broad, properly
qualified rather than overstated. (6, 17-19)
Outline essay and identify weak spots.
Writing—General Tips
Do not wait until the last minute. Try to start ten days before the essay is due.
Set aside plenty of time, and find a quiet place to write where you will not be distracted.
Do not feel like you have to start with your intro and draft straight through. Feel free to start with
whichever point on your outline you are prepared to write about.
If you get hung-up, skip to the next point on your outline.
Do not spend a lot of time on any single sentence when drafting. Rework it later.
If you are really stuck, do not stare at a blinking cursor for too long. Go take a walk or shoot
some hoops. Great philosophers and great writers are often prolific walkers. It clears your head
and stokes inspiration.
In literary analysis essays, avoid plot summary. Assume that your reader is already familiar with
the works you are discussing. Stick to analysis.
Writing—Specifics
Craft introductory paragraph using the ―Anatomy of an Introduction.‖ (20-21)
Start (most) body paragraphs with a reason in support of your claim. (7-8, 22-25)
Back up assertions with well-chosen evidence from course texts, notes, or outside sources (8, 2225).
Analyze all evidence. Don’t just drop a quote in your essay. Follow it up with a couple of
sentences that explain what conclusions your reader should draw. Explain how it backs up your
claim and reasons. (8, 22-25)
While crafting body paragraphs, try to address any questions a skeptical reader might have. (9-10,
26-29)
Acknowledge and respond to major counter-arguments in separate body paragraphs. (9-10, 2629)
Restate your claim and leave your reader with some food for thought in your conclusion. (32-33)
Couch all quotations with introductory phrases. (25-26)
Properly cite all outside sources. (44-51)
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Strike a confident and reasonable tone. Use direct sentences with concrete nouns and vivid
verbs. (11-12)
Avoid contractions and slang. Avoid big words that you only half-know and really long
sentences. (11-12)
Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs. (30)
Give your essay a vivid title.
Revising (33-34)
Try to finish the essay a week before it is due. Set it aside for a day or two. Then read it with
fresh eyes.
Do the claim and the conclusion match? If not, your argument drifted while you were writing.
Revise intro, claim, and opening body paragraphs accordingly.
Are there any digressions where you wander away from your main argument for a paragraph or
two? If so, either revise or cut them.
Do your ideas flow logically, or do you need to re-order your body paragraphs?
Are there any very short body paragraphs? Any reasons without sufficient evidence? Any weak
spots in your argumentation?
Are there any major counter-arguments that you have not addressed?
Is the tone appropriate?
Are all sources properly cited, both in-text and in the works cited page?
Read the essay aloud.
Take it the writing center or to help session.
Ask a friend to read it.
Check formatting: header, page numbers, 1‖ margins, double-spaced, twelve-point font. (44-45)
Print and proofread for mechanical errors.
Print a final copy on crisp paper. Staple it. (13)
Turn it in and relax.
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Writing an Argumentative Essay:
An Overview
In an argumentative essay, you are trying to persuade a skeptical reader that your position
on a topic is convincing. When writing, it is crucial to keep this audience in mind. An
example will help demonstrate why this is important. Imagine you are at boarding school
(that should not be hard), writing your parents a letter. You want to convince them not only
to allow you to go, but also to pay for a spring break trip to Paris. In this letter, you will lay
out a number of reasons why they should do this: It will give you a chance to practice your
French, to learn about French culture, to see the world, etc. You will also try to anticipate
and answer their most probable concerns: You are too young. It will cost too much money.
It is dangerous to travel alone. You will undoubtedly spend a lot of time on this letter. You
will write and rewrite, agonizing over your tone (you don’t want to sound too whiny or
entitled) and the reasons why they should allow you to go (that B in French class would
likely become an A). You will try to make your letter as compelling and as thorough as
possible, even before you have talked to your parents. While your targeted audience for class
essays will rarely be your parents—you will usually need to imagine a skeptical reader, a sort
of devil’s advocate—this letter is indeed an argumentative essay. You are presenting an
argument with a specific position and are working to be as persuasive as possible. You are
anticipating all the questions, concerns, and hesitations of a reader who needs a lot of
convincing before seeing things your way.
The argument is clear in the example of the letter. You know exactly what you are arguing,
and you know exactly whom you are trying to convince. A literary analysis essay is actually
just as argumentative. You are trying to convince a smart reader that your interpretation of a
novel, short story, poem, or play is a good one. A history essay is an argument, as well.
Many people think of history as being set in stone, as being simply factual. That is not so.
History is about telling stories based on historical evidence (and often connecting the dots
between that evidence). This means history is inherently interpretative, inherently
argumentative. One important way you can improve your writing in these classes, then, is by
thinking about your essays as arguments.
Already, it should be clear that writing an argumentative essay requires a strategy. Some
students think that writing skills are like magic in the Harry Potter novels. Some people have
the gift (wizards), and some people do not (muggles). This is not at all the case. Writing
skills improve with hard work and practice. And while there is perhaps a little bit of
magic involved in writing a good essay, it does not have to be a mysterious process. There
are steps and strategies that anyone can learn that make the process manageable. There are
―parts‖ that every good argumentative essay needs to contain. This manual is an introduction
to those steps, strategies, and parts. Its goal is to equip you to be a good writer. Of course,
reading this manual will not be enough on its own. That would be like reading an exercise
book and expecting to be in excellent shape when you finish reading the last page. You will
need to practice what you learn here. It takes time to become a good writer, but if you
diligently work at it, you will be well prepared for college writing by the time you leave
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MSA. If you consider yourself a bad writer, try to drop that thought, and give some of the
strategies here a try. You will improve.
In this manual, we draw upon many terms and concepts from a systematic approach to
writing called the Little Red Schoolhouse, which was developed at the Universities of
Virginia and Chicago, and continues to be used in the writing programs at those prestigious
institutions and many others throughout the country. You can learn more about this system
at www.schoolhouse.org or by purchasing The Craft of Argument by Gregory Colomb and
Joseph Williams, which is an excellent writing handbook.
The Core Parts of Argument
Every good argumentative essay must have certain parts. In grade school, you probably
learned that you need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Your third grade teacher
was right. Those are crucial parts, and you do need them. The very barest of essay forms is
an intro paragraph, a body paragraph, and a concluding paragraph. Never turn in an essay
that is just one big block of text without paragraph breaks. This goes for in-class essays too
(and most certainly for SAT and Advanced Placement essays).
In this manual, we focus more on what should go inside your intro, body, and conclusion.
More specifically, we focus on the parts of a good argument. Any argumentative essay needs
three core parts: a claim (often called a thesis statement) that states your position, reasons
why you think this claim is true, and evidence that proves those reasons. You need one
claim, at least three reasons, and as many pieces of convincing evidence as you can find in
your course readings and research. There is one more part for advanced writers,
acknowledgment & response, which we will focus on in the next section. Stick to the core
three for now.
The claim is a sentence (or sometimes two) that contains the central argument of your essay,
the key point that you are trying to make about your topic. It is usually the last sentence of
the introduction. The whole point of your essay is to prove your claim, and the whole essay
should be unified around that task. Do not wander away from the position staked out in your
claim, not even for a few sentences or a paragraph. Your teacher should be able to point to
any line, even five pages deep in the essay, and you should be able to explain how it relates
back to your claim. You do not want to write a ramble or a rant. Stick to proving your claim.
If you do, your essay will have a sense of cohesion. It will be unified. In the example of the
letter above, your claim would be something like, ―Mom and Dad—you should send me to
Paris for spring break.‖
You also need specific reasons why your claim should be accepted. When writing for
English teachers, skeptical readers, or unconvinced parents, you cannot just assume that your
position will be accepted. You have to argue for it. We have already covered some of the
reasons you might offer for your trip to Paris: improved language skills, cultural experience,
entertainment. (At least for most parents, the last reason is the weakest.) You should try to
have at least three reasons for your claim. In a five-paragraph essay, each of your body
paragraphs will be built around a reason. Usually the reason will be given in the first (topic)
sentence of the paragraph. Longer essays can certainly have more reasons, though, often
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developing a reason over several paragraphs. When first starting out, shoot for three reasons
and three body paragraphs.
You can never have too much good evidence. Evidence provides support for your reasons.
It is the most basic unit of argumentation. Different types of evidence include quotes,
statistics, mathematical proofs, diagrams, syllogisms, anecdotes, and studies. In English
class, the most common type of evidence is direct quotations from course texts—from
novels, stories, poems, and scholarly essays. A skeptical reader can say, ―Prove it,‖ in
response to your claim or to your reasons, but they should not be able to say that about your
evidence. They should only be able to argue with how you interpret your evidence, about
whether it proves what you say it proves. Claims and reasons are assertions or ideas; a piece
of evidence is more like a fact. In the letter example, for instance, you might back up your
―learning French‖ reason with some statistics on how full immersion improves language
skills. These statistics are evidence, supporting a reason.
The author of an argumentative essay is sort of like a prosecuting attorney. You claim that
the suspect is guilty, you provide reasons why this is so (he was at the scene of the crime, he
has a history of pathological behavior), and then you back those reasons up with the most
convincing evidence you can find (fingerprints, eye-witness testimony, character witnesses,
etc.)
The first sentence of a body paragraph usually contains a reason. The rest of a body
paragraph is usually made up of evidence and the analysis of evidence. For you need to
explain exactly how your reader should interpret your evidence. After you include a statistic,
take a few sentences to explain what it proves. After you include a quote, explain exactly
what your reader should learn from it. Always analyze and explain, never assume that
your reader will see things the way you do. In English class, we call the analysis of direct
quotes from the texts close reading. Analyzing evidence in this way is the most important
skill in literary study.
It might help to imagine these three parts of argument as a pyramid. The evidence forms the
base of the pyramid, the reasons form the middle, and the claim forms the top. The evidence
is the solid foundation. If the evidence is not convincing, the whole argument collapses. The
evidence supports the reasons, and the reasons in turn support the claim, which brings
together the whole argument at the peak of the pyramid. Everything works together for the
claim.
Claim
Reasons
Evidence
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This metaphor is good because a pyramid is built from the ground up. Sometimes
argumentative essays are built this way, too. Many students write an essay by starting with a
tentative claim, thinking up reasons, and then finding evidence. While this often works, it is
not always the best way. Have you ever written an essay in which you start with your intro
and claim, but by the end of the essay you are arguing something different than you were in
the beginning? This is a common problem when you think up your claim before wrestling
with your evidence. Sometimes your evidence tells a different story than you expect. This is
why you often need to rewrite your intro and claim after you have finished drafting your
essays. Another way to approach writing an essay, one suggested by the pyramid metaphor,
is to first research a topic. Learn as much as you can and compile all sorts of potential
evidence. You can then deduce a claim from the evidence at hand. This is one surefire way
to ensure that your claim fits tightly with your reasons and evidence. In English class, you
might look back over a novel at all the passages you marked, and then base your
interpretative claim on this evidence. (If you do not mark up your books yet, start doing so, in
all of your classes.)
Acknowledgment & Response
For advanced writers, beginning in tenth grade and especially in eleventh and twelfth grade,
there is one more part of argument you need to tackle: acknowledgment and response
(A&R). It is a bit more complex than the other three. The best writers always try to address
counter-arguments, alternate interpretations, and problems in their reasoning. Think about
the letter example again, in which you try to anticipate your parents’ questions and concerns
about the trip to Paris. This is the hallmark of truly sophisticated essayists. While writing,
they are constantly thinking about the questions a skeptical reader might have. They are
constantly wrestling with counter-arguments. This shapes their prose from beginning to end.
They are less likely to overstate a claim or assertion (e.g., Nobody watches baseball
anymore) because they know a skeptical reader will call them out on it. They are more likely
to thoroughly explain why their evidence does indeed support their reasons, because they are
thinking of other ways in which the same evidence could be interpreted. In this way, A&R is
something of a mindset, a constant dialogue with that hypothetical devil’s advocate reader. It
requires an incredible amount of critical thinking, because you have to be able to recognize
both the strengths and the weaknesses of your argument.
A&R is a mindset, but it is also something you can point to on the page, just like a claim,
reasons, or evidence. Often, A&R will be a phrase or a sentence in one of your body
paragraphs, which anticipates a concern that a skeptical reader might have about the reason
or evidence you are arguing. (I know it’s a lot of money acknowledgment, but this is an
important investment in my development as a French speaker response.) Other times, you
will take a whole body paragraph to tackle an important counter-argument. (You’re not old
enough to go to France.) When you are first trying out A&R, this is what you will want to
do. Try to add an A&R paragraph in which you are addressing one major reader concern.
The standard five-paragraph essay contains an introduction with a claim, three body
paragraphs built around three reasons, and a conclusion. You can put a twist on this by
adding an A&R body paragraph after your reason body paragraphs.
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The basic essay with an A&R Twist:
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1/Reason 1
Body Paragraph 2/Reason 2
Body Paragraph/ Reason 3
Acknowledgment & Response (Optional)
Conclusion
Sometimes it is hard for students to think up counter-arguments. This is what friends (and
teachers) are for. Give a friend your claim, and ask him or her to come up with some
counter-arguments. Be careful. This can be a bit discouraging. A good writer has to have
thick skin. Still, ask a friend who is going to try to help you strengthen your argument, not
tear it apart.
The Four Questions an Argumentative Essay Answers
(From the perspective of a skeptical reader)
•What’s your point? What are you claiming that I should believe?
•Why should I agree? What reasons can you offer to support your claim?
•How do I know those are good reasons? On what facts do you base them? What
evidence do you have to back them up?
•But have you considered…? But what would you say to someone who claimed…?
Do you acknowledge this alternative to your position, and how would you
respond?
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Tone and Style
The tone of a piece of writing is the author’s attitude toward the subject matter and the
reader. The tone of an essay might be angry, melancholy, condescending, flippant,
moralistic, or bored. There are many other possibilities. Tone might stay the same
throughout, or it might change over the course of a document. It is very important to strike
the right tone. Think of the letter example again. You want to sound like you really want to
go to Paris, but you do not want to sound desperate. You want to be convincing, but you do
not want to be whiney. You want to sound like you deserve to go, but you do not want to
sound entitled. Tone is often a balancing act. It should be clear from this example that you
do not want to be a tone-deaf writer. You want to be aware of the attitudes you are
projecting in your writing. The wrong tone can spoil an otherwise strong essay.
In most argumentative essays, you will want your tone to be confident, self-aware, civil, and
open-minded. You do not want to be condescending or mocking. Unfortunately, popular
culture provides us with many bad examples when it comes to tone. Pundits who ridicule
their opponents dominate our media. They act like their opponents are totally stupid. Think
about their audience. Are they trying to convince their opponents that they are wrong, or are
they speaking primarily to other people who already think like them? For the most part, it is
the latter. They are preaching to the choir. If you want to persuade someone, you must treat
his or her opinions with respect. Your tone should convey passion, but it should not convey
that everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot. In fact, the most disarming strategy in
an argumentative essay is to admit that another perspective has a measure of truth, but
then to demonstrate why your perspective is still the better one.
The tone of this introduction is conversational but teacherly. It is the tone teachers often use
in help session when working one-on-one with a student. In academic writing, a more
academic tone is appropriate. In student essays, tone problems tend to go in opposite
directions. Students are either far too conversational, like they are talking to (or the absolute
worst—texting) a friend. This is too informal. The opposite problem is that students are
trying too hard to sound academic.
On the page, these tone problems often play out in word choice (diction) and sentence
structure (syntax). We will start with word choice. Essays that are too conversational and
informal often use slang and contractions (I’m, can’t, ain’t, etc.). You should steer clear of
both in academic writing. Many teachers and professors now accept contractions in
academic writing, but even if your teacher does so, you should not fall into the habit. Your
next teacher may not. Overly academic essays try to use obscure words—ten-cent words, to
use a little of the slang that I just prohibited—or jargon. Now if you can use ―cacophonic‖ or
―hegemonic‖ correctly, by all means do so. Many students who try too hard to sound
academic, though, use words incorrectly, or they constantly use complex words when simple
words would suffice. Choosing the right words, that convey exactly what you want them to
convey, is very important, and it is something that even advanced writers often neglect.
Mark Twain once wrote, ―The difference between the almost right word and the right word is
really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.‖ When
you are revising your essays, pay attention to the words you use. Do not settle for close
enough. Choose them with care and precision.
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The best writers vary sentence structure, so that their writing does not become repetitive.
Student essays that are too conversational often contain sentence fragments. This is an
understandable result of the essay’s tone. When we speak to friends, we often do not use
complete sentences. When we write, though, we should always use complete sentences.
Essays that are trying too hard to be academic often contain very long sentences, with many
commas, conjunctions, and clauses. These often end up being ungrammatical and hard to
read. Sentences can be long, but they need to be direct and grammatical. Here are two rules
that may help. Keep your main subject and verb close together, and keep both toward
the front of the sentence. Beware parentheticals that break apart your subject and verb, and
beware long introductory clauses. These will not make your sentences ungrammatical, but
they will make them hard to read. But these are guidelines, not taboos (even this style
manual has numerous parentheticals). The danger is when you repeatedly construct
sentences in these ways. At MSA, we teach you how to diagram sentences. This is a skill
with many uses, but it is especially helpful in analyzing your syntax.
Two of the best-known American authors are Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.
Hemingway’s writing style is deceptively simple. His sentences are short and direct. He
rarely uses big words. Faulkner’s style is complex. His sentences are very long with many
commas. He uses obscure words (and even coins a few). Both are great writers and great
prose stylists, but student writers ought to shoot for Hemingway, not Faulkner. Only use
ten-cent words when they are the exact ones that you need. Keep your sentences direct.
Use concrete nouns and vivid verbs. Aim for clear prose that illuminates complex ideas.
Mechanics
A poorly chosen tone can hurt a well-argued essay, so can too many spelling, punctuation,
grammar or paragraphing errors. Indeed, mechanics are a key component of tone. If your
essay is poorly edited, it suggests that you did not care enough to proofread. Imagine that
you are a new employee at a company, and your boss asks you to send out a thank you letter
to your most loyal clients. If it is riddled with spelling and punctuation errors, it will not
matter if the letter is well organized and detailed. Your boss will be angry, and so will the
clients. The latter, your audience, will think that this was a sloppy and insincere thank you.
You should always carefully proofread your writing before turning in a final draft.
We emphasize grammar instruction at MSA. Mechanics are often called a ―lower order‖
writing skill. Essay organization and the parts of argument (claims, reasons, evidence) are
considered more essential to your development as a writer. There is something to this. You
should focus on those ―higher order‖ skills first, and they should receive the bulk of your
attention. But that does not mean you should neglect mechanics, for poor editing can mar a
good essay. You should strive to learn basic grammar. You should be able to tell a complete
sentence from a fragment. You should know when to use a comma and when not to use one.
You should know how to properly use a semicolon. This guide contains a detailed section on
mechanics, a resource to which you can refer while editing your essays.
If you are not confident in your grammar skills, be aware of that. It does not mean that you
have to turn in poorly edited essays. Take them to the writing center, meet with your teacher
during help session, or ask your grammar guru friend to take a look at your writing. Do not
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daydream, though, while your essay is being edited. Pay attention. Ask questions. Take
notes.
One oft-overlooked element of mechanics (and by extension of tone) is format. This is how
your essay looks on the page: its title, margins, font, line spacing, heading, page numbers,
whether it is stapled or paper-clipped or just loose, even whether or not the paper is
crumpled. Presentation is important. As a general rule, your essay should be double-spaced.
It should be in twelve-point, Times New Roman font. Margins should be 1‖ wide. It should
have a title and a heading. Page numbers should be listed. You do not need to buy one of
those fancy clear plastic binders, but the essay should be stapled, and it should be printed on
crisp paper. The essay should look neat and professional.
Many students try to make an essay look longer by using a bigger font, wider margins, or
extra line spacing. Rest assured, this will not fool your teachers, and it may well frustrate
them. Instead, write the required number of words or pages. If you cannot, do not try to
disguise it. Submit it in proper format and face the consequences with courage.
Revising
Re-writing is just as important as drafting. In high school, you almost always have to turn in
a rough draft of your essays. This forces you to produce at least two drafts. In college, you
will not always have to go through this step. Thus, many students write essays the night
before they are due. Their final draft is, in effect, their rough draft. Some writers can get
away with this, still earning good grades. Most writers will receive lower grades than they
would have if they had started earlier and edited. The best writers are usually the best
editors. They write their essays early, and then they edit, edit, edit.
As a general rule, you should try to draft an essay at least one week before it is due. This
allows you to set it aside for a couple of days and then read it with fresh eyes. This is a very
important step. When you are writing, you know what you are trying to say. Even if you are
not effectively conveying your ideas on the page, you might think you are. When you set the
essay aside for a while and then read it, you will catch the jumps in your logic, the points you
took for granted or left undeveloped. This also gives you time to think through the weak
parts of your argument, to have ―Aha!‖ moments. It leaves time to go to the Writing Center
or help session, to ask a friend to peer edit.
The first times you revise an essay, focus mainly on the ideas, the argument, and the
organization—the ―higher order‖ concerns we talked about above. You will catch plenty of
mechanical errors in doing so, but it should not be your main focus. When you are preparing
your final draft, you should do at least a proofreading edit, when you set aside big picture
questions and focus on mechanics. It often helps to print out an essay to check mechanics.
You will often catch mistakes on a hard copy that you will miss on the computer screen.
It should be clear that one revision is not enough, and that different revisions should have
different purposes. This means that you will produce several drafts, rather than one rough
draft and one final draft. Each of your essays should have a designated folder on your
computer. Save each new revision there. Be sure to save them as separate files in case you
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ever want to revert to something from an earlier version. By the time you print off your final
copy, this folder should have several files in it.
One very successful revision strategy is to read the essay aloud. This might seem goofy,
and it can feel awkward a first, so you might want to do it in your room by yourself. You
will be amazed, though, at how much this helps. Your tongue will trip on awkward sentence
constructions and poorly chosen words. You will sense where you need to develop your
argument more. You will catch faulty reasoning.
Even if you are a last-minute writer, this is a step you should not skip. In fact, it might be the
most important tool in your toolbox. If you finish the essay at 1:00 a.m. the morning it is
due, print it off and read it aloud. This will give you some of the distance that would have
been achieved by setting the essay aside for a few days. It is no substitute for an early start
and a thorough revision process, but it is better than nothing.
Plagiarism and Proper Citation
The Internet offers a world wide web of temptations for struggling writers. It offers
unlimited procrastination possibilities—Facebook, online poker, learning how to defend
yourself from zombie attacks—but even more dangerously, it makes it all too easy to find
essays on your topic and to present them as your own. Beware the cut-and-paste! Trust me.
It is very easy for teachers to spot plagiarized work. They know your writing style and voice,
and they will spot words that are not your own. It is far easier to write an essay than it is to
face the Honor Board.
It is a great idea to use an expert’s words in your essay, but you must always properly cite
them. They must be in quotation marks in the body of the essay, and the source you have
taken them from must be documented in a works cite page at the end of the essay.
Sometimes students do not mean to plagiarize, but they end up doing so because they do not
know proper citation. You can always refer to the citation guide in this manual, but here is a
basic rule to remember. Any outside ideas or text that you use in your essay must be
cited. Even if you just use other authors’ ideas, and not their specific language, you must
still cite them.
In Conclusion
Over the last ten pages, we have given you a quick introduction to the basic skills, strategies,
parts, and steps involved in writing an argumentative essay. Some of the ideas have been
rather abstract, though I have tried to always explain how they actually work on the page.
You probably still have a lot of questions. The rest of this manual will tackle this material in
more depth, beginning with planning strategies. I hope that I have substantiated my own
main claim, though—writing is not mysterious, and any dedicated student can become a
capable writer. It just takes a systematic approach and a lot of practice.
14 | P a g e
Some Take-Away Tips
1. Don’t procrastinate. If you do, it will be obvious. Allow yourself enough time to
write and revise the paper in stages. Procrastination is the biggest cause of
plagiarism.
2. The text will always reward you. The foundation of a successful claim paper is
good evidence. If you get confused, go back and re-read the passages about which
you’re writing. While you are reading for class, make sure you mark passages and
take notes. Base your claim on the ―evidence‖ you have already gathered.
3. Don’t write to take up space. Get to the point. A short, clear paper is always better
than a long one that does not really prove anything. Also, do not use long quotations
in order to take up space on the page – use only the part of the quotation that will
most clearly prove your argument.
4. Don’t try to say too much. It’s easy to get excited about a book or topic and want to
write about 3 or 4 different themes. Keep your paper focused on one idea, or it will
get confusing.
5. Use opposing arguments to strengthen your assertion. Remember that your reader
will likely be familiar with opposing arguments. If you fail to give a ―nod to the
opposition,‖ your reader will assume you are ignorant. It is good to show your reader
that you are aware of all opposing arguments and have considered them seriously.
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Planning
Good writing begins with good reading. You should start planning your essay by going
through your textbooks and course notes. Assemble a list of insights and potential evidence. Of
course, this means that you need to take good notes in the first place, and you need to thoroughly
annotate course texts. Bracket important passages. Write notes in the margins. Your texts
should be covered in pencil marks. In a non-fiction essay or textbook, be sure to mark passages
that contain the thesis or central idea of the work, section, or chapter. Also mark supporting
reasons or big transitions. Mark where the writer’s argument is weak and where it is strong.
Mark passages where the author addresses counter-claims. Carry on a conversation with the
author in the margins. For fiction or poetry, mark interesting metaphors, symbols, or figurative
language. Mark physical descriptions of characters. Mark important new developments or
shifts. Mark moments where you see a new side of a character. Mark passages that introduce or
address important themes. Mark passages that are vivid and memorable. Mark anything that
strikes you as important, and quickly scribble in a note to help you remember why it struck
you that way. If you do so, you will discover that it is much easier to construct arguments and
find evidence for your essays. You will also discover that you remember more of what you have
read.
Keep your texts open during class, as well, and be sure to mark any passages that you
discuss. These passages are often among the most important in a text, and they have a way of
showing up on exams.
Free-writing is another good strategy. Simply take out a sheet of paper or open a new
blank document and start writing about the paper prompt or topic. Do not worry about
organization or mechanics. You do not even need to punctuate. Just keep writing for as long as
you can, putting down whatever comes into your head. Whenever you run out of steam (ten
minutes is a good session length), it will look like a mess, but you will be able to mine some
good ideas, reasons, and evidence out of it.
Claim: Allow and pay for trip to Paris
Eventually, you will want to draft an outline:
Reason 1: Improve French
Supporting Evidence: stats on immersion
Reason 2: Cultural Experience
Supporting Evidence: Art museums, Eiffel Tower
Reason 3: Entertainment
Supporting Evidence: Meet new friends, relax
Acknowledgment & Response: Too young, too expensive
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Putting together an outline helps you to identify holes in your argument. Notice that in the very
basic sample outline, the supporting evidence for ―Entertainment‖ is a bit weak. These
weaknesses reveal areas that you need to research or give more thought. In many cases, you will
realize that your claim or reasons need to be revised. Some may need to be abandoned
altogether. An outline allows you to work through issues ahead of time, instead of running into
them when you draft the paper, which can lead to big organizational problems or even the grim
realization that your argument is a dead-end. There is often a desire to jump right into
drafting, but an outline is a key step that should not be skipped.
Many students find that graphic organizers are a useful way to visualize their essay. Consider
the following idea web:
EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE
REASON
EVIDENCE
REASON
EVIDENCE
CLAIM
EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE
REASON
EVIDENCE
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The Claim Statement
A claim should be argumentative rather than obvious, limited rather than broad, and
properly qualified rather than overstated
In your essay, you want to insert yourself into a discussion or debate. You cannot write an
argumentative essay about something that is obvious. You will end up writing a report instead.
For instance, there is a debate about whether or not the death penalty is ethical. There is not a
debate about whether or not Pennsylvania currently has the death penalty. That is a fact. There
is a debate about what the white whale symbolizes in Melville’s famous novel Moby Dick.
There is not a debate about whether or not Captain Ahab wants to kill the whale. That is the plot
of the novel, not something open to argument. (In literary essays, steer clear of plot summary.
Assume that your reader knows the work, and stick to interpretation.)
The claim statement (sometimes called a thesis statement) stakes out your position in the
debate. It is your answer to the central question, problem, issue, or argument that your essay
addresses. It is your position. You are making a ―claim‖ about the issue, and the rest of your
essay should offer reasons and evidence that support this claim. The claim is usually the last
sentence of the introduction to your essay.
Your claim needs to be argumentative, rather than a statement of fact. It would be too easy to
argue something with which no one disagrees (e.g. cobras are dangerous). Your claim should be
a challenge to develop and prove.
Your claim also needs to be limited to fit the assignment. You cannot discuss all of
Shakespeare’s tragedies in a three-page essay. You cannot explore all of the causes of the Civil
War in ten. Think of your claim as a microscope, focusing in on a manageable portion of what is
often a much larger debate, problem, or topic.
A claim should be properly qualified. Be careful not to overstate your claim. For instance, if
you are discussing the rising popularity of the NFL and the NBA, you do not want to claim,
―Nobody watches Major League Baseball anymore, and everyone is watching professional
football and basketball.‖ This is called hyperbole—exaggeration for effect. That can be
effective in some forms of writing, especially op-ed sports writing, but not in argumentative
essays for class. Plenty of people still watch MLB, and plenty of people could care less about
the NFL and the NBA. Your claim should admit its own limits. In your claim, it is usually
better to use qualifiers like ―many,‖ ―some,‖ ―often,‖ and ―frequently,‖ rather than over-reaching
words like ―all,‖ ―every,‖ and ―always.‖
Since the experience of writing the body of your essay may well alter your original plans, do not
hesitate to revise the claim statement as you write the paper. Many writers discover they need to
rewrite their whole introduction after their first draft.
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Bad Claim (statement of fact):
World War I was a major conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918.
Better Claim (open for debate):
The brutal new weapons, dehumanizing trench warfare, and unprecedented casualties of
World War I constitute a major break in military history—they inaugurate the era of
modern war.
Bad Claim (obvious—anyone who has read the play realizes this):
Hamlet has trouble making decisions.
Better Claim:
Hamlet is torn between the ethical ideals of antiquity and Christianity, between revenge
and forgiveness.
Bad Claim (overstated—what about hunger, famine, war, etc.?):
Internet addiction is the problem that most threatens the world
Better Claim (properly qualified):
Internet addiction is a serious problem that deserves greater attention.
Preliminary or Working Claim
Revised Claim
English 12 Essay
Working
A variety of factors play critical roles in the development of Ka’s character in the Turkish
novel, Snow.
Revised
In Orhan Pamuk’s haunting Turkish novel, Snow, love, death, and the notion of place all play a
critical role in contributing to the development of the main character, Ka.
English 11 Essay
Working
Revised
Can Aristotle’s view of tragedy in On Poetics be applied to a modern American novel?
Because the conceptions of nobility change over time, Paul can be considered a tragic hero
according to Aristotle’s principles in Maclean’s modern novella, A River Runs Through It.
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History/ Economics Essay
Working
Revised
Would the industrial growth of America during the nineteenth century have been possible
without railroads?
While the railroads are important in American history, they are not indispensable in the industrial
growth of America. If given the chance, improved roadways and canals could have carried the
nation to similar economic developments.
Art Essay
Working
Revised
Is the Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum a modernist painter or just an old-fashioned artist?
While he refuses to paint like a modernist, thematically Odd Nerdrum seems to be responding to
a crisis in the modern world; indeed he seems to be coming to grips with the spiritual state of
modernity in a way far more profound than that pursued by painters who style themselves
―modernist.‖
Anatomy of an Introduction
Your introduction should grab the reader’s attention, introduce the problem or issue your essay is
addressing, and provide an answer to the problem in your claim statement. It needs to do all of
this quickly and efficiently to launch your reader into the body of your essay. Students often
struggle with introductions. They sometimes feel like they have to provide a lot of background
before they can give their claim. Resultantly, the intro stretches on and on, and before they know
it, they have a three-page intro for a five-page essay. Much of this background material actually
belongs in the body paragraphs (if it is necessary at all). The following strategy allows you to
craft intros that are concise and effective. You grab the reader’s attention with a hook. Then you
introduce a commonly held belief or position about the issue at hand, one that you will actually
be arguing against. This is a key point. You start with a position that you want to dispute or
debunk. Then you unsettle this position, setting up your claim. One easy way to check this intro
strategy is to look at the beginning (the stable context) and the end (the claim). If they are the
same, you are not using the strategy. If they are different, you are on the right track. The idea is
to get from A to B, not to circle around. One writing system puts it this way: Start your intro
with what ―They say,‖ with an opposing or mistaken stance on the issue. End the intro with an―I
say,‖ with your own original claim on the issue.
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Hook (optional): Grab the audience’s attention! (Interesting fact, quotation, question, idea…)
Background (optional): Tell your reader (in ONE or TWO sentences) what he or she needs to know to
understand your paper. (When writing about a piece of literature, this should ALWAYS include the
author’s name and the title of the work.)
Stable Context (They Say): A commonly held belief or obvious interpretation. What your reader
currently thinks about your topic.
Destabilizer: A problem, connection, or key piece of information your reader has overlooked that
destabilizes his or her current opinion (the stable context).
Significance: How the reader will benefit by paying attention to your argument, or what he or she will
lose by not paying attention to it.
Claim (I Say): Your main argument, stated in one or two sentences that give an indication of what your
main points will be.
Example:
HOOK: One year ago, British businessman Richard Branson announced he would invest about
three billion dollars in the fight against global warming (Reuters 1). BACKGROUND: Ever since ―the
rise of environmentalism raised public doubts about the benefits of human activity for the planet‖ (Weart
4), huge sums of money have been spent to keep Earth from getting a couple degrees warmer. STABLE
CONTEXT: Most people believe that research on global warming needs to be heavily funded, worrying
that if the problem is not stopped we will end up losing huge chunks of land under the water of melting
glaciers. DESTABILIZER: Yet NASA administrator Michael Griffin questions whether mankind has
the power to do anything about global warming at all, no matter how much money gets poured into the
problem: ―I don’t think it’s within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change,
as millions of years of history have shown‖ (Inskeep 1). SIGNIFICANCE: Re-thinking the amount of
money governments spend on global warming could save taxpayers billions of dollars and could free up
funds for more successful projects with immediate benefits. CLAIM: Money spent fighting global
warming is not proven to be effective, is taking away funds from more essential ventures, and should be
re-directed towards other environmental concerns.
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Body Paragraphs
(Reasons & Evidence)
What are Body Paragraphs?
The body paragraphs support the claim of the paper. A standard five-paragraph essay will have
three body paragraphs (more advanced essays will have more body paragraphs) that are located
after the introduction and before the conclusion. The body paragraphs are the “meat” of your
essay and support your claim by including evidence from reading and research. In a fiveparagraph essay, each body paragraph should offer a new ―reason‖ why your reader should
support your claim, and it should offer plenty of good evidence to back up that reason. (In a long
essay, you might support a single reason with several body paragraphs.) Thus, each paragraph
should include at least one quotation from an outside source (If you are writing a paper for
English class, you will support your argument by including apt quotations from the book, poem,
or play about which you are writing). The best argumentative essays will also want to address
counter-arguments or objections that a skeptical reader might have. You might address these
throughout the supporting body paragraphs, or you might add another body paragraph that
explicitly ―acknowledges and responds to‖ a counter-argument.
Sample Essay Outline
Intro/claim: Even in an age of increased specialization, all university students should
receive a liberal arts education based on the great books.
Body Paragraph 1/Reason 1: Students who study the great books develop core
critical thinking, close reading, and communication skills
Body Paragraph 2/Reason 2: The great books introduce students to the perennial
questions of philosophy, encouraging them to lead more reflective lives.
Body Paragraph 3/Reason 3: A great books education greatly increases students’
cultural literacy.
Body Paragraph 4/Acknowledgment & Response: The primary purpose of university
education is to prepare students for a particular job.
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Developing Body Paragraphs
Think of the body paragraph as a miniature essay having its own beginning, middle and end.
Begin a body paragraph with a reason why your reader should accept your claim. (This reason
can be understood as a topic sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph, just as the claim
statement states the controlling idea of the entire essay or research paper.) The argument and
evidence in the body paragraph need to support the reason. The typical body paragraph will be
between five to ten sentences long. However, there is not a specific length a body paragraph
must be. It should be long enough to offer adequate evidence to support the reason and help
prove the claim. Body paragraphs need to build on the previous body paragraph and reach a
culmination in the last body paragraph.
Anatomy of a Body Paragraph
There is not an exact formula for writing a body paragraph. Still, a good body paragraph will
contain all of the following ingredients:
1. Topic Sentence (This will often contain a reason why your reader should accept your claim)
2. Evidence from various sources (It is the writer’s responsibility to find this evidence before
starting body paragraphs)
3. Analysis of evidence
4. Well-couched quotations
5. Properly cited quotations
6. Sentence and word variety
Avoid Evidence Dumps
Do not just ―dump‖ evidence into your body paragraphs without explaining it. A good body
paragraph should not be just a reason with a pile of evidence. It should contain a central reason,
some well-suited evidence, and thorough explanations of how that evidence proves the reason.
Some brief acknowledgment of and response to objections to the reason or its backing evidence
is often necessary, as well.
Example Paragraph
Many beginning writers would end the following paragraph after the third sentence. They would
give the reason and the evidence and then move on to the next paragraph. Notice how much
richness and nuance would be lost if the evidence were not analyzed.
John claims that the breezy attic is good for his wife’s health, yet it is actually a prison that
contributes to her mental decline [reason]. The windows are barred, and there are “rings and
things” on the wall (79). The bed is nailed to the floor and there is a gate at the top of the stairs
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(81) [evidence]. The narrator claims that the room used to be a nursery, dismissing these
unsettling features as the relics of a child’s playroom. And in a perverse case of dramatic irony,
she is right to think of the room as a nursery—not because of the children that used to inhabit
it, but because her husband treats her like a child. Still, the bars on the window and rings on
the wall evoke a more sinister setting. They suggest the trappings of a prison cell or a torture
chamber more than a playroom [analysis/explanation].
The following is another example of a good body paragraph written for an English essay:1
Not only does Shakespeare define the initial dilemma, but he also reveals the frailty and
mortality of the king of Scotland [reason]. After the murder he becomes subject to the
beckoning of the apparitions, the nagging of his wife, and the stinging of his own mental torture
[sentence and word variety]. The literary critic A.C. Bradley comments that “This bold,
ambitious man of action has…the imagination of a poet—an imagination…extremely sensitive
to impressions of a certain kind” (200) [well-couched quotation, properly cited]. After killing
Duncan, Macbeth is paralyzed; his poet’s imagination has taken a hideous deed and made it, in
his mind, a hundredfold worse [analysis of Bradley Quote]. He imagines that the blood on his
hands would “the multitudinous seas incarnadine” (2.2.62). Likewise, [transitional phrase] the
ghost of Banquo terrorizes him at the banquet, yet it is just another creation of his own mind.
The “horrible shadow, unreal mockery” (3.4.106-107) [variety of sources] is a manifestation of
his own guilt and remorse at his own actions. The terrorization by the psyche evokes sympathy
for the new king [analysis of evidence]. The bard shows us that Macbeth pays dearly for his
transgressions against the right and ordered way. An old proverb states that there is no
harsher judge of one than oneself. If so, then we pity rather than condemn Macbeth, for he is
already suffering at the hands of the ultimate judge, his own conscience.
1
The following passage is taken from Denice Blake’s The Writer’s Guide: A Style Manual.
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Couching Quotations Effectively
Incorporating evidence smoothly and eloquently into your prose is a key to good writing. A
well-couched quotation should sit comfortably in an essay. Your reader should not need to
struggle to understand why the quotation is in the essay; rather, the reader should read the
quotation and feel the claim has been more clearly developed by its presence. There are a
number of ways to incorporate quotations into your prose. See the examples in the paragraph
below. See pages 50-51 for MLA guidelines on parenthetical citations.
In Thomas Mann’s short story “Disorder and Early Sorrow” all categories are breaking down. While
the children behave like adults, the adults start behaving like children; in order to play with Ellie and
Snapper, Cornelius “will crook his knees until he is the same height with themselves and go walking with
1
them, hand in hand” (91). This image of a “diminished Abel” (191) points to the broader collapse of
hierarchy in Cornelius’s world, especially any sense of social distinctions. He has a hard time telling his
son from his servant; they dress alike and are prone to the same youthful fads and fashions (179-80).
The world of “Disorder and Early Sorrow” has become so confusing that it is difficult for the characters
2
simply to tell what is real anymore. This aspect is brought out by the presence of actors throughout the
story. Mann emphasizes elements of imitation and parody; Ingrid has “a marked and irresistible talents
1
for burlesque” (179), which she and her brother love to put to use:
They adore impersonating fictitious characters; they love to sit in a bus and carry
on long lifelike conversations in a dialect which they otherwise never speak, the most
3
commonplace dialogue about politics and people and the price of food. (183)
When an actor named Ivan Herzl shows up at the party in heavy makeup, he provokes Cornelius into
thinking about how people no longer are what they seem: “You would think a man would be one thing
or the other—not melancholic and use face paint at the same time” (196). Mann creates a pervasive
sense of inauthenticity in the story; the modern world is a counterfeit world.
1
These quotations are incorporated directly into the author’s prose. Each is grammatically
part of the sentence and does not require the reader to pause.
2
Page Reference—while there is no quotation, page numbers have been provided for the reader
to find evidence from the text.
3
Fully introduced quotations—these quotations have been adequately introduced in the
preceding clause. A colon is used to separate the preceding clause from the quotation. If the
quotation is three lines or more it needs to be offset.
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3
Introductory Phrases for Research Essays
In Twentieth Century American Poetry, Christopher MacGowan claims “the story of American poetry in the
twentieth century begins with the dominance of one region and the legacy of one tradition—New England, and the
English Romantic verse” (1).
According to MacGowan, “The story of American poetry in the twentieth century begins with the dominance of one
region and the legacy of one tradition—New England, and the English Romantic verse” (1).
As MacGowan shows in Twentieth Century American Poetry, “. . .” (1).
Key Phrases
*MacGowan claims
*states
* argues
* holds
*asserts
*maintains
*MacGowan finds
*concludes
*notes
*determines
*observes
*says
*MacGowan suggests
*implies
*insinuates
*speculates
*hypothesizes
*MacGowan admits
*concedes
Acknowledgment & Response
This section of the writing manual is for advanced 10th, 11th, and 12th grade writers. The best
writers try to address alternatives, reservations, and objections to their arguments. This is called
acknowledgement and response (A&R). You acknowledge that an objection exists, and then
you respond to it in order to show that your claim still stands. Sometimes you can deal with an
objection in a phrase. In other cases you need a whole paragraph (or even several paragraphs in
a very long essay.) Use your judgment and the following guidelines when deciding the best way
to acknowledge and respond to objections.
It is important to notice that if you follow the ―anatomy of an introduction‖ described above, you
are already practicing A&R. The stable context is another viewpoint that you are acknowledging
and then responding to with your destabilizer and claim.2
2
Many of these examples are taken from Williams and Colomb, The Craft of Argument.
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When, Where, And How?
If your whole argument directly counters another, acknowledge that other argument in
the stable context of your introduction and again in the body of your argument.
If your whole argument relates to another but you want to drop the other one quickly,
acknowledge it only in the stable context.
If your whole argument relates to another that will occur to readers once they see your
claim, acknowledge it right after your introduction, as background, if it is a major
concern. Acknowledge it right before your conclusion, as a transition, if it is a minor
concern.
You do not want to end your argument with a troublesome counterclaim; you want to end
with a resounding affirmation of your own claims. Thus, avoid incorporating significant
A&R into your conclusion. Likewise, do not handle tricky counterclaims right before
your conclusion.
Respond to smaller objections (especially to reasons) as they become relevant.
The Vocabulary of Acknowledgement
1. You can downplay an objection or alternative by summarizing it briefly in a short
phrase....
Despite Congress’s claims that it wants to cut taxes (Acknowledgment), the
voting record shows that...(Response)
Regardless of problems in Hong Kong (A), Southeast Asia remains a
strong...(R)
Notwithstanding declining crime rates (A), there is still a need for...(R)
You can use although, while, and even though the same way...
2. You can indirectly signal an objection or alternative with seem or appear, or with a
qualifying adverb, such as plausibly, justifiably, reasonably, accurately,
understandably, surprisingly, foolishly, or even certainly.
In his letters, Lincoln expresses what seems to be depression (A), but those
who observed him...(R)
The proposal may have some merit (A), but we...(R)
Liberals have made a plausible case that the arts ought to be supported by
taxes (A), but they ignore the moral objections of...(R)
3. You can acknowledge alternatives by attributing them to unnamed sources or to no
source at all. This kind of acknowledgment gives little weight to the objection.
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It is easy to [think/imagine/say/claim/argue] that taxes should...
There is [another/alternative/possible/standard] [explanation/line of
argument/account/possibility]
Some evidence [might/may/can/could/would/does] [suggest/indicate/point
to/lead some to think] that we should...
4. You can acknowledge an alternative by attributing it to a more or less specific
source. A more specific source gives more weight to the position you acknowledge.
A less specific source can sometimes devolve into a straw-man argument, in which
you are radically simplifying opposing viewpoints.
LESS SPECIFIC: There are [some/many/few] who [might/may/could/would]
[say/ think/argue/claim/charge/object] that...
MORE SPECIFIC: One advocate of collaboration, Ken Bruffee,
[says/thinks/argues/claims/charges/objects] that....
5.
You can acknowledge an alternative in your own voice or with a passive verb or
concessive adverb such as admittedly, granted, to be sure, and so on. You concede
the alternative has some validity, but by changing the words, you can qualify how
much validity you acknowledge.
I [understand/know/realize/appreciate] that conservatives believe in...
It is [true/possible/likely/certain] that no good evidence proves that coffee
causes cancer…
It [must/should/can] be [admitted/acknowledged/noted/conceded] that no
good evidence proves that coffee causes cancer...
[Granted/admittedly/true/to be sure/ certainly/of course], Adams stated...
We cannot [overlook/ignore/dismiss/neglect/reject] the fact that Cuba was...
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The Vocabulary of Response
You signal a response with but, however, even so, or on the other hand. Remember that after
you state your response, readers may expect reasons and evidence supporting it, because they
will take that response to be a claim needing its own support. You can respond in ways that
range from tactfully indirect to blunt:
1. You can state that you don’t entirely understand:
But I do not quite understand.../I find it difficult to see how.../It is not
clear to me that... (In a formal analytical essay you should avoid using “I”
in your argument. However, it is useful in other forms of persuasive
writing)
2. You can state that there are unsettled issues:
But there are other issues.../There remains the problem of...
3. You can respond more bluntly by claiming the acknowledged position is
irrelevant or unreliable:
But as insightful as that point may be, it [ignores/is irrelevant to/does not
bear on/ was formulated for situations other than] the issue at hand.
But the evidence is [unreliable/shaky/thin/not the best available]
The argument is [untenable/shaky/thin/not the best available]
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Effective Transitions
Throughout your essay coherence depends upon organizing the material to achieve a smooth
flow of your ideas. Much of the flow will depend on how well you have organized your ideas in
an outline and other pre-writing activities. Nevertheless using transitional devices within the
essay is one ingredient of reader friendly prose.
Chose appropriate linking expressions to show relationships between ideas:
Similar Ideas:
-likewise
-moreover
-in addition
-at the same time
-further
-more particularly
-similarly
Opposite Ideas:
-on the other hand
-on the contrary
-instead
-despite this fact
-by contrast
Cause and Effect:
-consequently
-accordingly
-subsequently
-therefore
-thus
-hence
Regardless:
-nevertheless
-however
-in spite of
-nonetheless
-despite
-because
Examples:
-for instance
-for example
-in fact
-in other words
-in a typical instance
-more specifically
-namely
Argument For or Against:
-besides
-after all
-in fact
-otherwise
-in any case
-certainly
-needless to say
-incidentally
Showing Sequential Order:
-at first
-at last
-meanwhile
-soon
-simultaneously
-shortly thereafter
-by this time
-so far
-later
-finally
-first, second, etc.
-next
30 | P a g e
Paralleling Coordinators:
-not only…but also
-either…or
-both…and
-neither…nor
-as well as
Explanations:
-in effect
-in other words
-under the circumstances
Subordinate Clauses
Good writers vary their relative pronouns, common introductory words for noun clauses, and
subordinating conjunctions when writing subordinate clauses.
Relative pronouns introduce adjective clauses
that, which, who, whom, whose
Common introductory words for noun clauses
how, that, what, whatever, when, where,
whether, which, whichever, who, whoever,
whom, whomever, whose, why
Subordinating conjunctions introduce adverb clauses
after, although, as, as if, as long as, as soon as,
as though, because, before, if, in order that,
once, provided that, since, so that, than, though,
unless, unless, until, when, whenever, where,
wherever, while
Conjunctive Adverbs—use conjunctive adverbs with a semicolon to join two independent
clauses.
accordingly, besides, consequently, furthermore,
however, indeed, instead, meanwhile, moreover,
nevertheless, otherwise, therefore
Commonly Used Transitional Expressions—use to introduce a new independent
clause.
as a result, at any rate, by the way, for example,
in addition, in fact, in other words, on the
contrary, on the other hand
31 | P a g e
Conclusions
In the Body Paragraphs, you have compiled and presented all the evidence to support your Claim
and Topic Sentences. You are now ready to conclude! Remember that this is the last impression
your reader will have of your essay. It is your final opportunity to convince the audience that
your point of view is valid. This paragraph should be the climax of your essay and show the
audience the significance of your work. It is not a bookend but rather a launching point for
your readers to consider the broader implications of you essay. Don’t let your ideas fizzle out.
Steps in Writing a Conclusion
1. Begin by restating your claim statement. Use different words and phrases—consulting a
thesaurus to find synonyms for key words is a good idea. Begin with a good transition to
hook the final paragraph to the previous body paragraph. Avoid trite phrases such as
“In conclusion” or “In this paper it has been proven…”
2. In a long essay, you may need to summarize the major points that you made in the body
paragraphs. An essay under three pages will usually not require reiteration.
3. Now show your reader the significance of your claim. You are not presenting a new
idea; rather, you are extending the idea to incorporate some larger significance. Think of
your claim and evidence as a new bike which you have just shown your audience how to
ride. Now, think of your conclusion as a map that shows your readers all of the great
roads and trails on which they can ride their new bike.
Here is an example conclusion from a literary analysis essay:
Balancing precariously on the border between civilized Christianity and warlike
paganism, Scotland proves to be a difficult country to rule in Macbeth. [Transition] In order to
prepare himself for the challenge of governing such a diverse place, Malcolm carefully analyzes
the mistakes his father made when in power.[Claim Restated] Seeing that Duncan’s meek and
passive behavior in matters of war worked to undermine his power, Malcolm wisely picks up
arms and fights with his noblemen to overthrow Macbeth. The juxtaposition of Duncan’s weak
and questioning lines in 1.2 with Malcolm’s commanding lines in 5.4 illustrate that the prince
has learned from his father’s mistakes. Additionally, his paranoid behavior in Act 4 shows he
will not be the victim of his father’s overly trusting attitude.[Main points of Body Paragraphs
Restated] Malcolm is certainly not a great warrior like Macbeth and Macduff, but neither is he
as Christianized as his father. By the end of the play it appears that Malcolm will be able to
mediate between the two opposing moral forces in Scotland and become a successful king.
[Food for Thought]
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Revising
Try to finish your essay one week before it is due. This will give you to plenty of time to revise.
It is not enough to revise your paper only once. You need to go over it several times, with a
different focus on each pass. You should also try to get someone else to look over your paper.
You might take it to the Writing Center or to help session. You might do peer editing in class.
You might get a friend to read it during study hall.
If you complete your essay early, you can set it aside for a day or two and then read it with
fresh eyes. This is one of the best strategies for revision. You will catch many things that you
would not have if you had read it immediately after drafting. Sometimes you are so wrapped up
in writing an essay that you lose track of what is actually on the page and what is in your head.
This strategy gives you some distance.
In your first revisions, focus on big picture concerns. Especially look at the beginning and the
end of your essay. Does your claim match your conclusion? If not, your focus has wandered
throughout the course of the essay. This happens a lot. In fact, it might be the most common
major problem in rough drafts. You think you know what you are going to argue when you start
an essay, so you craft a sharp claim, but over the course of actually writing the body paragraphs
you take a new direction. Be aware of this tendency. You will often need to rewrite your claim
and your intro. You may even need to tweak some of your body paragraphs in order to unify the
essay.
Just because the claim and the conclusion match, though, it does not mean that you stayed on
track throughout the whole essay. Look for digressions, and either relate them back to your
claim or cut them out. (It is hard to cut passages. You worked hard to write them in the first
place. But sometimes cuts are the best way to improve an essay. Make sure you save the old
version so you can recover the cut material if need be, then clench your teeth and hit delete.)
You should also try to identify redundancy. Frequently, two reasons and their supporting
evidence are closely related and blur together. Do not repeat yourself. Combine them and cut
any redundant material.
Try to spot weaknesses in your argument, places where you do not have enough evidence, have
poor evidence, or stumble in your logic. One red flag is a really short body paragraph, where
you have much less evidence and analysis than usual. Do not try to fudge it. Try to bolster the
argument. Especially pay attention to the paragraphs leading up to your conclusion. When
drafting, you are often running out of steam when you reach this point. These paragraphs may
need to be refined when you are rested and revising.
Read the essay aloud. This sounds weird, but it works incredibly well. You will catch many
mistakes that you miss when reading it in your head.
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Focus on mechanics in your final revisions. It is kind of like remodeling a house. You want to
work on the walls, wiring and plumbing [organization/argumentation] before you paint
[grammar, punctuation, format, etc.]. You will catch many mechanical errors in your initial
edits, but you will also introduce new mechanical errors as you make big changes. For your last
revision, you should print off the essay and thoroughly proofread it, setting aside organization
and argumentation to focus on mechanics.
PEER EDITING TIPS
*Be enthusiastic and give the essay your full attention.
*Be critical but considerate. It is easy to read an essay and say, “This is good,” without providing any
constructive feedback. This does not help your peer improve his or her work. It is also easy to tear an essay
apart. This is demoralizing and equally unhelpful. Strike a balance between constructive criticism and praise.
*Do not just proofread. Mark mechanical and style problems as you see them, but focus on the argument.
Does it wander away from the claim? Which parts convinced you? Which did not? Can you think of any
counter-arguments the writer should address? Can you think of any reasons or evidence that might strengthen
the argument?
*Try to be specific. Vague criticisms such as “You have a lot of mechanical problems” or “You drift away from
your claim” are not very helpful. Mark the passages that are poorly edited or awkward. Mark the specific
place where the argument begins to drift. Every criticism should correspond to a specific place in the essay to
which you can point. Think about it from the writer’s point-of-view. You need to be able to locate the
problem exactly.
*You do not have to be an excellent writer to be an excellent peer editor. Sometimes writers who struggle
themselves can give the best feedback and the best tips.
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Using the Active Voice
Good writers use the active voice to maintain forceful and economical prose. Use the active
voice whenever possible in your essay.
What is the active voice?
Writing in the active voice means that the subject of the sentence performs an action. The
active voice uses a transitive verb with a direct object.
D.O.
Example: Odysseus tricked the Cyclops.
S
A.V.
D.O.
Odysseus tricks the Cyclops.
S
A.V.
Writing in the passive voice means that the subject of the sentence receives an action. The
passive voice usually uses a helping verb (often a form of be) before the main verb.
P
O.P.
Example: The Cyclops was tricked (by Odysseus).
S
helping verb & A.V.
P
O.P.
The Cyclops is tricked (by Odysseus).
S
helping verb & A.V.
In this sentence, ―Odysseus‖ becomes the
Object of the Preposition. Writing in the
passive voice weakens the force of your
sentence and makes it less lively.
When should the passive voice be used?
Use the passive voice only if you want the receiver of the action to be emphasized.
Example: Alumni Gym was filled to capacity with students.
Use the passive voice if the performer of the action is unknown.
Example: The crime was committed in broad daylight.
The passive voice emphasizes
Alumni Gym as opposed to
students
The person who committed the
crime is unknown.
NOTE—Always use present tense when writing about characters and events in literature.
Example: Odysseus uses his intelligence to escape the Cyclops. (Correct)
Odysseus used his intelligence to escape the Cyclops. (Incorrect)
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Mechanics of Writing
3
The Purpose of Punctuation
We use punctuation in writing to ensure clarity and readability. Punctuation clarifies sentence
structure. Good punctuation will add meaning to written words and guide your reader through a
sentence. When writing a research paper, you must follow the rules of punctuation—there is no
poetic license in formal writing. Here is a quick reference guide to punctuation. Your Holt
Handbook is also a great reference book (301-316).
Commas (see Holt Handbook 301-317)
1. Use commas before coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) joining
independent clauses in a sentence.
Mr. Ross assigned an essay, and the class requested a pass to the
computer lab.
The epic poem is heroic, for it tells the stories of great
warriors.
Bring a jacket with you to the game, or you might risk catching a
cold.
2. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and clauses in a series.
WORDS
The Bistro now sells apples, oranges, and healthy cereal.
CLAUSES
During the school year, students take interesting classes,
teachers coach sports, and George cooks delicious food.
3. Use a comma between coordinate adjectives—adjectives that separately modify the same
noun.
Ms. Kennedy complimented the painting’s unaffected, unadorned
style. (The adjectives unaffected and unadorned each modify style.)
3
The section has been adapted from Joseph Giabaldi’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Sixth
Edition. Giabaldi’s handbook is one of the best resources for writing a research paper. Copies are available in the
Writing Center.
36 | P a g e
4. Use commas to set off a parenthetical comment, or an aside, if it is brief and closely
related to the rest of the sentence.
Homer’s Iliad, for example, was likely performed orally before it
was written.
The drama production, I am sorry to say, has been cancelled.
5. Use commas to set off a nonrestrictive modifier.
John Grisham, the best-selling novelist, spoke at a fundraiser
for Hillary Clinton.
6. Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses and phrases.
Clauses that begin with who, whom, whose, which, and that
NONRESTRICTIVE
The Italian sonnet, which is exemplified in Petrarch’s
Canzoniere, developed into the English sonnet.
RESTRICTIVE
The sonnet that is exemplified in Petrarch’s Canzoniere developed
into the English sonnet.
*Note that some writers prefer to use which to introduce nonrestrictive clauses and that to
introduce restrictive clauses.
Adverbial phrases and clauses
NONRESTRICTIVE
The novel takes place in China, where many languages are spoken.
RESTRICTIVE
The novel takes place in a land where many languages are spoken.
Use a comma after a long introductory phrase of clause
PHRASE
After years of working as a traveling salesman, Gregor
transforms into a giant cockroach.
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CLAUSE
Although he was insignificant before the transformation, he
is literally a bug in an apartment after.
7. Use a comma in a date whose order is month, date, and year. If such a date comes in the
middle of a sentence, include a comma after the year.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, and died
on April 4, 1968.
But commas are not used with dates whose order is day, month, and year.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on 15 January 1929 and died on
4 April 1968.
Do not use a comma between a month and a year or between a season and a year.
The events of July 1789 are as familiar to the French as those of
July 1776 are to Americans.
The French Revolution began in summer 1789.
Semicolons
1.
Use a semicolon between two independent clauses not linked by a conjunction.
Hemingway’s novel was published in 1937; it was an immediate
success.
Grand Theft Auto is an extremely violent video game; still, some
critics claim that it is a great work of art.
2.
Use semicolons between items in a series when the items contain commas.
My favorite Shakespeare plays are 1 Henry IV, a history; Othello,
a tragedy; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy.
Colons
The colon is used between two parts of a sentence when the first part creates a sense of
anticipation about what follows in the second.
1. Use a colon to introduce a list, an elaboration of what was just said, or a formal rule.
38 | P a g e
LIST
The reading list includes three epic poems: The Iliad, The
Aeneid, and Paradise Lost.
RULE
The Olympic Committee has taken a clear stand on performanceenhancing drugs: No trace of any banned substance is allowed in
an athlete’s body in or out of competition.
2. Use a colon to introduce a quotation that is independent from the structure of the main
sentence.
In his analysis of American literature, Fiedler argues that
darkness lurks in the undercurrents of popular American novels:
“Our literature as a whole at times seems a chamber of horrors
disguised as an amusement park fun house” (27).
Hyphens
1.
Use a hyphen in a compound adjective beginning with an adverb such as better, best,
ill, lower, little, or well when the adjective precedes a noun.
better-prepared student
best-known play
ill-informed jury
lower-priced ticket
*Do not use a hyphen in a compound adjective beginning with an adverb ending in –ly or
with too, very, or much.
thoughtfully presented claim
very contrived plot
too hasty judgment
much maligned performer
*Do not use a hyphen when the compound adjective comes after the noun it modifies.
The ambassador was better prepared than the other delegates.
39 | P a g e
2.
Use a hyphen in a compound adjective ending with the present participle (e.g. running)
or a past participle (e.g. baked) of a verb when the adjective precedes a noun.
gold-winning ride
ill-conceived plan
love-filled letter
3.
Use a hyphen in a compound adjective formed by a number and a noun when the
adjective precedes a noun.
eighteenth-century literature
second-semester grade
twenty-first-century education
4.
Use a hyphen in other compound adjectives before nouns to prevent misreading
jogging-organization program (The hyphen indicates that the term refers to a
program of a jogging organization and not an organization program that is jogging.)
Spanish-language student (The hyphen makes it clear that the term refers to a student
who is studying Spanish and not a language student who is Spanish.)
5.
Do not use hyphens in familiar unhyphenated compound terms.
social security tax
high school reunion
liberal arts major
show business agent
6.
Use a hyphen to join coequal nouns.
scholar-athlete
7.
But do not use a hyphen in a pair of nouns in which the first noun modifies the second.
father figure
poetry lover
8.
In most cases, do not use hyphens after prefixes (e.g., anti-, co-, multi-, non-, over-,
post- re-, semi-, sub-, un-, under-)
Semiretired, unambiguous, reinvigorate, etc.
9. A hyphen is used to join the words in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
40 | P a g e
Forty-two-year-old woman, twenty-five, two hundred thirty-nine
students
Apostrophes
The primary function of apostrophes is to indicate possession (Tim’s ball rolled into the sewer).
They are also used to form a contraction (can’t, shouldn’t); however, contractions are not
appropriate in a research paper.
1. To form the possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s.
the manager’s special
a teacher’s advice
the play’s cast
2. To form the possessive of a plural ending in s, add only an apostrophe.
students’ bikes
climbers’ ropes
3. To form a possessive of an irregular plural noun not ending in s, add an apostrophe and
an s.
Children’s concert
Women’s studies
4. To form the possessive of nouns in a series, add a single apostrophe and an s if ownership
is shared.
Peter, Paul and Mary’s new album
5. If ownership is not shared, place an apostrophe and s after each noun.
Peter’s, Paul’s, and Mary’s cars
6. To form the possessive of nouns that already end in s, add an apostrophe and another s.
H.G. Wells’s novels
7. To form the possessive of a plural proper noun already ending in s, add only the
apostrophe.
the Vanderbilts’ estate
41 | P a g e
8. To form the possessive of a classical or biblical figure’s name already ending in s, add
only the apostrophe.
Achilles’ wrath
Jesus’ mercy
Aeneas’ sacrifice
Italics (Underlining)
1.
Italics are used to indicate the titles of magazines, newspapers, books, pamphlets, plays,
films, radio and television programs, book-length poems, ballets, operas, lengthy musical
compositions, record albums, CDs, legal cases, and the names of ships and aircraft. Use
Italics when using a word processor and underline when writing by hand.
Consumer Report (magazine)
Consumer Report (magazine) handwritten
Kite Runner (book)
Zoolander (movie)
Romeo and Juliet (play)
New York Times (newspaper)
2. Italics are used to indicate a foreign word that has not been adopted into the English
language; they also denote scientific terms
Dante’s Inferno is written in terza rima.
Quotation Marks
1. Quotation marks are used to punctuate titles of songs, poems, short stories, lectures,
episodes of radio or television programs, chapters of books, unpublished works, articles
found in magazines, newspapers, or encyclopedias.
―Imagine‖ (song)
―Snows of Kilimanjaro‖ (short story)
―Pop Culture in the Age of Television‖ (lecture)
―Ticket to the Top of the World‖ (magazine article)
―The Novel and America‖ (chapter in book)
―Wrath of Achilles‖ (book in epic)
42 | P a g e
Parentheses
1. Parentheses are used to enclose explanatory or supplementary material that interrupts the
normal sentence structure.
Certainly when one surveys what has come to be known as the Renaissance,
it looks different in different countries, and seems to proceed at different rates in
different areas (the Renaissance in painting, for example, occurred long before
what we think of as the Renaissance in music).
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Sample Essay
Charles Dickens
(Student’s Name)
Mr. Hufnagel
(Teacher’s Name)
English 10—A
(Subject, Grade, Class)
18 October 2007
(Date)
[MLA Formatted Heading]
[Original Title]
Ellipsis—words
omitted from
quote
The Breaker of Horses
Hook
A Greek ―thrust first, speared the horsehair helmet, right at the ridge, and the bronze
spearpoint lodged/ in the man’s forehead, smashing through his skull…‖ (4. 531-534). In
1“
Background
Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, various forms of heroism are explored, especially in the characters
Achilles and Hector. Most people who read the Iliad view Achilles as the true hero of the poem;
Stable
Context
in fact, Homer begins the poem with ―Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles‖
(1.1) and devotes much attention to Achilles and his strife. Yet, while the poem does begin with
Destabilizer
Achilles’ rage, it ends with the burial of the leader of the opposing army: ―And so the Trojans
buried Hector breaker of horses‖ (24. 944). By the end of the epic, the poem’s focus shifts away
from ―lion-hearted Achilles‖ and towards the pious Trojan prince. Examining the heroic actions
of Hector and how these actions shape his reputation will provide a more complete
Significance
understanding of Homeric heroism. Ultimately, this analysis will prove that Hector is the true
hero of the poem. Homer shows Hector’s heroism most clearly by making him an extraordinary Claim
general, showing that he is comfortable on the battlefield as well as in a domestic setting, and by
having him be the protector of his city as opposed to a man only interested in personal glory.
Throughout the epic, Homer shows that Hector is an ideal general who can lead and
inspire confidence in the Trojan army. Early in the poem the Achaean army, led by Diomedes
and Agamemnon, are cutting the Trojan army down and driving them back toward the city wall.
―Breathing combat-fury,/ hearts ablaze to defend each other to the death‖ (3. 8-9), the Achaeans
44 | P a g e
Method
Topic
Sentence
attack the ―retreating mobs‖ (6. 96) of Trojans like wolves bearing down on a hare. The
Achaeans kill frightened Trojans two at a time: ―Diomedes killed a man and his aide-in-arms at
once‖ (6. 20). Great Ajax easily kills a brave Trojan fighting at the front of the ranks. His spear
―hit the ridge of a helmet’s horsehair crest—the bronze point/ stuck in Acamas’ forehead
pounding through the skull‖ (6. 10-12). At this point in the poem it appears the Achaean army
will easily defeat the frightened and disorganized Trojans. However, when Hector enters the
battle the Trojans are infused with a wave of confidence and immediately begin pushing the
long-haired Achaeans back:
Down he leapt from his chariot fully armed, hit the ground
Indent 1”
and brandishing two sharp spears went down the lines,
ranging flank to flank, driving his fighters into battle,
Verse quotations more
rousing grisly war—and round the Trojans whirled,
than three lines begin on
bracing to meet the Argives face-to-face. (6. 121-125)
a new line.
Moments before Hector rallies the men, the Trojans are described as ―retreating mobs‖ ready to
throw themselves in their women’s arms in fear (6. 96-97). Because of Hector’s superior
military prowess and god-like appearance (6. 127), the Trojans regain their confidence and
―battle-fury‖ (6. 131). As a result, they are able to force the Argives to give way and ―quit the
slaughter‖ (6. 125). Homer makes it clear that Hector is not only a great warrior, like Achilles,
but also a respected and inspiring general. Still, Hector’s awe-inspiring behavior is not limited to
the battlefield.
Transition
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Creating a Works Cited Page4
Once you have completed your paper, you will compile an alphabetized list of all the
sources that you cited in your paper. This section will be titled ―Works Cited‖ and it should be
located on the last page(s) of your paper.
Here are some important rules to follow when completing the ―Works Cited‖ section of your
paper. These rules apply to ALL of your classes, not just English.
1. Begin your Works Cited on a new page.
2. Use Works Cited as the title, centered on the top of the page.
3. Double-space between the title (Works Cited) and the first entry.
4. Begin each new entry at the left margin. All the following lines of the same entry are
indented five spaces (hit ―Tab‖ key once) from the left margin.
5. DO NOT NUMBER ENTRIES.
6. Double-space between every line and every entry.
7. Alphabetize entries using the first word of the entry. Use the author’s last name to
alphabetize.
8. If the author’s name is unknown, use the first word in the title other than A, An, or The to
alphabetize the list.
9. Cite the author’s name only in the first entry when you have two or more entries written
by the same author. For subsequent entries, type three hyphens (---) and a period in place
of the author’s name and then the title of the work.
10. If you have any questions, refer to one of the MLA handbooks in the library.
When citing books, arrange the information in the following order: (You will not always have
all these items)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
4
Author’s name
Title of a part of the book
Title of the book (always italicize or underline)
Name of the editor, translator, or compiler
Edition used
Number(s) of the volume(s) used
Name of the series
Place of publication, name of the publisher, and date of publication
The following section has been adapted from Denice Blake’s The Writer’s Guide: A Style Manual
46 | P a g e
9. Page numbers
10. Supplementary bibliographic information and annotation
11. Medium of publication (Print)
When citing a periodical, arrange the information in the following order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Author’s name
Title of the article
Name of the periodical
Series number or name
Volume number (for a scholarly journal)
Date of publication
Page numbers
Medium of publication (Print)
EXAMPLE: (Simple one author book)
(Author’s last name), (First name). (Title). (Place of publication): (Name of Publisher),
(Date published). Print.
SAMPLE:
Works Cited
Cantor, Paul. Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization. New York: Rowman
and Littlefield, 2001. Print.
Subtitles are separated from the main title by a colon.
Do not include the word ―Press‖, ―Publisher‖, ―Books‖, etc. after the name of the
publisher.
o There is one exception to this rule. If it is a University Press, include the word
Press.

Ex. University of Virginia Press, Oxford University Press
47 | P a g e
MLA: Sample Works Cited Entries
Books
ONE AUTHOR and TWO BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
Krakauer, John. Into Thin Air. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.
---. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1993. Print.
TWO OR MORE AUTHORS:
Bernstein, Carl, and Bob Woodward. All the President’s Men. New York: Simon, 1974. Print.
NO AUTHOR:
Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. Print.
TRANSLATOR:
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1990. Print.
Editor of Edition or Anthology
EDITED OR CRITICAL EDITIONS:
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton, 1963. Print.
SINGLE WORK FROM AN ANTHOLOGY:
Author of Story
Title of Anthology
Title of Story
Irving, Washington. ―Rip Van Winkle.‖ The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed.
Nina Baym. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1979. Print.
AN INTRODUCTION, PREFACE, A FORWARD, OR AN AFTERWARD
Knox, Bernard. Introduction. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York:
Author of
Introduction
Penguin, 1990. Print.
SACRED TEXT:
Holy Bible. King James Version. Cleveland: World, 1989. Print.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE—SIGNED:
Robertson, James I. ―Lee, Robert Edwards.‖ Encyclopedia Americana. 1988 ed. Print.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE—UNSIGNED:
―Romanticism.‖ Encyclopedia Britanica. 1988 ed. Print.
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Name of Journal
Page Numbers of
Essay Cited
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
Eckstein, Arthur. ―John Ford’s Western.‖ Cinema Journal. 38 (1938): 3-24. Print.
ARTICLE IN A WEEKLY MAGAZINE:
Waters, Harry F. ―TV’s Crime Wave Gets Real.‖ Newsweek 15 May 1989: 72. Print.
ARTICLE IN A MONTHLY MAGAZINE:
Weiss, Philip. ―The Book Thief: A True Tale of Biblomania.‖ Harper’s Jan. 1994:
37-55. Print.
ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER:
Vogel, Carol. ―With Huge Gift, the Whitney Is No Longer a Poor Cousin.‖ New York
Times 3 Aug. 2002, late ed.: A1. Print.
AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL
SOUND RECORDING:
Keen, Robert Earl. ―Think It Over One Time.‖ The Party Never Ends. Sugar Hill, 2003. CD.
FILM, VIDEO, OR DVD:
Stagecoach. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Claire Trevor and John Wayne. Warner, 1939. DVD.
WORK OF ART OR PHOTOGRAPH
Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940. Oil on Canvas. Museum of Modern Art,
New York.
Evans, Walker. Penny Picture Display. 1936. Photograph. Museum of Modern Art, New York
Websites
Note that MLA style calls for both the date of publication or its latest update (found at bottom of page)
and the date on which the information was retrieved.
"Gladiator." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 28 July 2008. Web.
10 Aug. 2008.
Tyre, Peg. ―Standardized Tests in College?‖ Newsweek. Newsweek. 16 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 May
2008.
*These are just a few examples of works commonly cited. If the work you are citing is not
included here, please use one of the Style Manuals in the library or Writing Center to find out
how to cite the source you are using.
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Parenthetical Documentation
1. Usually you will need only the author’s LAST name followed by a space (no mark of
punctuation) and the page number. Place a period outside the parenthesis:
Example: It is clear that ―Hamlet is caught tragically between the Christian and the
classical world‖ (Cantor 63).
2. If you cite the author’s name in your text, however, omit it in the parenthetical
documentation and put only the page number:
Example: Cantor suggests that ―Hamlet is caught tragically between the Christian and
classical world‖ (37).
Period (or any mark of punctuation) follows parenthetical
citation when quotation is not offset.
3. To document a book with two authors, place both names either in the text or inside the
parenthesis: (Fiedler and Nohrnberg 43-49).
4. To document a long (three lines and over), indented quotation, skip two spaces AFTER
the final mark of punctuation at the end of the text and insert the parenthetical
information:
Coats of Arms quickly began slipping into the social marketplace. They were
bought and sold in the highest levels of society as bread and butter were in the lowerclass world. During this period the duties and expectations of the gentry turned away
from the traditional military virtues of previous eras:
The title of knight originally involved military obligations, and even in the
sixteenth century it preserved some vestiges of its ancient function in that it was
often given under royal commission by military commanders in the field. But
now, however, this aspect was falling into the background, and in 1583 Sir
Thomas Smith could observe that knights were usually made according to the
yearly revenue of their lands. (Stone 39)
Period goes before documentation when
quotation is offset.
5. Cite all relevant page numbers if you are paraphrasing or quoting from different parts
of a work: (Maclean 34-39, 79-89).
6.
If the work you are documenting appears on the Works Cited page by title rather than by
author (such as an encyclopedia or Wikipedia article), use the whole title if it is brief or
an abbreviation if it long: (―Running‖ 28).
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7. If you have two or more works by the same author, you will need to inform your reader
which work you are citing. Write the author’s last name, a comma, the whole or an
abbreviated title, space, and a page number. If you have already mentioned the author’s
name or the title within in the context of your sentence, you can omit it in the citation.
(Hemingway, A Farewell 234)
8. To cite epics, classic plays, poems you do not need to provide page numbers. Give the
title, divisions (e.g. Book, Act, Scene, Canto), and line numbers separated by periods.
(Iliad 5.340-347)
(Romeo and Juliet 5.3.30-37)
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Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Miller School operates under an Honor Code that is taken very seriously. We work together to
protect each student’s ideas, and the ideas of great thinkers, by valuing intellectual property
rights and giving credit where it is due.
Plagiarism is taking words, knowledge, or ideas that are not yours and presenting them as your
own.
Two kinds of Plagiarism: Intentional and Unintentional
Intentional Plagiarism is plagiarism done deliberately, on purpose, and with intent to deceive.
 Buying a paper off the internet
 Having a friend write your paper
 Using a paper written by a previous student (students have gotten kicked out of college a
week before graduation for doing this!)
 Copying/Pasting information or direct quotations without citing them
 Taking your ideas from a source without giving it credit
Unintentional Plagiarism is plagiarism done accidentally, through carelessness or oversight,
without a malicious intent to deceive.
Paraphrasing improperly
Forgetting to properly cite information or ideas you got from another place
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Reading about a subject to get ideas before you start thinking about your own ideas, then
incorporating these ideas into your argument without citing them
*THIS STILL COUNTS AS PLAGIARISM! You WILL be held responsible!
1. ―Paraphrase‖ means to put information or ideas into your own words.
 It does NOT mean to replace every word with a synonym.
 It DOES mean to think about the idea and incorporate it into your own writing.
 You still must CITE your source!
Example:
Original: ―Whitman had added to his limited sense of America the experience of a
wilderness surrendering its vastness to civilization.‖
WRONG way to “paraphrase”:
Whitman had supplemented his small idea of America with the notion of a wild land
giving up its largeness to society.
BETTER way to paraphrase:
Through his travels, Whitman saw how the American wilderness was being
overtaken—first by settlers and then by towns and cities (Asselineau 361).
2. Forgetting to Cite Properly
―I knew I needed to cite the quotes I copied and
pasted,‖ Sally said, ―but at 7:44 a.m. on the day my
paper was due, I just forgot!!‖
Every source you use will be cited at least TWICE: (or more if you use more than
one quotation from it)
a. In the TEXT of your paper, when you are quoting/paraphrasing the information
from it
i. You must note every time you use someone else’s ideas or information,
whether or not you use their exact words.
ii. You must always include both the Author’s last name and the Page
Number of the information in this format: (Author #).
b. In your WORKS CITED page, when you are giving the full citation in MLA
format
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Direct Quotations
Any words or phrases that are directly taken from your source must be put in quotation
marks. The Author’s last name and the page number must appear beside the quotation.
ACCEPTABLE:
The library’s new section for books that are not checked out frequently ―aims to preserve the
texts while freeing university library space‖ (Madden C3).
According to Madden, ―the centre5 aims to preserve the texts while freeing university library
space‖ (C3).
UNACCEPTABLE:
The centre aims to preserve the texts while freeing university library space.
According to Madden the centre aims to preserve the texts while freeing university library
space.
5
Incidentally, this is the British spelling of our word “center.” This example shows that with quoting authors, you
should maintain their spelling, even if it does not reflect contemporary American usage.
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Taking Essay Tests6
Unsatisfactory performance on essay tests is often a result of failure to follow specific
instructions rather than a failure to know the material. If you will pay attention to the key verbs
in an essay question and then simply try to answer the question, your chances of success
increase. The following are commonly used verbs with their specific requests:
Explain
give reasons for; make clear
Illustrate
give examples of
Summarize
examine concisely; give main points about
Trace
present in chronological order
Compare
point out similarities and differences; emphasize
similarities
Contrast
point out differences only
Analyze
give main features and aspects of
Define
explain meaning; distinguish from similar forms
Interpret
give meaning and significance
Criticize
point out good and bad aspects of
Evaluate
judge; express your opinion
Discuss
examine in detail
Dddddd
Note in essay questions the specific task and the number of tasks you are asked to do.
For example, the following essay question requires you to accomplish five different tasks:
Summarize each of the seven freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Choose one of
the seven to explain in detail. Illustrate how this freedom is evident in our society, and then
evaluate the importance of it to our nation.
6
The following section has been reprinted from Sandy France’s North Cross Upper School: Writing Guide, First
Edition.
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Planning and Writing the Essay Test Answer
1. Planning
Think before you write. Jot down ideas or a working outline. Anticipate how you can
make your response unified. Plan to spend a third of you overall time in the planning
stage, and the rest in the writing and revising.
2. Take a Clear Position
Take a clear position (like a claim statement but not necessarily arguable) which you
support with evidence, examples, and details from class lectures, reading, and
discussions.
3. Organize
Do not attempt to write everything that you know about the subject. Pay attention to the
key verbs and create an organized and concise essay. Establish a clear direction for your
essay in the first paragraph. Use a logical pattern of organization to make your points
more forcefully.
4. Time Management
Plan you time wisely and write concisely. Don’t pad your essay with generalities or talk
around the subject. Be specific. Realize that your instructor is going to read a test essay
differently than a formal research paper. Usually, test essays are read more quickly and
the instructor will be looking for specific answers to the questions asked. This is not the
time for flowery prose—it is the time to show your instructor that you know the answer
to the question and can write clearly and concisely.
5. Proofread and revise
As with writing assignment, a large number of grammatical and spelling errors will
weaken even the best essay. On exam essays, be particularly careful not to misspell
specific names of people, scientific terms, events, and titles of books that you have
studied. Also, be sure to underline titles of books, plays, epics, etc. Format exam essays
the same way you format formal essays and follow all the same MLA guidelines.
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Reports, Summaries, and Reviews
In this manual, we have been focusing on argumentative essays, in which you are trying to
prove a central claim. Most of the essays you will be asked to write in high school and
college will be of this sort. Occasionally, though, you may be asked to write a report on a
topic or a summary of a text. A teacher may assign reports so that you can introduce the
class to topics that are not covered in course texts or lectures. A teacher may assign a
summary to be sure that you understood what you read. They are specific assignments with
specific purposes. Importantly, neither of them are arguments. They are documents in which
you try to stay neutral. It is useful to know more about these types of assignments, both to be
better prepared to complete them and to be sure that you are not reporting or summarizing
when you should be arguing.
A report is similar to an encyclopedia entry. You want to concisely and objectively present
the ―facts‖ on a topic. Keep it short, and try to stay neutral. If a topic is controversial,
explain the different sides of the controversy without supporting one of them. For instance,
if you are preparing a report on the causes of the Civil War, lay out the major causes that
historians have put forward, but do not push one interpretation over the others.
A summary is similar to an outline, only it is written out in sentences and paragraphs rather
than listed. In a summary of a novel, you will want to cover the setting, the characters, and
the basics of the plot (conflict, climax, resolutions). In a summary of an essay, you want to
cover the main point or claim and the major supporting points or reasons.
Your teacher might assign a book review. A review is a sort of hybrid document. It
combines summary and argument. In a review, you need to briefly summarize the work and
then evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. In a review of the novel, you would briefly
summarize the plot, and then you would talk about whether the novel was well written,
whether the plot was predictable, whether the characters and the dialogue were believable,
whether the themes were worthwhile and effectively conveyed. In a review of a nonfiction
study, you want to summarize the author’s argument and then evaluate its strengths and
weaknesses. Was it well researched? Was the argumentation and the evidence convincing?
Were there unaddressed (or insufficiently addressed) counter-arguments? Would you
recommend the book to others? Why or why not?
Just to reiterate, though, in a normal argumentative essay, you do not need to summarize the
texts you are discussing. Assume that your reader already knows them well.
When writing a report, you rely heavily on research from books, magazines, and online
sources. You must cite all these sources. While a report does not require original thought, a
quality report will organize research in a concise and logical manner. A good report
repackages multiple articles, essays, and encyclopedia entries into a short, objective essay
which delivers information to your reader. To avoid plagiarism, you must cite all the sources
that you paraphrase and use quotation marks for all direct quotations.
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Book Review Guidelines
Book reviews typically evaluate recently written works. They offer a brief description of the
text’s key points and often provide a short appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.
Readers sometimes confuse book reviews with book reports, but the two are not the same. Book
reports commonly describe what happens in a work; their focus is primarily on giving an account
of the plot, characters, and/or main idea of the work. By contrast, book reviews give readers a
sneak peak at what a book is like, and analyze the book’s thesis and how well the author has
succeeded in his purpose. Follow this format:
Content of the book review:
1. Include a statement about the author (who he is, what his qualifications to write on the
subject are, etc.)
2. Give a brief, clear idea of the general scope, content, and purpose of the book. Why did
the author write the book? What claim does the author develop? Cite specific evidence,
including direct quotes, to back up your generalizations – this is especially important
when analyzing the book’s claim.
3. Include your reactions to the book and discuss briefly how well the author has succeeded
in his purpose, covered his subject, used available sources, organized his material, and
expressed himself. For example, consider such subjects as style, thoroughness, prejudice,
and new factual evidence.
4. The review should present a critical analysis of the book with either a favorable or
unfavorable evaluation; be careful of monstrous conceit when criticizing works which
have won Pulitzer Prizes, etc.
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MSA Grading Criteria
A paper
Perhaps the principal characteristic of the A paper is its rich content, often described as ―meaty‖ or ―dense.‖ The
information delivered is such that one feels significantly taught by the author, sentence after sentence, paragraph
after paragraph. The A paper is also marked by stylistic finesse and an absence of mechanical errors. The claim is
interesting, specific, and evident throughout the paper. The title and opening paragraph are engaging; the transitions
are artful; the phrasing is tight, fresh, and highly specific; the sentence structure is varied; the tone enhances the
purposes of the paper. The work demonstrates synthesis of ideas in original and effective ways; it is willing to take
risks, is not limited to the linear (e.g. chronological), and explores ideas in depth. The content is accurate and
pertinent, indicating superior analytical skill and the ability to relate materials from a variety of sources. Finally, the
A paper, because of its careful organization and development, imparts a feeling of wholeness and unusual clarity.
Not surprisingly, then, it leaves the readers feeling thoroughly satisfied and eager to reread the piece.
B paper
This paper is significantly more than competent. The B paper delivers substantial information—that is, substantial in
both quantity and interest value. While it shows an understanding of the topic, it does not have the complexity of an
A paper. Analysis goes beyond and avoids summary. Its specific points are logically ordered, well-developed, and
unified around a clear organizing principle that is apparent early in the paper. The opening paragraph draws the
reader in; the closing paragraph is both conclusive and thematically related to the opening. The transitions between
paragraphs are, for the most part, smooth, supporting and developing the claim. Sentence structures are pleasingly
varied. The diction of the B paper is typically much more concise and precise than that found in the C paper.
Occasionally, it even shows distinctiveness—i.e., finesse and memorability. The writing is generally free of errors,
demonstrating both awareness and control of style. The work shows coherence as well as some of the originality and
depth of an A paper. On the whole, then, a B paper makes the reading experience a pleasurable one, for it offers
substantial information with few distractions.
C paper
It is generally competent—it meets the assignment, has few mechanical errors, and is reasonably well organized and
developed around a discernible claim. The actual information it delivers, however, seems commonplace. One reason
for that impression is that the ideas are typically case in the form of vague generalizations—generalizations that
prompt the reader to ask: ―In every case?‖ ―Exactly how large?‖ ―Why?‖ Stylistically, the C paper has other
shortcomings as well: the opening paragraph may do little to draw the reader in; writing gives evidence of uneven
control of grammar, punctuation and usage; the final paragraphs are often bumpy; the sentences, besides being a bit
choppy, tend to follow a predictable (hence monotonous) subject-verb-object order; and the diction is occasionally
marred by unconscious repetitions, redundancy, and imprecision. The C paper, then, while it gets the job done, lacks
both imagination and intellectual rigor, and hence does not invite a rereading.
D paper
Its treatment and development of the subject are only rudimentary. Claim and organization may be neither clear nor
effective. Sentences are frequently awkward, ambiguous, and marred by serious mechanical errors, suggesting little
or no awareness of style. Evidence of careful proofreading, if any, is scanty. The whole piece, in fact, often gives the
impression of having been conceived and written in haste.
F paper
Its treatment of the subject is superficial; its theme lacks discernible organization; its prose is garbled or stylistically
primitive. Mechanical errors are frequent. The work may display gross inadequacies in understanding or
interpretation of the assigned topic. In short, the ideas, organization, and style fall far short of what is acceptable for
a student at that grade level.
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Works Cited
Blake, Denice. The Writer’s Guide: A Style Manual. Springfield: WS Publications, 1983. Print.
France, Sandy. North Cross Upper School Writing Guide. Roanoke: North Cross School. N.D.
Print.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA,
2009. Print.
Williams, Joseph M., and Gregory G. Colomb. The Craft of Argument, Concise Edition. New
York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2003.
ATTENTION
This manual is intended for internal distribution and use within the Miller School of Albemarle community.
It should not be sold. It should not be reproduced or distributed without the written permission of Steven
Knepper or Peter Hufnagel.
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Notes
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