Format Notes  

   I.  Font

A.     12”

B.     Times New Roman

C.     black ink

 

II.  Margins

A.     1” margins on all sides

B.     put your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner of all pages

C.     put your heading—your full name, teacher, class, and date---in the upper left corner of the first page

D.     center your creative title:  it may include the lesson or point of your essay

 

III.  Spacing

A.     double space

B.     indent the beginning of each paragraph five spaces

 

IV.  Paragraphs

A.     Introductory paragraph(s)

1.  Narrative hook

2.  Exposition

a.       Title

b.      Author

c.       Genre

d.      Summary

3.  Thesis

a.  controlling idea

b.  list or summary of topics

       B.  Body paragraph(s) (see paragraph format notes)

             1.  Assertion:  topic sentence (one topic per paragraph)

             2.  Cite: supporting sentences—speaker, occasion, quote 

3.  Explain: analysis

4.  Significance: commentary

1.      closing/transitional sentence

       C.  Closing paragraph(s)

            1.   summarize thesis creatively

2.      closing reflection

 

IV.  Edit

       A.  do not use forbidden words:

3.      first person (I, you, we)

4.      weak descriptives (good/bad, nice/mean, really/very/a lot/much, big/small, etc.)

5.      weak verbs (am, is , was, were, etc.)

6.      contractions or abbreviations

       B.  check for consistent verb tense

       C.  complete sentences

D.     spell-check and grammar-check

E.      correct punctuation

F.      use MLA (or APA if directed) format