General Information for Writing Essays

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR WRITING ESSAYS

FOR

MR. LANGLEY

1. Essay should be written in INK for in class writing and WORD-PROCESSED (size 12 font – Times New Roman font, Arial font, Courier font – double spaced – 1.25” left and right margins – 1” top and bottom margins) for out of class writing.

2. Essay should be neat, legible, and attractive in appearance.

3. Essay should be revised and rewritten at least once before submitting.

4. Essay should contain complete sentences. Sentence fragments, comma splices, and/or run on sentences are not allowed.

5. All paragraphs should be noticeably and equally indented.

6. Essay or report should be titled.

7. The organization for an academic essay or report is as follows:

A. Introductory paragraph(s)

B. Body paragraphs (fully supported with evidence)

C. Concluding paragraph(s)

8. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence and should contain only information relating to the topic. A paragraph generally consists of four to six sentences.

9. The introductory paragraph of the essay should contain a thesis sentence that is usually the last sentence of the paragraph.

10. The thesis sentence should declare the writer’s basic idea (point) that the body of the essay should support.

11. Do NOT use contractions, slang expressions, nonstandard usage, and/or informal language.

12. Do NOT use the pronoun YOU or any of its derivatives.

13. Do NOT use the pronoun I or any of its derivatives.

14. The concluding paragraph should begin with a RESTATEMENT (not the thesis sentence repeated) of the thesis statement, and it should broaden to a general or universal application of the writer’s point.

15. A title page should serve as the cover of typed essays, and it should contain the following:

Title: The Title of the Essay

By: Writer’s Name

For: Name, number, and section of class

Date: Date due or turned in

16. MLA parenthetical and bibliography citations must be used. Plagiarism will not be accepted and will result in a zero.

17. Credible sources should be used as evidence and support.