Formal Writing Reminders

ENG4UI

In General…

• • • • • • • No first-person Avoid contractions and slang Use present tense Try using some rhetorical devices Proper assignment format Provide a creative title for all writing assignments Read aloud to avoid awkward/unclear wording

Structure

• Introduction • Broad to specific • Start with a hook (about general topic, NOT the specific work) • • Quotation, question, definition…something to get the reader interested Think about using rhetorical devices here • Introduce the specific work (at least title and author) • End with thesis • Thesis Statement • Must be argumentative, not just observational • So what?

• Cause and effect

Structure continued…

• Body Paragraphs • Topic sentence that connects clearly to thesis • • • Point, proof (with context), explanation, link Use quotations properly!

Concluding sentence • Conclusion • Specific to broad • • • Restate thesis in a fresh way Final thoughts about the specific work Final thoughts about the general topic (think about connecting back to your hook)

Transitions

• Use transitions throughout your paragraphs and between paragraphs • Try avoiding simple transitions (first, second, third, etc.), and challenge yourself to use more sophisticated and subtle strategies

Using Quotations: General Notes

• No HANGING QUOTATIONS!!!

• You must introduce your quotations, or integrate them smoothly into your sentences • You must provide a page number (in brackets as citations, not in your introductions) • If you are using quotations from more than one author, also include the author’s last name in citations

Using Quotations: Methods

• • • •

Method One: Dialogue Tag and Comma

• Example: The constant internal struggle during war is shown when Xavier says, “We all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the one facing what we do to the enemy” (52).

Method Two: Full Sentence and Colon

• Example: Elijah demonstrates his killing instincts during a conversation with Thompson: “I can see that Elijah knows exactly what Thompson’s asking. Thompson is asking if Elijah likes killing. Elijah considers it for a moment. ‘It’s in my blood,’ he finally says” (102).

Method Three: Integrate Smoothly into Sentence

• Example: “In school, it got so that Elijah learned to talk his way out of anything, gave great long speeches so that his words snaked themselves like vines around the nuns until they could no longer move” (67).

Method Four: Paraphrase

• Example: Xavier and Elijah’s sniping expeditions clearly show the horrors of war as they trudge through mud, filth and bodies (177-179).

Other Technical Tips

• • • Use … to indicate removed text Use [ ] to indicate changed text • If using a combination of narration and dialogue, use double quotation marks for whole proof and single quotations marks for dialogue When using a quotation that is more than four typed lines in your writing… • • • Off-set text No quotation marks Period goes before the citation