Writing Guidelines

Over the past several years, I have found that I leave the same comments over and over again on papers. As such I have compiled several of the most frequent comments below, in the hopes of not needing to repeat them on your papers this semester. Without needing to go over these basic writing issues with each paper, I can spend more time commenting on your argument and content which is what I am primarily interested in.

1. Good introduction
a. This is the most important section of the paper, as it sets the tone of the whole paper. However the rest of the paper must be consistent with the introduction.
i. Avoid the phrase: “throughout history”
b. Good, clear, thesis
i. A clear thesis helps both the writer focus her thoughts on the paper, as well as letting the reader know what he will expect.
1. A thesis is essentially what the paper will be about. If the goal of the paper is to argue a particular point then the thesis should make this clear (even giving a preview of what some of the main arguments will be).
c. The introduction is not the place to provide citations or material that will support your thesis (other than in a brief overview of your argument). That should be saved for the next section.

2. Body of the paper
a. The body of the paper is where you present your arguments and material, both of which support your thesis.
b. Your arguments should be consistent and well thought out, demonstrating critical thinking and interaction with your sources. If you disagree with one source, provide careful arguments as to why.
i. This information should be properly documented in one consistent style.
1. You MUST document and properly cite all of your sources. Failure to do this (especially with direct quotations) can be considered plagiarism (a form of academic dishonesty)which carries serious consequences.
2. If you are not familiar with styles of documentation: get a style guide.
a. I recommend using one of the following:
i. Chicago (AKA Turabian)
ii. MLA (Modern Language Association)
iii. APA (American Psychiatric Association)

ii. Avoid:
1. Passive voice
a. ex. “The car was driven by John.”
i. Rather than using the passive make use of the active voice i.e. “John drove the car.”
b. “It has been argued”
i. This one is especially problematic as not only is it in the passive voice, but it also is vague, and tells us almost nothing.
2. Over Generalization
a. ex: “Throughout history. . .”
i. This phrase means nothing.
3. Unnumbered pages.
a. Personally I prefer (with no good reason for this) numbers in the upper right hand corner of the page, as you can see here.
4. Using large spacing and fonts.

5. Improper grammar
a. Some of the most common mistakes include:
i. misuse of the plural verses the possessive.
1. use an “s” to make it plural, use an apostrophe( ' ) before the “s” to make it possessive (singular).
ii. Know the difference between “their” and “there” and “they’re”
iii. Horrible Spelling
1. Make sure that you run spell check, it won’t catch everything but will make a world of difference. It is even better if you can have someone else read it over for you.
6. Extremely long quotations.
a. You can use quotations, indeed they can be very effective . However they can also be over used: a paper that is nothing but quotations shows very little independent thought, and does not demonstrate that you have incorporated those quotations into a coherent whole.
b. Very long quotations can usually be paraphrased (with proper citations given).
7. Changing Verb tenses.
a. Each paragraph (if not the whole paper) should be written in one tense (ie present or past), and should not jump around from past to present to future.


3. Conclusion
a. Your paper needs to have a clear and distinct conclusion. This section should reiterate your main points, sum up your argument and provide closure for your reader.
i. It is not the time to do the following:
1. Voice personal opinions about the subject (unless they have been backed up by research and are consistent with the rest of the paper).
2. Provide new information. Unless you are quoting a source and it works perfectly with your conclusion and should not be included in the body of your paper.
b. Remember the conclusion of the paper is perhaps the second most important paragraph in the paper (after the introduction). It is your last chance to make your point, it is the last impression that the reader is left with (before he/she grades the paper).

4. Other things to keep in mind.
a. Answer everything.
i. For full credit, you must answer each part of the question. If there is more than one part of the question, review the question periodically to make sure that you have answered each part of it. If you only answer half of the question, you may end up with half of the credit.
b. Context
i. Context is important for understanding everything. Make sure that you put what you are writing about into proper context. That is to say the more specific about time, and place, and the effects of those two items on your topic, the better your paper will be.