Grading Symbols and Essay Tips

1. Grading Symbols and Essay Tips

2. Grading Symbols and Essay Tips

3. Title • Have a title for your essay and make it interesting and specific to your essay.

4. Development: Building Your Ideas with Support • To develop your ideas means that you clearly explain and support your ideas and points.

5. Essay vs. Paragraph • An essay and a paragraph are not the same thing.

6. The Essay Introduction (w/thesis) Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas • An essay must have an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Conclusion

7. Thesis The thesis is the main point that you make in the essay

8. Where? The introduction paragraph.

9. The Body Paragraph • A body paragraph contains approximately 7-8 sentences and has a topic sentence. • What is a topic sentence? The key point that you make in the paragraph.

10. Basic Sentence Structure • This is the minimum required for a simple and complete sentence with no errors. 1. Subject 2. Verb 3. Complete thought

11. Spacing • Indent 5 spaces to indicate a new paragraph. • Do not put extra spaces between paragraphs. • Put two spaces between sentences.

12. Specificity • If you are specific in your writing, your communication will be more clear and powerful. • Use details, examples, and precise language.

13. Avoid • Using the second person point of view (p.o.v.) “you.” • These phrases: I believe…, I think…, In my opinion…, I personally…, I myself personally believe that… • Writing like you speak

14. Avoid • Words such as: thing, a lot, basically, nice, just, something, would, like • Contractions: Use cannot (not can’t), I am (not I’m), I will (not I’ll), it is (not it’s) • Using were, where, we’re incorrectly

15. Avoid • Directly addressing the reader Ex: You are going to learn about how(or I am going to tell you about how) after our family trip to Oregon, I realized how dysfunctional my family really is . Correction: After our family trip to Oregon, I realized how dysfunctional my family really is.

16. Avoid • Announcing your purpose and plan Ex: In this essay, I am going to discuss how MTV has had an enormous impact on the spending habits of young people. . Revised: MTV has had an enormous impact on the spending habits of young people.

17. Avoid • Abbreviations, and symbols: do not use & or L.A. • Using sentences from the prompt. • Assuming the reader knows the prompt or your topic.

18. Grading Symbols 1. sp.=spelling error 2. pr.=error in using a pronoun 3. s/v=lack of agreement between the subject and the verb. Example: The children needs affection. Correction: The children need affection.

19. Grading Symbols 4. frag.=sentence fragment, a part of a sentence punctuated as a sentence. Example: Before leaving for work this morning. I drank a pot of coffee. Correction: Before leaving for work this morning, I drank a pot of coffee.

20. Grading Symbols 5. RO (run-on) or CS (comma splice)=two or more sentences incorrectly punctuated as one. Example: The house was teeming with activity, in fact I didn’t even know all the people who were running around preparing for the party. (CS) Correction: The house was teeming with activity. In fact, I didn’t even know all the people who were running around preparing for the party.

21. Example: The James Brown concert was amazing I couldn’t believe a man of his age could dance and sing with such energy. (RO) Correction: The James Brown concert was amazing. I couldn’t believe a man of his age could dance and sing with such energy.

22. 6. Mm= misplaced modifier. The modifier is not close enough to the word it is modifying. Example: The phone almost rang ten times. Correction: The phone rang almost ten times.

23. 7. Dm=dangling modifier. There is no word to be modified. Example: Driving down the road, the dog was hit by the truck. (Who is driving?) Correction: The driver of the truck hit the dog.

24. 8. vt=lack of verb tense consistency, unnecessarily switching from one tense to another. 9. a=error in using an apostrophe 10. c=error in using a comma 11. cap.=make it a capital letter 12. lc=make it a lower case letter

25. 13. red.=unnecessary repetition. 14. trans= insert a transition 15. ¶ = create a new paragraph 16. ^ = insert something that I specify 17. | = separate (example: alot = a lot) 18. ‿ = bring together 19. q= error in using quotation marks

26. ww = wrong word. Look up the word in the dictionary. • fp = faulty parallel structure. Example: In the mountains, we went hiking, biking and walked. • pass= passive voice. Example: Mistakes were made. The quarterback made mistakes. • mw= missing word

27. 24. ?= After much effort and time, I cannot understand what you are trying to communicate.

28. Review these notes before you turn in your first essay. Look at the grading symbols after you have received back your first graded essay.

29. Grading Symbols and Essay Tips

30. Title • Have a title for your essay and make it interesting and specific to your essay.

31. Development: Building Your Ideas with Support • To develop your ideas means that you clearly explain and support your ideas and points.

32. Essay vs. Paragraph • An essay and a paragraph are not the same thing.

33. The Essay Introduction (w/thesis) Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas • An essay must have an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Body Paragraph: Explain & Develop Ideas Conclusion

34. Thesis The thesis is the main point that you make in the essay

35. Where? The introduction paragraph.

36. The Body Paragraph • A body paragraph contains approximately 7-8 sentences and has a topic sentence. • What is a topic sentence? The key point that you make in the paragraph.

37. Basic Sentence Structure • This is the minimum required for a simple and complete sentence with no errors. 1. Subject 2. Verb 3. Complete thought

38. Spacing • Indent 5 spaces to indicate a new paragraph. • Do not put extra spaces between paragraphs. • Put two spaces between sentences.

39. Specificity • If you are specific in your writing, your communication will be more clear and powerful. • Use details, examples, and precise language.

40. Avoid • Using the second person point of view (p.o.v.) “you.” • These phrases: I believe…, I think…, In my opinion…, I personally…, I myself personally believe that… • Writing like you speak

41. Avoid • Words such as: thing, a lot, basically, nice, just, something, would, like • Contractions: Use cannot (not can’t), I am (not I’m), I will (not I’ll), it is (not it’s) • Using were, where, we’re incorrectly

42. Avoid • Directly addressing the reader Ex: You are going to learn about how(or I am going to tell you about how) after our family trip to Oregon, I realized how dysfunctional my family really is . Correction: After our family trip to Oregon, I realized how dysfunctional my family really is.

43. Avoid • Announcing your purpose and plan Ex: In this essay, I am going to discuss how MTV has had an enormous impact on the spending habits of young people. . Revised: MTV has had an enormous impact on the spending habits of young people.

44. Avoid • Abbreviations, and symbols: do not use & or L.A. • Using sentences from the prompt. • Assuming the reader knows the prompt or your topic.

45. Grading Symbols 1. sp.=spelling error 2. pr.=error in using a pronoun 3. s/v=lack of agreement between the subject and the verb. Example: The children needs affection. Correction: The children need affection.

46. Grading Symbols 4. frag.=sentence fragment, a part of a sentence punctuated as a sentence. Example: Before leaving for work this morning. I drank a pot of coffee. Correction: Before leaving for work this morning, I drank a pot of coffee.

47. Grading Symbols 5. RO (run-on) or CS (comma splice)=two or more sentences incorrectly punctuated as one. Example: The house was teeming with activity, in fact I didn’t even know all the people who were running around preparing for the party. (CS) Correction: The house was teeming with activity. In fact, I didn’t even know all the people who were running around preparing for the party.

48. Example: The James Brown concert was amazing I couldn’t believe a man of his age could dance and sing with such energy. (RO) Correction: The James Brown concert was amazing. I couldn’t believe a man of his age could dance and sing with such energy.

49. 6. Mm= misplaced modifier. The modifier is not close enough to the word it is modifying. Example: The phone almost rang ten times. Correction: The phone rang almost ten times.

50. 7. Dm=dangling modifier. There is no word to be modified. Example: Driving down the road, the dog was hit by the truck. (Who is driving?) Correction: The driver of the truck hit the dog.