How to Format Your Paper

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How to Format Your Paper

• and other silly stuff

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Format your first page like this

• (Double space this entire section)
• Your name page
  here
• Class
• Teacher
• Date
• Assignment/Draft
• Title is Centered in the Same Size
  Font
• and Capitalized Correctly
• (which means just the main words,
• not the articles in, is, the, and,
  or)

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How to format paragraphs

• The first sentence of each paragraph is
  indented about five spaces. Indenting informs the
  reader that a new paragraph has started, so DONT
  put extra spaces between paragraphs like an
  email.
• Use your tab key.
• Did you notice that I spelled out five?
  Unless its a date or an address or a large
  number, write out the number.

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Real words count in college ?

• Luv 2 text? Tweeting LOL to yr BFF IDK or OMG?
  BTW, school papers are not texts, tweets, or
  emails. Use you, not u, refer to yourself as
  I not i and spell words crekly. I mean,
  correctly.
• Good writing counts, even when
  you email your teachers,
• or we will
  ROFL!

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How to refer to an article

• Avoid the repeating pronoun syndrome!
• We never say, for example, the rose it is
  pretty we say, the rose is pretty.
• So do not say, In the article it said
• or In Dr. Smiths article he said
• Instead
• The article xxxx said or Dr. Smith says in
  his article xxxx.

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How to Refer to an Author

• The first time you refer to an author in a paper,
  use the full name with appropriate title
• Dr. Robin Smith claims that
• The next time to refer to that author, just use
  the last name only Smith argues that
• Only use pronouns (he/she) in a paragraph when
  you have already mentioned the authors name in
  that paragraph.

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Mean what you say and
say what you mean

• Youre means you are.
• Your means it belongs to you.
• Youre/your a great friend to
• your/youre great friend?
• Answer
• Youre a great friend
• to your great friend.

Hi!
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Your/Youre Practice Page

• 1. hot tub will be installed Monday.
• 2. Do you know where going to put it?
• 3. I imagine friends will want to spend
  weekends at house now.
• 4. going to miss quiet weekends alone.
• 5. I realize looking forward to relaxing.
• 6. writing needs work
• if going to pass the class.
• 7. the one I want to talk to.
• 8. Get feet off the coffee table.

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Words that sound the same
dont mean the same!

• Its vs its
• The cow broke its leg?
• Or the cow broke its leg?
• Take out the apostrophe
• and sound it out its it is
• Correct form
• The cow broke its leg.
• Practice

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Their words are there, yes theyre there

• there at or in that place over there
• their the possessive form of they.
• they're they are
• Try your hand at this quiz!

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Get Comfortable with Commas

• A punctuation joke
• A panda bear goes into a bar, eats something,
  pulls out a gun and shoots the bartender and then
  leaves.
• When asked why he did that, the panda responds,
  The dictionary says
• that pandas eat, shoots, and leaves!
• Comma splices changed the meaning!

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Run-on Sentences

• Myth run-ons are long sentences.
• Fact run-on sentences can be short or long they
  run together in a tangle.
• Example It was raining I got wet.

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Run-on Repair to the Rescue

• There are FOUR handy ways to fix run-ons
• Use a semi-colon
• It was raining I got wet.
• Use a period and create two sentences
• It was raining. I got wet.
• Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction
  (fanboys for, an, nor, but, or, yet, so)
• It was raining, so I got wet.
• Use a subordinator
• Since it was raining, I got wet. (Use a comma)
• I got wet because it was raining. (NO comma)

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Avoid Unnecessary Articles and Pronouns

• Instead of The flower, it smells pretty.
• Say The flower smells pretty.
• Instead of In the essay Taylor he argues for
  more restrictions on oil drilling.
• Say Taylors essay argues for more restrictions
  on oil drilling.
• Instead of For many students they prefer working
  at night.
• Say Many students prefer working at night.

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Dont announce yourself

• Avoid In this essay I will talk about
• Or I will compare and contrast the two
  articles
• Or In my opinion I believe that global warming
  has been proven.
• Just say, Global warming has been proven. and
  then provide your supporting evidence.
• The reader KNOWs its you speaking youre
  writing the essay! Dont step in front of the
  camera!
• Your conclusion should speak for itself Dont
  say, In conclusion. It should be self-evident.

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Avoid fluffy adverbs and cliches

• Do these words add meaning or clarification? No!
• Personally (as in I personally experienced as
  opposed to what?)
• Literally, really, very, basically
• Due to the fact, I myself, to this day, etc.
• (dont fill up your pages with popcorn words!

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Know Thyself as a Writer

• Where (not were or wear) are your writing goofs?
• Is your grammar affecting your grade? The effect
  is causing you to lose your way among loose
  words?
• Recognize your own writing patterns of
  error and practice fixing them.
• Practice makes perfect!