You will begin the handwritten rough draft in class. YOU MUST SAVE ALL DRAFTS OF YOUR WORK! No new work will be accepted without the previous draft attached. A note on revision: your final exam in this class consists of three sections: multiple choice, DBQ, and essay. Your highest essay grade this year will account for a third of your final exam grade. It is in your best interest to revise any essay written for this course. A note on introductions: introductions must begin with generalized statements that become more specific toward the end of the paragraph and finally end with a thesis statement. Do not begin an intro with the definition of honors or by immediately discussing yourself. Attempt to capture the readers attention and interest. n.b. I will not accept papers that do not match the format. The paper will be returned to you and you will incur the five point penalty. Do not ask for a stapler the morning that you are handing in your essay. Do not tell me that you ran out of ink or paper. There are no satisfactory excuses of this nature. Cover page should include: Your name Due date Period Title of essay My name
You may illustrate or decorate your cover page as you see fit. DUE DATE: _______ Each day late will result in the loss of five points/half letter grade.
You must have all these requirements met BEFORE attempting to hand in your revision. Revision due date: _______________________________
Introductions Try not to ask a silly question. Keep your audience in mind. I, your ENGLISH TEACHER, am your audience. No, I do not Ever wonder what its like to be in Honors? Dont begin with What is your definition of honors? Dont ask, What do you want to be when you grow up? I have already grown up. Save that kid stuff for when youre writing notes to your friends. Dont use the word you at all! When you write in the first person, you are speaking for yourself only. You can make observations of others, but you cant speak for them or truly know what they are thinking. Start your essay with an interesting sentence that hooks your reader. You want him to be interested in reading more. Decide on the main idea you want to communicate about that topic and introduce it with authority and conviction. Examples: I have learned the consequences of laziness through personal experience. Some of my friends and I have lost touch over the years due to their complete disinterest in school. Though I do not enjoy school, I know that I need to endure it so that I can one day have my dream job: a shark wrangler.
Dont tell me what youre going to write in your essay. Just write it. For example, dont write: In this essay, I will tell you. As you can see. As I will show.. Body paragraphs Give SPECIFIC details. Dont bother with I work very hard I give 100% all the time I always try my best All of my teachers always told me
Those phrases are all nonsense! Be specific. I study for a half hour before every vocabulary quiz and an hour for each test. For the last quiz I took, on the class notes for A Separate Peace, I re-read my notes three times. In my English class, I have a book jacket project due on September 24. As a conscientious student, however, I have already completed it a week in advance. When I do not understand a concept, I ask my teacher. For example, in English class, I could not grasp the concept of the difference between personification and anthropomorphism. I requested an extra help session. My ninth grade English teacher, Mr. Lederman, once remarked that I wrote one of the best personal essays that he had ever read.
A word about body paragraphs: paragraphs often have the same structure as the entire essay. They begin with a sentence that introduces the point and draws the reader in. The middle sentences of the paragraph provide information about the point, and a concluding sentence drives home your view and leads to the next point. That is called a transition. A new paragraph should not sound like youre changing the subject or making an unrelated point. It should flow naturally from the previous paragraph. Conclusion Never, EVER write, in conclusion. Thats lazy and unnecessary. Close your essay with a final paragraph that summarizes the points you have made and states your final opinion. This is where you offer insights or lessons learned, or share how you were, or will be, changed because of your approach to the topic. The best conclusions are tied to the opening paragraph. Final point: HAVE SOMEONE PROOFREAD YOUR ESSAY.