Defining Your Topic	On Proofreading
About Your Thesis	Introductory Paragraph
Body of the Paper	Using Quotes
Conclusion	Notations used in Marking Papers

1. Refining your Topic
 
 

Choosing a topic is only the first step in deciding what your paper is about. You still need to refine the subject of your paper. In fact, many writers say they never know exactly what they are writing until they are almost finished.  What they mean is that writing is a process of discovery. There is a lot of trial and error involved with deciding which questions interest us, which questions we can answer, and which questions are too big, too scary, too freaky to address given the limits of time on this earth.  Revise, revise, revise. Unless you are one of the rare (and totally annoying) writers who are extraordinarily gifted, revising is the only way you will end up saying something sharp, clear, precise, and good.

Make sure your paper has a point; make sure the point is clearly stated; make sure it has....

2. A Thesis

The thesis consists of a single sentence which states the argument of your paper. A good thesis, as my buddy Professor P. Rael notes, represents the answer to a good question. ("A thesis which does not answer a question, or answers a simple or obvious question, is not a thesis.")  A good thesis binds you to a particular problem, even as you enter the soaring heights of rhetorical fun and flourish. The perfect thesis narrowly defines the subject of the paper, yet is broad enough to encompass all the stuff -- all the minor points and illustrations -- you will present in the course of your essay.

A good way to make sure the thesis itself comes across clearly is to place it at the end of a well-built, carefully structured…

3. Introductory paragraph
 

The first paragraph of every paper should constitute an introduction to your topic and to the problem that will be "answered" by the thesis. This paragraph should describe the historical setting of the paper—the who, what and where of the paper—and it should briefly define all of the key concepts that the reader must grasp in order to comprehend and appreciate your thesis. Finally, the introductory paragraph should grab the reader’s attention, forcing him to put down his morning coffee, stop listening to the radio, sit up in his chair, and start seriously grapplin' with....

4. The Body of the Paper

The real substance of your argument and evidence should be contained in a group of paragraphs whose purpose can be distilled into a few distinct points. In the classic essay, for some mysterious reason, there are three main points. In a five-page paper, each of these points would get a little more than a page of prose, with each of those sections broken down into two medium-sized paragraphs.

You are not required to follow any such formula in constructing the body of your papers. You do have to find some way, however, of producing a clear structure to your essay. Just as a building must have a recognizable form so that visitors can find the front door, the stairs, the restrooms, and the fire escape, your papers must have an architecture that is clearly visible. The reader must be able to orient himself: to know where he is going and remember where he has been. If you happen to be an architectural genius, go crazy and build the way your heart desires. If you are like most us, however, you will find it helpful to follow more conventional, established models.

There are six paragraphs in the body of our "classic" five-page essay, each of them demonstrating a single point in three to six sentences.

Some conventional points about the conventional essay:

The Shape of Paragraphs:

• Paragraphs that are shorter than three sentences probably do not illustrate or prove anything. They hang in midair, stating something perhaps, but without carrying the argument forward.
• Paragraphs that are "too long" contain more than one major point. They confuse the reader by failing to provide clear visual guideposts to the advancement of the argument.
• A strong paragraph is introduced by a topic sentence. This sentence clarifies what the paragraph is about and provides some kind of transition from the preceding point.
• A strong paragraph finishes with a concluding statement. This sentence reminds us of the purpose of the paragraph, while perhaps leading us on toward the next one.

• A good paragraph has quotations integrated into the presentation. Don't just plop quotes into your paragraphs. Provide a context for the quote through your own words. State the author's name in your text (e.g. As Schmo McWilliams once wrote, "a blarney kvetchin' can do a pischer well"). Explain why the quote is important (e.g. McWilliams words demonstrate why Irishmen should not drink too much at a Jewish wedding.)
• With this lesson in mind, a paragraph should almost never begin or finish with a quotation (except in the rare case where someone else's words perfectly capture the point that you are trying to make).

5. Conclusion
 

The last paragraph of your essay must tie together any loose threads created over the course of the essay. It should summarize the essential points of the preceding analysis and reiterate their relationship to the thesis. The best concluding paragraphs also present the arguments and the evidence of the paper in a fresh light. Here, you offer the reader the definitive whack upside the head, causing him to pause in his daily routine and say....."yes...yes."  As in theater, so in writing: a dramatic ending (complemented by a great beginning) can make us forget even the darkest, incomprehensible dreck sandwiched in between.

6. Proofreading

Only your final product matters, but it matters a lot. Turning in a paper with sloppy syntax, grammatical errors, and spelling mistakes is like showing up at a party with a big piece of food hanging from the side of your lip.

It might happen sometimes (and who can blame you?), but you would prefer it not to happen, right? Right?!

Bad style causes bad content. If the paper is not clear (if your gem of historical brilliance is hidden under mounds of icky goo), then the reader is forced to dig for the meaning. Whether this particular reader will have the energy and enthusiasm to do such digging could depend upon the alignment of the planets, my luck finding a parking space, and/or the fate of Chicago sports teams the night before (which doesn't offer you a lot of room for hope these days.)

Be on the safe side, promote compositional hygiene and etiquette: PROOFREAD! Give the paper to a friend to look over. If you don't have any friends, call one of those 900-numbers in the back of the Riverfront Times and read your essay to "Hank" or "Sadie" over the phone. Or call a Webster administrator at home very late the night before the paper's due and read it to him (joke).

Your writing must EVOLVE!

Notations I'll Use In Marking Your Work
 

cap.                                   You neglected to capitalize something

coll                                    The word you have chosen is colloquial and therefore inexact or just too weird for a formal essay

contr                                  You are using a contraction like can't, won't, doesn't -- which you should avoid

frag                                    You have written a fragment, rather than a full sentence. Probably, you need a verb.

mw                                    Missing Word

p                                        This will be placed in the margin to indicate that there's a punctuation error on that line

run-on                               Two or more full sentences have been fused into one. They should be separated.

sp                                      Spelling error

syn                                    There is a problem with the syntax. Your words do not fit together properly. The meaning is garbled.

tense                                 The verb tense is not consistent: you shifted from present to past (or vice-versa) without cause

ww                                    Wrong Word

^                                        This will be under the error, with a comma or period or some other mark inside it