The Grammar Guide

The Grammar Guide The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Essay

Copyright Notice The Grammar Guide: The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Essay Published by Blueberry Studios Copyright © 2014, Bryan Pierson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. Printed in the U.S.A. Blueberry Studios [email protected] Copyright © 2014 Blueberry Studios, Bryan Pierson

The Grammar Guide 1 2 The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Essay 3 3 Introduction 3 Outline 4 Thesis 5 Steps to Developing a Thesis 5 Proper Formatting 6 Tips 7 Quotes 8 Titles 9 Tenses 9 Types of Sentences and Clauses 10 Conjunctions 10 Prepositions 11 Comma 11 Colon 11 Semicolon 12 Apostrophe 12 Dash 12 Hyphen 13 Abbreviations 14 Voice 17 Definitions 19 Confusing Word Pairs 22 Literary Terms 23 Common Mistakes 24 Tone Words 24 Essay Flowchart 26 Diagram of the Essay 26 Plot Diagram Essay Checklist Citing Works Helpful Links

1 Introduction Writing has always seemed to be one of the most difficult subjects both in school and in life. Communicating thoughts on paper to create an effective argument can be challenging without the right tools. I had always wished there was a go-to place for answers to my grammar questions. Google is nice but sifting through millions of search results to find a simple answer can be just as hard as the writing itself. I created this guide as a comprehensive way for anyone, including you, to better understand the English language and its grammatical elements. The goal is to provide a resource, a quick-reference guide, to the most challenging parts of writing. With this guide, essays and most other forms of writing should be easier to manage. Full disclosure, this is not an all-inclusive guide. The English language is massive, developed over thousands of years and containing more than one million words. It would be impractical for me, or anyone, to try to fit everything into a simple packet, especially one designed for quick reference. This packet only scratches the surface. I did however include links to more expansive sources towards the end of the guide. Again, there are copious reliable sources to obtain information from, despite the inclusion of a limited few. Furthermore, there are numerous different types of essays and including them all in this guide would be insane. I merely included the outlines and diagrams for the basic four or five paragraph essay. It is important to remember that this is just a simple outline and you should not feel restricted to the format in this guide. One of the most powerful aspects of an essay is individuality. It may sound paradoxical to follow all the rules yet still make it your own, but finding the balance is key. I wish you the best of success in your writing and I hope this guide will help you.

2 Outline  Introduction o Attention Grabber – question , quote, or thought provoking statement o Bridge – connects the grab to the thesis, should not mention the literary work o Thesis – includes the author, title, claim, and reasons (in chronological order)  Body Paragraphs – usually two or three, should be organized by chronological order of the thesis statement: (TS,T,L,Q,CM1,CM2,T,L,Q,CM1,CM2,CS) o Topic Sentence – reword the part of your thesis that pertains to this paragraph o Transition – a word or phrase to take the reader from the previous part into your lead in o Lead In – a short phrase to give background like where the quote came from or why it’s relevant o Quote – a direct quote or paraphrase from a literary work, supports the thesis o Commentary 1 – explains and implies something from the quote, answers “What does this mean?” o Commentary 2 – connects the quote back to the thesis, answers “Why is this important?” o Repeat – do the transition, lead in, quote, and two commentaries again for the second quote o Conclusion Statement – sum up the paragraph, connect everything back to the thesis  Conclusion o New Thesis - develop a new thesis related to the original but modified to reflect the content from the essay. Do not insult the reader by restating everything they just read. o Bridge – connects the new thesis to the universal statement without mentioning the literary work o Universal Statement – leaves the reader with something to think about; can be a question, quote, or thought provoking statement

3 Thesis The thesis is the focal point of the essay. It should be specific and only cover what you will discuss in your paper. It should also be supported by with specific evidence. Think of it as a snapshot of your essay. Remember that as you are writing, you may find that you need to revise your thesis to better reflect the evidence Steps to Developing a Thesis 1. Develop a claim based on the prompt 2. Select quotes that are important or provide interesting insight 3. Organize the quotes into groups based on similarities 4. Use the categories from step 3 to develop your reasons for the claim. 5. Revise the claim as necessary Proper Formatting  Times New Roman  12 point font  Double Spaced with 0 point after  Header: o Your Name (e.g. John Smith) o Teacher (e.g. Mr. Strickland) o Class – Hour (e.g. 9 Honors Language Arts – 1st hour) o Date – Date Month Year (e.g. 7 September 2013) o Upper left of first page only

4  Heading: o Last Name and Page Number (e.g. Smith 2) o Upper right corner of every page Tips “Being Verbs”: Verbs like am, is, are, was, were, be, been, and being make for weak sentence structure and/or create passive sentences. It is almost always better to use more descriptive, active verbs. Diction: Don’t use general words including but not limited to: very, a lot, many, stuff, things, this, and that. Instead, use analogies, metaphors, or more descriptive language that convey the same idea. Sentence Variety: Make sure that some sentences are short, others are medium, and a few are long. The readers will get bored after the same sentence length after a while. Repetition: Avoid using the same word over and over unless it specifically furthers a point. Try to use synonyms or more vivid language. Rhetorical Questions: Don’t ask questions you don’t expect people to answer unless it is vital to the essay. Pronoun Antecedents: Whenever you use a pronoun (e.g. he, it, they, etc.), be sure it is clear what the pronoun refers to. Grammatically the pronoun should refer to the last stated noun. Parallels: When making a list, ensure that all items are of the same grammatical form (e.g. walking, jogging, and running). Contractions: Avoid using contractions in a formal essay. The only time you should use contractions are if they are in a quote or add to the essay.

5 Abbreviations: Certain abbreviations are acceptable but texting vernacular, shorthand, and other colloquialisms are not. Avoid “words” like LOL, thru, or groovy. Good Transitions: For example, to begin, moreover, in addition, furthermore, to continue Bad Transitions: First, lastly, finally, another, also Quotes  Quotes can be either direct quotes or paraphrased quotes and should revolve around an important topic that supports the thesis.  Use quotes sparingly – a quote should only appear a few times per body paragraph.  Quotes should only be used for textual support of the thesis; they should never be used during the commentary or analysis stage.  Punctuation goes inside of the quotation marks.  Brackets should be used when inserting material not in the original quote.  When skipping words inside of a quote, use ellipses (i.e. …). Titles  Short works (e.g. short poems, essays, commercials, etc.) and sections of larger works (e.g. TV episodes, songs, articles, etc.) are placed inside quotations.  Long works (e.g. epic poems, novels, films, etc.) and collections of short works (e.g. TV series, anthologies, magazines, etc.) are italicized or underlined.  Italics are often used when typing while underlines are commonly used when writing. However, it does not matter that much as long as you remain consistent.

6  Capitalize the first and last words of a title as well as all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions. If the titles is three words or shorter, all words should be capitalized. Tenses  Present Tenses o Simple Present – The action is simply mentioned with no sense of completion o Present Continuous – The action is ongoing/still going on o Present Perfect – The action is complete o Present Perfect Continuous – The action has been taking place and is still ongoing  Past Tenses o Simple Past – The action is simply mentioned, having taken place in the past o Past Continuous – The action was ongoing until a certain time in the past o Past Perfect – The action was completed before another action in the past o Past Perfect Continuous – The action started in the past and continued until another time in the past  Future Tenses o Simple Future – The action is planned with no mention of time o Future Continuous – The action is planned for a particular moment in the future but will not be completed at that moment o Future Perfect – The action will occur in the future before another action o Future Perfect Continuous – The action will be ongoing before some point in the future

7  Tense Shifts o Do not switch from one tense to another if the timeframe for each action or state is the same o Establish a “primary tense” and only switch tenses occasionally to indicate changes in time frame  The primary narration corresponds to its respective perfect tense for earlier time frames. Types of Sentences and Clauses Sentence Types:  Simple Sentence – A sentence with one independent clause and no dependent clauses.  Compound Sentence – A sentence containing multiple independent clauses but no dependent clauses.  Complex Sentence – A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.  Compound-Complex Sentence – A sentence containing multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Sentence Patterns:  Cumulative Sentence – Cumulative sentences complete the main idea at the beginning of the sentence.  Loose Sentence – A sentence is loose if the main point is at the beginning of a long sentence.  Periodic Sentence – When the main point is at the end of a long sentence, it is periodic.

8 Clause Types:  Independent Clause – A clause capable of standing on its own.  Dependent (Subordinate) Clause – A clause that modifies the principal clause.  Relative Clause – A clause that begins with a relative pronoun and functions as an adjective.  Noun Clause – A noun clause functions as a noun in a sentence.  Adjective Clause – An adjective clause modifies nouns and pronouns.  Adverbial Clause – An adverbial clause modifies verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They usually begin with a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions establish the relationship between the dependent clause and the rest of the sentence. After Although As As if As long as As though Because Before Even if Even though If If only In order that Now that Once Rather than So that That Though Since Until Than Where Till Unless While When Whenever Whereas Wherever Coordinating Conjunctions Nor Coordinating Conjunctions join two independent clauses. And But For Or So Yet

9 Correlating Conjunctions Correlating Conjunctions join various sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal. Both…and Not only…but also Not…but Either...or Neither…nor Whether…or As…as Prepositions Prepositions link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence, usually indicating temporal, spatial, or logical relationships. Aboard About Above Across After Against Along Amid Among Anti Around As At Before Behind Below Beneath Beside Besides Between Beyond But By Despite Down During Except From Inside Into Like Minus Near For In Past Per Plus Round Of Off On Onto Outside Over Until Up Upon Versus Save Since Than To Toward Under Via With Tricky Punctuation Marks Comma:  Separate a Series –When separating items in a list, use commas (e.g. this, that, and those).  Connect Clauses – Combine two independent clauses using a comma and a conjunction.  Introductory Elements – After an introductory phrase, use a comma before continuing.  Parenthetical Elements – Appositives and other nonessential parenthetical information goes inside commas (e.g. John, the leader, delivered his orders.).  Separate Adjectives – If “and” can be used between two coordinating adjectives, they are considered equal and a comma should be placed there.

10  Quoted Elements – When stating the speaker and continuing after quotations, use commas (Note: commas go inside the end quotations and outside opening quotations).  Offset Contrast – When phrases contrast each other or the idea changes, use a comma.  Avoid Confusion – If a sentence is ambiguous or confusing, insert a comma to clarify it.  “Single Comma Rule” – Never use a single comma between a subject and its verb.  Typographical Reasons – Use commas between a city and state, date and year, and name and title (Note: Only American forms of dates including the day and year, receive the comma; if only the month and year or European style is used, do not use a comma.).  Names – When adding a suffix onto a name, use a comma to offset the name and the suffix (e.g. George S. Patton, Jr. or Martin Luther King, Sr.). Colon:  Lists – Colons are used to initiate a list of items (Note: if using “such as” or “like” before the list, do not use the colon.).  Separate Clauses – A colon may be used to separate two independent clauses as long as a) the second clause is directly related to the first and b) the emphasis is on the second clause (Note: the first letter after a colon is only capitalized if it is a proper noun or acronym.).  Time – Colons are used to separate hours, minutes, and seconds (Note: 12 hour time is recorded, e.g. 8:15; 24 hour time does not require, but can use, the colon, e.g. 2015, 20:15). Semicolon:  Separate Clauses – Semicolons are used to separate two independent clauses that are somehow related.

11  Conjunctive Adverb - If there is a conjunctive adverb (e.g. moreover, however, etc.) linking two independent clauses, a semicolon should be used (Note: Semicolons should never be used with coordinating conjunctions.). Apostrophe:  Omissions – When omitting letters as in contractions, use an apostrophe at the location of the missing letter(s).  Possession – Use an apostrophe followed by “s” to indicate possession for a noun ending anything other than “s”. o If a word ends in “s” and adding an additional “s” to form the possessive would impede the flow of speech, only use the apostrophe.  Plural Possession – Follow the same rules for singular possessive except when two or more people/things are used. In this case, apply the possessive rule to the possessor (e.g. “Drew and Carey’s books” if the books belong to both of them as one, or “Drew’s and Carey’s books” if the books belong to each individual respectively).  Unusual Plurals – When forming letters of letters and abbreviations, use an apostrophe (e.g. Three A’s) Dash:  Shifts – Dashes are used to show an abrupt change in thought in the sentence. It should be used sparingly and never as a substitute for other punctuation marks. Hyphen:  Divisions – When dividing a word at the end of a line, break the word into syllables and place a hyphen between syllables immediately before the line break.

12  Compounds – Hyphens join compound modifiers (e.g. well-known politician) and specify exact meanings (e.g. five-dollar bills; five dollar bills). Abbreviations  e.g. – exempli gratia - For the sake of example (used to give an example)  i.e. – id est - That is (used to give further explanation or detail)  etc. – et cetera - and so forth  et. al. – et alii – and the others  [sic] – The error or nonstandard presentation is in the original  N.B. - nota bene – note well, pay attention  cf. – confer – introduces works that contradict or otherwise differ from the author’s view  c., ca. – circa – indicates that a number value is approximate  v., vs. – versus – expresses conflict or comparison Voice  Active voice occurs when the subject is doing the acting. Passive voice occurs when the subject is acted upon. Generally, do not use passive voice unless the subject is unknown. Definitions  Noun – person, place, thing, or animal  Verb – action, state, or relation between two things  Adjective – modifies nouns and pronouns  Adverb – modifies verbs or clauses

13  Pronoun – replaces nouns and noun phrases  Appositive – a noun/pronoun set beside another noun/pronoun to explain or identify it  Direct Object – the thing/group of things upon which the action of a verb is performed  Indirect Object – represents the person or thing with reference to the direct object  Gerund – form of a verb functioning as a noun  Infinitive – names the action or state without specifying the subject  Preposition – expresses spatial, temporal, or other such relationship  Intransitive Verb – type of verb not requiring a direct object  Transitive Verb – type of verb requiring a direct object Confusing Word Pairs  Good is an adjective; well is an adverb.  Bad refers to a value or moral; poor refers to quality.  Fast refers to speed; quick refers to time.  Accept is a verb meaning to receive; except is a preposition meaning excluding.  Affect means to influence; effect means a result.  Allusion is an indirect reference; illusion is a misconception.  Capital is a city or wealth/resources; capitol is a building where lawmakers meet.  Climactic refers to a climax; climatic deals with meteorological conditions.  Elicit means to evoke; illicit means unlawful.  A principal is the primary or chief; principle is a doctrine or rule.  Than is a comparison; then is an adverb denoting time.  There is a place; they’re is a contraction of they are; their is a possessive pronoun.

14  To is a preposition; too is an adverb; two is a number.  Your is a possessive pronoun; you’re is the contraction of you are.  Rise is intransitive and does not take a direct object; raise is transitive and requires a direct object.  Lie is intransitive; lay is transitive.  Set is transitive; sit is intransitive.  Who is used to ask for the subject; whom is used to ask for the direct object.  Who refers to people; which and that refer to things.  All together means all in one place; altogether means completely.  Its is the possessive form of it; it’s is a contraction of it is.  Brake is a device used to stop; break means to separate into pieces.  Weather refers to meteorological occurrences; whether implies a choice between two things.  Discreet means careful not to attract attention; discrete means separate or distinct.  Draught is a current of air; draft is a version of a piece of writing.  Dual means having two parts; duel means a fight between two people or objects.  Loose is the antonym for tight; lose is to be deprived of something.  Complement is something that completes; compliment is an expression of praise.  Stationary is when something is not moving; stationery is writing paper. Literary Terms  Allegory – A greater, more abstract form of symbolism built from concrete objects  Alliteration – A sequence of words beginning with the same stating sound

15  Allusion – The reference of an external source via a passing reference  Analogy – Establishes a relationship based on two concepts or ideas  Antagonist – The character in conflict with the protagonist  Archetype – A reference to a person, concept, or object that is a prototype of its kind  Characterization – The process wherein a character is brought to notice and detailed upon  Conflict – The issue which the whole story revolves around  Connotation – The associations people make with words beyond the literal definition  Denotation – The use of the literal or dictionary definition of a word  Deus ex Machina – The satisfactory resolution brought about by an implausible character or concept  Dialogue – Where the characters speak to one another  Diction – The distinctive tone and word choice of an author  Euphemism – A comparatively mild or less abrasive form of a negative description  Flashback – The occurrence of specific events that have taken place before the present  Foil – Another character in the story who contrasts with the main character  Foreshadowing – The use of indicative words or phrases that hints at the future  Hubris – The state of being overly arrogant, usually allowing reality to fade away  Hyperbole – An over exaggeration or over emphasis of a basic concept  Imagery – The usage of other literary elements to appeal to the readers sensory perceptions  Irony – The altering of words or phrases to imply that the meaning is not literal o Verbal Irony – The use of words to mean something other than the literal

16 o Dramatic Irony – Irony that occurs when the audience is aware of something that the characters are not o Situational Irony – Irony that occurs when the exact opposite of what is meant to happen, happens  Metaphor – A meaning or identity applied to a word by means of another  Mood – The general atmosphere of a narrative  Motif – Any element, subject, idea, or concept constantly present throughout the piece  Narrator – A person who tells the story  Onomatopoeia – Words whose sound is close to the sound they are meant to depict  Oxymoron – Placing together contradictory or contrasting elements  Paradox – The use of concepts that appear contradictory yet hold a profound truth  Personification – The attaching of human elements to non-human objects and animals  Plot – The logical series of events that develops a story o Exposition – The beginning where the main characters and setting are revealed o Inciting Incident – The “spark” that sets the rest of the story into motion o Rising Action – The conflict is revealed and the story builds o Climax – The turning point of the story and often the highest point of interest o Falling Action – The events and complications begin to resolve o Resolution – Concludes the story, revealing or suggesting the outcome  Point of View – The nature in which the story is told and whom it is told by  Protagonist – The main character  Pun – A word used such that it suggests more than one possible meaning  Rhyme Scheme – The method in which words in a piece are rhymed

17  Satire – The practice of making fun of a human weakness or character flaw  Setting – The time and place in which the story takes place  Simile – Drawing parallels between two unrelated or dissimilar things using like or as  Stanza – A single, related group of lines in poetry  Stream of Consciousness – Uninterrupted or unhindered collections of thoughts and ideas in the conscious mind  Symbol – A person or object that contains several layers of meaning, often representative of something else  Syntax – The actual way in which words and sentences are placed together  Theme – The central idea or concept of a story  Tone – The attitude the author develops with regards to a specific character  Tragedy – A series of unfortunate events by which one or more characters undergo several misfortunes  Understatement – Drawing attention to a fact that is already obvious and noticeable  Verse – Any single, lone line of poetry Common Mistakes  Sentence Fragments – A sentence that does not contain a subject and a predicate in an independent clause is a fragment. Dependent clauses are not sentences; they are fragments.  No Sentence Variety – If all of the sentence in an essay are of the same length and form, it becomes boring and tiresome for the reader.

18  Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers – Clauses that modify something in the sentence distanced from what they are describing causes confusion. Modifiers must be placed next to what they modify (e.g. The torn student’s book lay on the desk. The student’s torn book lay on the desk.).  Approximations – Words like nearly, almost, roughly, only, etc. can significantly alter the meaning of a sentence. Where they are placed determines what they modified. Most importantly, these words cannot modify verbs (i.e. You can’t almost win; you either do, or you don’t).  Faulty Parallelisms – When giving a list of items, changing grammatical forms destroys the parallelism (e.g. I went running, jogging, and to swim.).  Unclear Pronoun Reference – It, they, that, those, he, she, etc. refer back to the last appropriate noun. The reader may become confused if too many pronouns are used without careful explanation.  Incorrect Pronoun Case – It is imperative to identify whether the pronoun is being used as a subject, object, or possessive, and then to use the correct case.  Unusual Singulars – Nouns like everyone and each take singular pronouns (i.e. Everyone cannot eat their lunches but rather his/her lunch.).  Omitted Commas – Per the rules outlined above, commas keep confusion out of a sentence (e.g. Let’s eat Grandma. Let’s eat, Grandma). Omitted commas can generate confusion or alter the meaning of the sentence entirely.  Excessive Comma Use – Commas area very useful in helping the reader to understand the sentence, but too many of them make the sentence difficult to read.

19  Comma Splice – Two independent clauses linked with a comma and no coordinating conjunction creates a comma splice. Either use a semicolon or add a conjunction.  Noun-Verb Separation – Never separate a noun from a verb or a preposition from its objects with a colon (e.g. the four directions are: north, south, east, and west.).  Split Infinitive – These occur when a word of phrase come between the marker “to” and its verb. Often the word or phrase may be placed after the verb but the parts of an infinitive should never be separated (e.g. To boldly go. To go boldly.).  Apostrophe Misuse – Apostrophes indicate possession for nouns (John’s hat), not pronouns (its).  Plurals – Apostrophes should not be used to form the plurals of dates and acronyms (e.g. 1970’s vs 1970s or CD’s vs CDs).  Double Negatives – A double negative occurs when two forms of negation (e.g. not, never, etc.) are used in the same sentence. Furthermore, words like hardly, barely, and scarcely are negatives. To say “I don’t hardly ever” means “I almost always.”  Confusing Word Pairs – Homophones are not synonyms and can jeopardize the credibility of an essay. (See Confusing Word Pairs on page 11 for details.)  Synonyms – There is no such thing as a synonym. Each word has its own unique connotations and associations. Use these to enhance diction and create a more powerful argument. Tone Words 1. accusatory – charging of wrong doing 2. apathetic – indifferent due to lack of energy or concern

20 3. awe – solemn wonder 4. bitter – exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief 5. cynical – questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people 6. condescension – condescending-a feeling of superiority 7. callous – unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others 8. contemplative – studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue 9. critical – finding fault 10. choleric – hot-tempered, easily angered 11. contemptuous – showing or feeling that something is worthless or lacks respect 12. caustic – intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting 13. conventional – lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality 14. disdainful – scornful 15. didactic – author attempts to educate or instruct the reader 16. derisive – ridiculing, mocking 17. earnest – intense, a sincere state of mind 18. erudite – learned, polished, scholarly 19. fanciful – using the imagination 20. forthright – directly frank without hesitation 21. gloomy – darkness, sadness, rejection 22. haughty – proud and vain to the point of arrogance 23. indignant – marked by anger aroused by injustice 24. intimate – very familiar 25. judgmental – authoritative and often having critical opinions

21 26. jovial – happy 27. lyrical – expressing a poet’s inner feelings; emotional; full of images; song-like 28. matter-of-fact – accepting of conditions; not fanciful or emotional 29. mocking – treating with contempt or ridicule 30. morose – gloomy, sullen, surly, despondent 31. malicious – purposely hurtful 32. objective – an unbiased view-able to leave personal judgments aside 33. optimistic – hopeful, cheerful 34. obsequious – polite and obedient in order to gain something 35. patronizing – air of condescension 36. pessimistic – seeing the worst side of things; no hope 37. quizzical – odd, eccentric, amusing 38. ribald – offensive in speech or gesture 39. reverent – treating a subject with honor and respect 40. ridiculing – slightly contemptuous banter; making fun of 41. reflective – illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions 42. sarcastic – sneering, caustic 43. sardonic – scornfully and bitterly sarcastic 44. satiric – ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point, teach 45. sincere – without deceit or pretense; genuine 46. solemn – deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection 47. sanguineous – optimistic, cheerful 48. whimsical – odd, strange, fantastic; fun

22 Essay Flowchart Locate your Bridge the opening Create a concluding evidence into your thesis paragraph Categorize the Develop a Check your essay evidence grab/hook for your against this guide Develop a thesis intro Reread your essay based on the to make sure that it categories Write the body clearly answers the paragraphs prompt

23 Diagram of the Essay Grab Bridge Thesis Body 1 •Details 1st reason •Should be the strongest Body 2 •Details 2nd reason •Should be the weakest Body 3 •Details 3rd reason •Should be 2nd strongest New Thesis Bridge General Statement

24 Plot Structure Climax Falling Action Rising Action Resolution Exposition Inciting Incident Essay Checklist  Structure o Does the essay have a creative title? o Introduction?  Is it a complete paragraph?  Does it contain an interesting grab?  Does the bridge clearly transition from the grab to the thesis?  Does it have a clearly stated thesis? o Body Paragraphs?  Are they complete paragraphs?  Are transitions smooth between chunks and paragraphs?  Does each body have a topic sentence that relates to the thesis?  Does each body have at least two CDs with CM that supports the claim?

25  Is the support credible? o Conclusion  Does the conclusion propose a new, refined idea?  Is the transition smooth from the new thesis to the universal statement?  Does it end with a universal statement that leaves the reader with a profound thought?  Sentences o Are there any fragments or run-ons? o Do the sentences flow? o Is there good sentence variety?  Punctuation and Grammar o Are all rules of punctuation followed properly for commas, semicolons, etc.? o Do all of the subject-verb pairs agree? o Does the essay remain in the same primary tense?  Word Choice o Does the essay use professional or formal wording? o Are there any contractions? o Does the essay contain any slang or obscene language? o Does the essay contain any first or second person outside of quotes? o Does the essay contain a minimal amount of “being” verbs and passive voice?  Citations o Is a works cited page necessary? o If so, are all works cited in proper format?

26 Citing Works  The works cited page should begin on a new page with the title “Works Cited” centered. No bolding, italicizing, or underlining is necessary.  Double space all citations but do not skip spaces between entries.  Indent the second and subsequent lines of a citation.  Alphabetize the works from A to Z  Internal citations should be enclosed in parentheses at the end of a sentence before the period. Only use the minimum amount of information necessary to identify the source (e.g. “when only using one source” (25). “when using multiple sources” (Brown 3).). Helpful Links As I said before, this guide attempts to simplify the English language’s grammatical rules as much as possible, but it is impossible for me to fit everything into a single packet. Fortunately, the internet contains much larger databases of information with more detailed explanations, examples, and even quizzes. If you prefer a physical book, the library contains several handbooks on English grammar. Lastly, should you require to know how a word is spelled or what it means, use a dictionary. Below are just a few links that I have found to be helpful.  Guide to Grammar and Writing - http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm  Purdue OWL - https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/  Grammar Book - http://www.grammarbook.com/