- How long should an essay be?
- Do I have to write in complete sentences?
- When writing a paper, do I need to site sources?
How long should an essay be?
I never believe in setting a set length for a paper. With this being said, I
do want your essays to have the following:
1. A point - what argument are you trying to make
2. Facts - what evidence (not opinions) back up your argument
3. Spelling and Grammar - self-explanatory
4. Logic - Your essay has to have a flow. One idea per paragraph beginning
with an intro and a conclusion
One of the main problems in writing an essay is starting it off. An easy
way to combat this problem is to repeat the question being asked and list out
your answers briefly. Once you have done this, you have just created your
introductory paragraph.
An easy way to write an effective paper is to assume nothing. Assume that
the person reading your paper has no idea of what you are talking about and to
explain it, you have to explain everything in detail. The more facts that you
write per paragraph, the better and stronger the essay will be.
Speaking of paragraphs, there are a few things that I want to explain or
clarify. First, a paragraph is not limited to five sentences. Get that out of
your heads. A paragraph has a single point and doesn't list a group of
different facts. One fact per paragraph. secondly, a tip for students: when
writing your introductory paragraph, the list of supporting ideas for your
argument is now the outline of your paper. Follow this outline in order from
your introduction, and the result will be a solid essay.
Follow these hints/pointers and you will do well!
Do I have to write in complete sentences?
The answer is YES! You are hopefully a SENIOR in HIGH SCHOOL! Sentence
fragments, incomplete ideas, and one word answers are NOT going to get you by
in this class. That I can promise you! An example of a sentence fragment. Get
my idea?
If ANY paper that you turn in has any of these issues on it, I will not
waste my time grading it. It's only fair. If you don't put forth the effort,
neither will I.
When writing a paper, do I need to site sources?
Absolutely! Papers that do not include any source is called PLAGIARISM. There
are SEVERE repercussions for plagiarism at Steinmetz Academic Centre and they
WILL be upheld. Cutting and pasting from the internet is not even considered
writing an essay and with so many pages on the internet, it is safe to say
that some internet sources are are pretty much useless and use weak
information that can be posted by anyone. An example of a poor site is
Wikipedia. When it comes to sources, you must take great care in making sure
that the information on the web site is valid and credible.
