The Cheat Sheet to End all cheat Sheets – ENGLISH EDITION



The Cheat Sheet to End all cheat Sheets – ENGLISH EDITION

MLA formatting

• 1” margins

• Double-spaced

• Times New Roman

• Size 12 font

Rules to live by in essay writing

1. NEVER use first or second person

Using first or second person takes your reader out of your writing and interrupts the flow of your organization. It would be like watching a movie, then hearing the director’s voice in the background. It ruins the effect. There are ways around this. Take yourself out of it, or use the word “one.”

• Wrong way: I believe Scout realizes Boo Radley is not a monster.

How to fix it: Scout realizes Boo Radley is not a monster.

• Wrong way: You can never know someone until you see things from their point of view.

How to fix it: One can never know someone until he or she sees things from their point of view.

2. ALWAYS cite your sources

If you don’t cite your sources it’s plagiarism. Period. You plagiarize, you fail. Cite everything. Better to be safe and over-cite than to forget just one. Anytime you use anything from a text, or SOMEONE ELSE’S IDEAS, you need to cite your source. Yes, this includes things like SparkNotes…if it’s not your idea – cite it!

• For a novel: (Author’s last name and page number). ex: (Lee 24).

• For a modern play: (Author’s last name and page number) ex. (Miller 54)

• For a classic play: (Act.Scene.Line) ex. (IV.iii.13-14)

3. Commas go inside of quotation marks – colons and semi-colons go outside of quotation marks

Commas, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE QUOTE, go inside quotation marks

• Though Scout initially thinks of Boo Radley as a “malevolent phantom,” she eventually learns what kind of person he really is (Lee 8).

Colons and semi-colons go outside of the quotation marks

• Scout assumes her father “didn’t do anything”; however, she only thinks this because she has not matured enough to see Atticus’s real worth as a father (Lee 89).

Place a question mark or exclamation point within quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. Place the punctuation outside the quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence.

• John asks of Elizabeth “when will you know me woman?” (Miller 59).

• Was Scout wrong to say Boo Radley “dined on raw squirrels”? (Lee 13).

DON’T FORGET THE PERIOD AT THE END OF YOUR CITATION! Your citation is part of your sentence.

4. Always introduce your quotes and embed them into your own writing

You have to give your reader some kind of context for the quot es you use. This means you might need to summarize or explain a bit as you write. Give your reader an idea of where the quote came from.

Your quote is a newborn baby – you can’t ever leave it on its own. You have to embed your quotes into your own sentences. You need to make the author’s writing work for you, not the other way around. Also, a lot of time, people get stuck choosing long quotes. You don’t have to fall into that pattern. Take this quote from TKAM for example:

“I wanted you two see something about her – I wanted you to see that what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all 98 pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee112).

It’s long, but there are ways to make it work for you! Here’s how the analysis might look:

Atticus wants Jem to see that courage is not “a man with a gun in his hand,” but rather, the ability to face an unwinnable battle and “see it through no matter what” (Lee 112). Mrs. Dubose perfectly fits Atticus’s definition of courage, because she “died beholden to nothing and nobody” in her effort to beat her addiction with morphine, even though she knew the pain and duress it would cause her (Lee 112).

5. Transition between your ideas for clarity

This is fairly self explanatory. You need to guide your reader through your essay gently. Make sure your ideas are organized and they flow seamlessly.

6. ALWAYS have a strong topic sentence

Just like your reader should be able to tell what your whole essay is about by your thesis, they should also be able to tell what your paragraph is about by your topic sentence.

7. ALWAYS explain and analyze your ideas completely

Putting in a quote in your writing doesn’t prove anything. You have to do the work to explain how that quote proves your argument. Analyze it! What is the reader supposed to understand because of that quote. You have to spoon-feed the information to them. Keep the 2:1 ratio in tact! Twice as much analysis as proof!

8. Don’t end with a quote – Analyze it!

Never end a paragraph with a quote. It shows a lack of control in your writing. You need to wrap things up for your reader. Don’t leave any holes in your analysis.

9. Don’t use rhetorical questions

This is a middle school trick to help you develop a writing style. You should have one by now. Don’t ask your readers, TELL THEM! Rhetorical questions make it seem like you have no control in your writing. Just turn it into a statement – it’s much stronger.

10. Use present tense

Always use present tense when talking about a novel. The thinking behind this is that novels will continue to be read again and again, and characters will perpetually be doing the same actions.

11. Never use contractions

You always need to spell words out completely. Quotes don’t count.

COMMON ERRORS THAT ARE EASY TO FIX

there = a physical place (trick to remember – “there” has “here” in it, both are locations)

• Can you put the flowers on the table over there?

their = possessive (trick to remember – “their” has “heir” in it, meaning one to inherit or own everything)

• They didn’t want to give up their place in line. (The place in line belongs to them.)

they’re = they are (trick to remember – the apostrophe takes the place of the “a” in “are”)

• Did you know that they’re going to the movies on Friday?

your = possessive

• I went by your house, but you weren’t home. (The house belongs to you.)

you’re = you are (trick to remember – the apostrophe takes the place of the “a” in “are”)

• I think you’re the smartest kid in our class.

its = possessive

• The dog licked its paw. (It makes no sense to put “it’s” – it would read: “The dog licked it is paw.”)

it’s = it is (trick to remember – the apostrophe takes the place of the “i” in “is”)

• I think it’s almost time to do a buy more groceries.

effect = noun

• If taking the medicine has no effect on my cold, should I take another dose?

affect = verb

• I tried not to let my stage fright affect my performance.

good = adjective use with a linking verb (a verb you cannot see) – Good describes a person, place or thing.

• The coffee tasted good today. Is it a good day to buy a new car? That movie was good.

well = adverb use with an action verb (a verb you can see) – Well describes the way something is done.

• I did well on that test. He speaks well. She runs well. She sang well in her performance.

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