Common mistakes in the Topic Paper and Journals

Common mistakes in the Topic Paper and Journals

Reviewing the Mistakes

The Topic Essays are graded as well as most journals BUT this review will help us with the final big paper and remaining journals.

That's why we need to review the mistakes and make sure they are not repeated for the final essay.

Goal and Instructions

Goal: To learn the common mistakes made in the Topic Essay and journals to prepare us for the final Essay

Instructions: Answer the questions in the review as the come up. Each question is explained in the next slide.

Take this review as many times as you'd like.

Email me with two questions.

When you're done with the review, look at your Topic paper to see if you've done any of these mistakes.

Multiple Choice

How do you write the title of the following piece correctly?

• "Harrison Bergeron"

• Harrison Bergeron

• "Harrison Bergeron"

• Harrison Bergeron

Writing Titles

When you write the title of a piece of literature, you have to know what the piece is. If it is published singularly, meaning not in an anthology,it's in italics only. But if it is part of an anthology and most of what we read is, it's in quotations only. It's never in both italics and quotations.

Multiple Choice

After introducing Linda Hogan the first time, how do you address her in the essay every time after?

• First name only

• First and last name

• Last name only

• Full name including middle name

How to address subjects

In an essay, after you introduce a person by their full name, you use their last name for the rest of the essay, including the conclusion paragraph

Multiple Choice

Where does your thesis go in the essay

• The first sentence of the second paragraph

• The last sentence of the introduction paragraph

• In the conclusion

• The first sentences of the introduction paragraph

Thesis placement

While every professor is different, for the most part the thesis belongs in the introduction paragraph. More specifically, it belongs as the final sentence.

It's the final sentence because, at its core, the thesis is the promise the writer makes to the reader on what the essay is about, what are the specific things they are going to talk about, and the order in which they are going to talk about it.

Multiple Choice

Where do you put the in text location for a source?

• Put it at the end of the sentence

• Put it right next to the information

• Put it in the middle of the sentence

• Don't put anything

Location of in text citations

In text citations can go next to the information or at the end of the sentence. But for this class, put it at the end of the sentence.

Multiple Choice

How do you punctuate in text citations?

(In the answers below Smith is the author of the source).

• .(Smith)

• (Smith)

• Smith

• (Smith).

Punctuating In-Text Citations

Since in text citations go at the end of the sentence, they are part of the sentence. Therefore, the period (or question mark, etc) goes AFTER the in text citation. Example below:

Most scientists believe that the sky is blue (Smith).

Even if there is a quote, the period doesn't go inside the quotations, it goes AFTER the in text citation. Example below:

"Most scientists believe that the sky is blue" (Smith).

Multiple Choice

Which one is NOT the title of an essay

• Journal #5

• Freedom and Equality

• Feminism in the U.S.

• Masculinity among People of Color

Essay titles

When writing a title for your essay, don't title it the TYPE of essay. The title is part of the essay and part of your grade.

Multiple Choice

How do you list your citations on your Works Cited page?

• How they come up in the essay

• Alphabetical order by writer's last name

• How you've discovered them

• By date accessed

Listing sources

Always list your sources by writer's or creator's LAST NAME. If there is not writer, it's the first name of the article's title.

Your Works Cited page is on a separate page but THE SAME FILE as your paper. That means you are only turning in one file.

Multiple Choice

How do you title your Works Cited page

• You don't title it

• Write works cited in big letters in the center

• Write bibliography in big, bold letters

• Write Work Cited -- capitalized (the W and the C) in regular font and size and centered

Organizing Works Cited

Works Cited pages are a different page from the essay (use page break) and is titled. You write the words "Works Cited" (no quotations) in the same font and size as the rest of the paper. It's centered and it's the same font color, black.

Multiple Choice

What is wrong in the following sentence?

"The author did a good job writing the essay."

• Incomplete sentence

• Misspelling

• The opinion

• Awkward Sentence

Authoritative Writing

Saying the writing is good, bad, or any other condition isn't what you are tasked in doing. Since we are developing our own arguments, we don't have the ethos yet to say the writing is good.

You only have the ethos to judge the development of the argument.

Multiple Choice

Writing "colored people" is the same as writing "people of color"

• True

• False

Word accuracy

While Dr. King used the phrase "colored people" in "Letter from Birmingham Jail", it doesn't mean the same thing now as it did in 1963.

That's why it's important to study context. Since we start studying this piece in 2020, when we write about it we need to use the modern equivalent, which is "people of color" or more specifically "Black people" or "African American".

What we have is an evolution of a phrase and concept. This link explains more: s

Multiple Choice

When you pick an article that reflects the topic in the piece you're writing about, you are to compare and contrast them?

• True

• False

Articles show

The purpose of the journals is to tie back the argument or topic of the piece back to what is happening in the world right now. Therefore, the purpose is not to compare or contrast the article to the piece.

Multiple Choice

When writing the analysis of your piece, it's okay to focus on just the literary devices used.

• True

• False

There's no literary analysis here...

While we do look at literary pieces with some literary devices, we are looking at the rhetorical situtation of each piece. That means you'll need to focus on looking at the rhetorical not the literary. The difference is that we are looking beyond the story to understand the argument.

You can use literary devices if it is part of the rhetorical situation.