SOME TIPS FOR GOOD ESSAYS

(for my class and others, too)

1. Begin your essay by putting together a structure. Structure your essay with an argument that answers the question. The end of your first paragraph should be a sentence that summarizes your argument (called a thesis statement). This thesis statement should address the question directly and ANSWER THE WHOLE QUESTION:

Both Genesis and the Qur'an contain the story of the prophet Joseph. The story of Joseph in the Bible and in the Qur'an features many similarities and differences which reflect the differing goals of the authors. (...) By examining these two texts it is possible to conclude that although they vary, they are based on similar understandings of God's relationship with mankind. 2. Make your points in separate paragraphs (3 to 5 is standard) in the body of the essay.

In an analytical essay (the kind you will write for my class) remember to INCLUDE THE ANALYSIS. Students often put the evidence out in a paper as though the conclusion is self evident. Provide your reader with signposts so that he or she will know what conclusions you WANT him to draw. At least a third, usually more, of your paper should be actual analysis. That means you have to choose your evidence carefully.

3. CITE the source for any direct quote. For our purposes that will often be in parentheses: (Pickthall p. 174) or (Qur'an XII:93) or (Genesis 35-36).

4. Pay attention to the following grammar pitfalls:

a. Passive voice (PV): "It was determined" is less clear than "The king determined that." Many students put sentences into passive voice to make them sound more "scholarly." Don't. It's awkward and obscures meaning.

b. The dreaded "its" and "it's." Be aware that "it's" is a contraction of the words "it" and "is" and is NOT a possessive:

 c. Affect and effect: in general, affect is a verb and effect is a noun. If you affect something, the result will be an effect.

d. Dangling prepositions (DP): some verbs are always followed by prepositions like "to" or "for." In spoken English, we often say things like, "Which party are you going to?" This is incorrect in written English. Never leave these words sticking out at the end of a sentence or a clause:

 e. Be careful with the word "however," which is generally an adverb and not a conjunction. So that means it isn't a substitute for "but." f. Comma splice (CS): be careful that when you have two complete sentences connected, they actually have a conjunction (and, but, or, because) in them. g. Complete sentence: a sentence must have a subject and a verb in order for it to be a real sentence. A subject and a verb with a subordinating word such as "when" are dependent and have to be attached to another sentence. I use the abbreviation sent frag to indicate an incomplete sentence. h. Verb tenses should be consistent in a history paper. If you speak of a text in the present, "The Bible says that...," you must continue to use the present verb tense throughout the paper. If you narrate historically, "When Muhammad was born he was..." then you must continue in the past tense. Be careful not to switch randomly back and forth.

i. Prepositions: some verbs take certain prepositions in English. For example, it's correct to say, "I am in love with," not "I am in love for." I will label incorrect prepositions IP.

j. Quotation marks go around any direct, word-for-word quote, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred go OUTSIDE any other punctuation, as in:

"I am really mad at you," she screamed.

Schopenhauer called this theory "ridiculous."

k. May and might. The past tense of the word "may" is "might" and MUST be used in an if-then construction.

 5. Sum up your argument in a closing paragraph. Be sure that the argument you made in the first paragraph actually reflects what you ended up saying in the paper.

Click here for more editing marks and abbreviations.

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