Hudson High School
Writing Guide
2013-2014
I write to discover what I think.
--Daniel J. Boorstin
Nobody should suppose that good writing—the kind that says what it means while being pleasant to read—has ever been easy.
--Jacques Barzun
Every piece of honest writing contains this tacit message: “I wrote this because it’s important; I want you to read it; I’ll stand behind it.
--Matthew Grieder
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
--Thomas Mann
Table of Contents
How to Write and Organize Your Paper
Introductions and Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………3-5
Thesis Statements………………………………………...…………………………………………….……6-7
SPA Paragraphs (Statement, Proof, Analysis)………………………………………………………8
Topic Sentences………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
Transitions……………………………………………………………………………………………………10-11
Blending Quotes…………………………………………………………………………………………….….12
Qualifying an Argument………………………………………………...... 13
Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism…………………………………………………………………...... 14-15
Documentation……………………………………………………………...... 16-20
Citing Sources on a Works Cited Page…………………………………...... 21-24
Electronic Sources……………………………………………………………………………21-22
Print Sources……………………………………………………………………………………22-24
In-text Citations………………………………………………………………...... 25-26
Formatting the Paper: What it should look like before you turn it in
How to Format the First Page of Your Paper……………………………………………………..27
How to Format Your Works Cited Page………………………………………………………….….28
Lists, Tips, and Other Helpful Hints
The Eight Parts of Speech…………………………………………………………………………….…….29
The Four Types of Sentences………………………………………………………………………….….30
Numbers: When to Use Words and When to Use Digits………………………………….…31
Test-Taking Terms…………………………………………………………………………………………32-33
Rhetorical and Literary Terms…………………………………………………………………….…34-37
Words That Describe Tone………………………………………………………………………….……..38
Style...... 39
Words That Should Never Appear in a Formal Paper…………………………………….…..40 Academic Writing………………………………………………………………………………………….…..41
“No Excuse” Words……………………………………………………………………………………….…..42
The FATAL FLAW……………………………………………………………………………………………….43
School-Wide Writing Rubrics
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………44-45
The Six Traits of Writing……………………………………………………………………………….46-47
Expository Writing Rubric…………………………………………………………………………………48
Personal / Narrative Writing Rubric………………………………………………………………….49
Persuasive Writing Rubric…………………………………………………………………………………50
Analytical Writing Rubric……………………………………………………………………………….….51
Two Sample Graphic Organizers………………………………………………………………………………52-55
This guide was written and compiled by Amy Plackowski, with contributions from members of the Hudson High School English Language Arts department.
Writing Effective Introductions and Conclusions
Six Kinds of Ineffective Introductions
1. The Place-Holder Introduction. When you don’t have much to say on a given topic, it’s easy to create this kind of introduction. Essentially, this weaker introduction contains several vague sentences that don’t really say much. They exist just to take up the “introduction space” in your paper.
Example: Slavery was one of the greatest tragedies in American history. There were many different aspects of slavery. Each created different kinds of problems for enslaved people.
2. The Restated Question Introduction. Restating the question can be an effective strategy, but it can be easy to stop at just restating the question instead of offering a more effective, interesting introduction to your paper. The teacher wrote your question and will not need to read a whole paragraph that simply restates the question. Try to do something more interesting.
Example: Indeed, education has long been considered a major force for American social change, righting the wrongs of our society. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass discusses the relationship between education and slavery in 19th century America, showing how white control of education reinforced slavery and how Douglass and other enslaved African Americans viewed education while they endured. Moreover, the book discusses the role that education played in the acquisition of freedom. Education was a major force for social change with regard to slavery.
3. The Webster’s Dictionary Introduction. This introduction begins by giving the dictionary definition of one or more of the words in the assigned question. Anyone can look up a word and copy down what the dictionary says. However, the dictionary is not a particularly authoritative source; it doesn’t take into account the context of your course and doesn’t offer particularly detailed information.
Example: Webster’s dictionary defines slavery as “the state of being a slave,” as “the practice of owning slaves,” and as “a condition of hard work and subjection.”
4. The Dawn of Man Introduction. This kind of introduction generally makes broad, sweeping statements about the relevance of this topic since the beginning of time. It is usually very general and fails to connect to the thesis. Avoid beginning a paper with phrases like “throughout history” or “since the dawn of time.”
Example: Throughout history, slavery has been a problem.
5. The Book Report Introduction. This introduction is what you had to do in your 5th grade book reports. It gives the name and author of the book you are writing about, tells what the book is about, and offers basic facts about the book. You might resort to this kind of introduction when you are trying to fill space because it’s a familiar format. It is ineffective because it offers details that your reader already knows and that are irrelevant to the thesis.
Example: Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, in the 1840s. It was published in 1986 by Penguin Books. He tells the story of his life.
6. The Obvious Rhetorical Question Introduction. You may have been taught that a good “hook” is a question. This can sometimes be effective, but only in very specific circumstances. In more advanced writing, the rhetorical question usually seems obvious or silly.
Example: Have you ever seen your family brutally murdered by Indians? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible.
Thesis Statements
What does a good thesis statement do?
- It directly answers the question or prompt, if there is one.
- It makes a claim that others might dispute, which can be backed up by evidence. It doesn’t just state the topic of the paper; rather, it makes an argument about the topic. If you don’t have an argument for a thesis, you don’t have an essay!
- It provides a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader exactly what to expect from the paper.The more specific you can be about how you will prove your point, the better.
Examples
Bad: The North and the South fought the Civil War for various reasons, some the same and some different.
Better: While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.
Best:While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.
Bad: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
Better: In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on shore.
Best: Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.
Remember, your thesis can and should change throughout the writing process!
How to Generate a Thesis Statement
If you’re having trouble writing a thesis statement, follow these steps.
Step 1: Identify your topic and your task.
Imagine you get a prompt like this:
Literature is full of characters that can be considered heroic. From a work of literature you have read, select a character who in your opinion is heroic. In a well-developed composition, identify that character and explain why he or she is heroic.
Your topic is a heroic character in a piece of literature you know. You must now choose what, specifically, you will write about.
Step 2: Turn your subject into a guiding question.
In Finding Nemo, which character is heroic?
Step 3: Put your topic in a sentence.
In Finding Nemo, the character of Marlin is heroic.
Step 4: Add your argument, viewpoint, or opinion to your topic to make your thesis persuasive.
Marlin is heroic because he rescues his son from captivity.
Step 5: Elaborate on your thesis so that it addresses all parts of your assignment.
Marlin is heroic because he overcomes his own fears when he braves the dangers of the ocean to rescue his son from captivity and realizes that he has to stop sheltering his son.
Where should I put my thesis statement?
The most common, and often required, spot for a thesis statement is at the end of the introductory paragraph or paragraphs.
Statement, Proof, Analysis paragraph format
Statement:
- Also known as a topic sentence
- Makes an argument for your thesis
- Should be your idea, not someone else’s
- Encompasses the entire paragraph
- Transitions from the previous paragraph
Proof
- Data
- Textual evidence
- Details
- Other sources / research
- Proves your statement
Analysis
- Explains how statement (topic sentence) backs up the thesis
- Explains how theproof proves your statement
- Makes explicit connections between the statement and the proof
- Doesn’t rely on the reader to guess what you meant to prove
Topic Sentences
A good topic sentence
- provides a transition from the previous paragraph. Remember, your transition shouldn’t happen in the last part of the paragraph, but the first. Often, all you need is a good transition word (see “Transitions” on pages 10-11) to move smoothly into the paragraph. Sometimes, you don’t need a transition word at all.
- encompasses the entire paragraph. It should act like an umbrella for the whole paragraph. Once you’ve written the paragraph, go back and read the topic sentence. If you’ve mentioned anything in your paragraph that wasn’t covered in the topic sentence, either change your topic sentence or change the paragraph.
- makes an argument. If your topic sentence is just a statement of fact, it’s not a good topic sentence. Remember, a large part of your paragraph is proof, so you can’t write a good paragraph if you have nothing to prove!
Examples of good topic sentences
Throughout The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey’s humorous wit is a constant which emphasizes the success the four activists enjoy and shows how direct activism can be an effective technique.
The fact that the activists were not caught also shows one of the strongest points of environmental terrorism: its disorganized nature which makes it hard to stop.
Abbey uses a look into the characters’ thoughts, as well as scientific diction in order to show the characters’ passion for and connection to the environment.
Examples of bad topic sentences
There is no doubt that the characters in The Great Gatsby are wealthy; Gatsby throws extravagant parties frequently.
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, many characters are introduced in the first act.
Miller not only uses actions to suggest a character’s personality, but dialogue as well.
Transitions
Using transitional words and phraseshelps papers read more smoothly.They provide logical organization and understandability and improve the connections and transitions between thoughts.
Transitions indicate relationships, whether within a sentence, paragraph, or paper. This list illustrates "relationships" between ideas, followed by words and phrasesthat can connect them.
Illustration / Thus, for example, for instance, namely, to illustrate, in other words, in particular, specifically, such as.Contrast / On the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however, nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet, on one hand, on the other hand, rather, or, nor, conversely, at the same time, while this may be true.
Addition / And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance, however, thus, therefore, otherwise.
Time / After, afterward, before, then, once, next, last, at last, at length, first, second, etc., at first, formerly, rarely, usually, another, finally, soon, meanwhile, at the same time, for a minute, hour, day, etc., during the morning, day, week, etc., most important, later, ordinarily, to begin with, afterwards, generally, in order to, subsequently, previously, in the meantime, immediately, eventually, concurrently, simultaneously.
Space / At the left, at the right, in the center, on the side, along the edge, on top, below, beneath, under, around, above, over, straight ahead, at the top, at the bottom, surrounding, opposite, at the rear, at the front, in front of, beside, behind, next to, nearby, in the distance, beyond, in the forefront, in the foreground, within sight, out of sight, across, under, nearer, adjacent, in the background.
Concession / Although, at any rate, at least, still, thought, even though, granted that, while it may be true, in spite of, of course.
Similarity or Comparison / Similarly, likewise, in like fashion, in like manner,
analogous to.
Emphasis / Above all, indeed, truly, of course, certainly, surely, in fact, really, in truth, again, besides, also, furthermore, in addition.
Details / Specifically, especially, in particular, to explain, to list, to enumerate, in detail, namely, including.
Examples / For example, for instance, to illustrate, thus, in other words, as an illustration, in particular.
Consequence or Result / So that, with the result that, thus, consequently, hence, accordingly, for this reason, therefore, so, because, since, due to, as a result, in other words, then.
Summary / Therefore, finally, consequently, thus, in short, in conclusion, in brief, as a result, accordingly.
Suggestion / For this purpose, to this end, with this in mind, with this purpose in mind, therefore.
Adapted From: Taraba, Joanna. “Transitional Words and Phrases.” [online] 23 January 2010 <
Be careful when using transition words to choose words that actually indicate the relationship you are trying to convey. For example, although this sentence sounds authoritative, the transition word doesn’t make sense in this context:
Thoreau believes that people should become closer to nature to discover the essence of life. More specifically, he writes, “we do not ride the railroad; it rides upon us.”
The quote is not a more specific example of the first statement. It’s another point. The writer should have chosen a more fitting transition word (such as “additionally”), or used a quotation that is actually a specific example of that particular point.
Although words like “first,” “second,” etc. can sometimes be good transition words, avoid using a string of transitions that sounds like a list (first, second, last, etc.). Here’s an example of the type of transitions to avoid:
The origins of World War I were quite complex. First, from the end of the Franco-Prussian War, a system of secret alliances developed across Europe. Second, competition for colonies provoked international antagonism. Thirdly, a class of professional military officers developed and tended to dominate the civil authorities. Finally, strong feelings of nationalism fed the fires of hatred in pre-war Europe.
Note: Under no circumstances should you add the suffix “-ly” to a numerical order (firstly, secondly, lastly, etc.). Yuck!
Blending Quotes
Quoted passages should never stand as their own sentences. To blend quotes properly, you need to provide an introduction that gives the context, and, if possible, an analysis after the quote. A good rule of thumb: a sentence should never begin with a quote.
Quotes that need blending:
Roger’s cruelty begins in chapter four when he torments Henry. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them” (Golding 32).
The society in The Giver teaches that conformity is important. “It was not a rule, but it was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals” (Lowry 25).
In Jourdain’s account, he describes the crew scrambling to bail water out of the cracking ship to keep it afloat. “Sir George Somers . . . most comfortably encouraged the company to follow their pumping and by no means to cease bailing out the water” (123).
Fitzgerald gives Nick a muted tribute to the hero. “Gatsby turned out all right at the end” (176).
Quotes that are blended well:
Roger’s cruelty begins in chapter four, when he gathers “a handful of stones and [begins] to throw them [at Henry]” (Golding 32).
Lowry emphasizes society’s belief that conformity is important when she writes, “It was not a rule, but it was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals” (25).
Prospero treats Caliban as a “poisonous slave” who was “got by the Devil himself” and tortures him with “cramps . . . that shall pen [his] breath up” (Shakespeare 1.2.320).
Fitzgerald gives Nick a muted tribute to the hero: “Gatsby turned out all right at the end” (176).
For Nick, who remarks that Gatsby “turned out all right” (Fitzgerald 176), the hero deserves respect but perhaps does not inspire great admiration.
How to qualify an argument
When given a choice between “defend,” “challenge,” or “qualify,” it’s usually best to qualify. Very rarely will you agree or disagree with a position wholeheartedly and in all circumstances, and even when you do, it’s good to show that you have given some thought to when the statement could be right or wrong. Qualifying allows you to make a more complex, nuanced argument, and shows a high degree of critical thinking. Below are some samples from Thoreau argument analyses of good qualifying statements. Notice the emphasized words that help the author qualify the statement.
Thoreau’s claim is correct to an extent; life is too short to waste time on useless emotions, but not all complexities in life are pointless.