Comp Guides

GUIDELINES FOR FORMAL COMPOSITIONS

1. Every paragraph will have a topic sentence, and every composition will have a thesis statement.

2. The composition steps will include brainstorming for ideas, composing a rough draft, editing the rough draft, revising the rough draft, and writing a final copy.  If the student does not type the composition, he/she should use blue or black ink, on straight-edged paper, on one side of the paper only.  Double space the composition.

3. MLA documentation style will be used in this class.  Cite sources as necessary.  Avoid plagiarism.  Refer to textbook guidelines for MLA.

4. The following mistakes should be avoided in writing:

a.  fragments:      On the way to the mountains for safety.

                        When the child was shot.

b.      run-on sentences:  Kino was a poor man, the doctor was very rich and ate expensive foods in his large house with the large, wooden door.

c.       misspelled words:  Kino and the doctor are opposites in the novel by John Steinbeck.

d.      Contractions:  The doctor doesn’t like Kino and his people and, therefore, won’t help when the child needs him.

e.       you, your, yours: When you read the book, you will cry and cry.

f.        word choice:  The author brought out several aspects of the character.

The doctor made fun of Kino and his people.

g.       awkward sentences:  This was the location where we were going to.

A symbol is where one thing stands for something else.

h.       punctuation errors:  When the novel begins Kino and Juana are awakening from the night of sleep a time of rest for some of the animals and a time of hunting for others.

Kino who is the main character in Steinbeck’s novel is a family man who earns his living by diving for pearls.