Requirements of the College Essay - English 1010

Requirements of the College Essay
English 1010 – Composition I
Hasting


Double-space typed and handwritten text

Write or type on front side of paper only

Write legibly. Use only blue or black pen.

Include page numbers in the top right hand corner of each page

Use MLA style heading

Do not use a folder/notebook of any kind, just staple

No cover sheet

Formal essays require that contractions not be used.

The personal pronoun “you” may not be used since the reader has no way of knowing who you is and this is a formal essay anyway.

Okay is spelled “okay.” “Anyways” is not a word. Neither is “alot.”

All essays are 500 words


The first letter of each word of the title must be capitalized. Do not underline, italicize, or put quotation marks around your title.


The Writing Process

Use invention strategies (brainstorming, freewriting, clustering) to develop a topic that interests you. Harbrace 392-399

Develop a tentative thesis for your essay. It should be one sentence and contain the subject of your essay and the argument you plan on making. The thesis will be the last sentence of your introductory paragraph. Harbrace 399-403

The outline should contain all of the main points or arguments you will make in the body of your essay. A well-planned outline will make your essay easier to write. Harbrace 403-405

Getting down the first draft is only 20% of the work required to complete your essay. Harbrace 405-417

80% of your essay writing time involves rewriting. Harbrace 418-458

Ask yourself, does your essay make sense? Put it down, then come back to it a few hours or days later and see what needs to be changed. Let a friend who you know is good in English look it over for you. Read it aloud in order to discover words you have omitted.

Your essay must have a minimum of five paragraphs. The introduction must be at least 5-10 sentences. No paragraph should ever be less than three sentences. The three body paragraphs must support your thesis, and they are followed by your conclusion. The conclusion must restate the thesis using different words. This helps to remind the reader of what he or she has just read.

The topic sentence is the first sentence in each paragraph. You need to ask yourself if this sentence works to support the thesis in your introduction. It’s okay to change your thesis to make it match what you are writing. That’s called rewriting. Do your body paragraphs contain enough supporting details? More details means the essay “flows” which means you have a cohesive essay.

Writing is a recursive process. That means you may have to go back time and time again to rewrite your thesis, or to change a major point in one of your body paragraphs, or to add an example or a story that you just thought of to help the reader understand a point you are making.

Literary Terms - English 1020

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a.htm - Link to literary terms. Also can be found in the back of the Bedford lit. book.

Explanatory Websites for Glaspell's Trifles and Drama - English 1020

http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/glaspell.html - Links to a critical discussion of Trifles.

http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/glaspell.htm#Trifles - Links to a hypertext version of the play.

http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/drama/theme.htm - Links to site which explains the vague concept known as "theme."

http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/glaspell.html - Links to Glaspell's bio.

What all four of these sites have in common is that they are reliable; someone at each of these colleges or universities ( note .edu) is responsible for the content. The sites are well-maintained and fairly easy to navigate.