Essay Revision and Editing

English 20-1 Essay Revision and Editing

Titles and Authors • Authors need to be introduced in either the introduction (usually the blueprint) or topic sentences of body paragraphs. • Titles need to be separated from the rest of the writing: – Novels and plays can be underlined or italicized (choose one and stay consistent). – Short stories, poems, and any other text that is part of a larger anthology should be in “quotation marks”. – Do not underline your own title: it hasn’t been published… yet.

Oh, those little conventions… • The words ‘but’ and ‘and’ should never appear at the beginning of a sentence. • Be cautious of the word ‘so’ as a sentence starter: most times, it is not needed. • Alright is not considered a word. Use all right. • Then = time Than = comparison • The apostrophe is used to show ownership. – She cannot meet the expectations of others. – She cannot meet others’ expectations.

And now… more conventions. • Example of a run-on: The apple is tasty I want to eat it. • Run-on sentences can be fixed in one of three ways: – Identify the different, complete, ideas within the sentence, then make them each their own. Ex. The apple is tasty. I want to eat it. – Place a semicolon between the complete ideas. Ex. The apple is tasty; I want to eat it. – Make use of FANBOYS; The apple is tasty, so I want to eat it.

• I would like you to meet your friend, the colon: wonderful, useful, and misunderstood. – Colons are often used to extend the idea(s) of a sentence. Most often, the information that follows a colon is in the form of an incomplete sentence.

Quotes • Remember: quotes are used to support your ideas, not be them. I have read and viewed these texts multiple times; I do not need you to copy them word for word. • Ideas that are lacking in strength often benefit from the INTEGRATION of a quote. • You are required to have three INTEGRATED quotes in your essay. This means that they will sound as though they are part of your writing.

Quote Integration Example One: Evelyn wants Ed to notice her so badly that she even goes to an organization which, “[believes] that women [can] find complete happiness if they, in turn, [will] dedicate their entire lives to just making their man happy” (43).

– Commas separate your writing from the quote. – Use square brackets to change any words that disrupt the flow of your writing (pronouns, verb tense, etc.). – Page citations are indicated with only a number.

Example Two: She feels so helpless that when, “she [wants] to scream out for help…she [just lays] there in that dark pit of her own personal hell” (Flagg, 133).

– Ellipses can be used when leaving out chunks of a quote. – If using more than one text, you must indicate which text by referring to the author’s name.

Example Three: Once again, Idgie finds herself alone, and this time she, “just can’t take it,” so she decides to leave (93).

– Page citations come at the end of the sentence, regardless of where the quote may appear.

Finally, my pet peeves. • Space properly. Indents are used to indicate the beginning of a new paragraph; this removes the need to leave an extra space between paragraphs. • Using the title of the text(s) as your own title. These have been taken… you cannot use them. • Signposting – This proves… – In this paragraph…. – In this essay…