RHODES COLLEGE

∂
A Guide to Effective Paper Writing

2017

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 A publication of the
R hodes College Writing Center
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I. THE WRITING PROCESS

A. Planning 3
1. Brainstorming 3
2. Researching 5
3. Outlining 9
B. Writing 11
1. The Thesis Statement 12
2. Introduction 14
3. Body Paragraphs 15
4. Conclusion 20
C. R evising 20
1. Editing for Content and Argument 21
2. Editing for Clarity and Style 22
3. Proofreading 24
4. Formatting 25
5. Citing 26
a. MLA 27
b. Chicago Style 32

II. INTELLECTUAL HONESTY

A. To Cite or Not to Cite? 35
1. Uncited 35
2. Cited 36
B. When to Quote and When to Paraphrase 37
1. Quote 37
2. Paraphrase 37
C. The Honor Code 40

III. GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION

A. Sentence Structure 41
1. Clauses 41
2. Sentence Fragments 41
 3. Run-On Sentences 42
4. Parallelism 42
5. Dangling or Misplaced Modifiers 43
B. Verbs 44
1. Subject-Verb Agreement 44
2. Verb Tense 45
3. Passive and Active Voice 45
C. L anguage 46
1. That versus Which 46
2. Prepositions 48
3. Apostrophes and Contractions 48
4. Pronouns 49
D. Punctuation 50
1. Colons 50
2. Semicolons 50
3. Commas 50

IV. WRITING ETIQUETTE

A. Papers 52
1. Final Draft 52
2. Late Papers 52
3. Paper Grades 52
4. Backup Copies 53
B. Emails 53
1. Appropriateness 53
2. Pitfalls 54

V. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
A. Citation 55
B. Grammar and Punctuation 56
C. Online Writing L abs & R esources 56
D. Plagiarism 56
E. Writing Process 57

Appendix. SHORTHAND SYMBOLS 58

(Clicking on an item in the table of contents links to that specific section of this guide)
 ~ INTRODUCTION ~

For many students, the prospect of paper writing is daunting,

dreaded, and, above all, frustrating. Sometimes it is hard to know
where to start; sometimes the problem is with what has already been
written; often it is the process in between. Instead of simply giving
grammar instruction, this guide offers advice for every stage of
writing an academic paper and will take you through the process of
conceiving an essay subject, refining a thesis, researching evidence,
developing an argument through analysis, clarifying your prose,
and finally revising and proofreading your paper. The guide also
provides useful information about correct documentation, grammar
and punctuation, and writing etiquette.

This guide is not meant to replace the instruction of your professors,

but rather to supplement it. Many of the suggestions and descriptions
regarding writing have come from the Rhodes Writing Center
director and tutors, English Department writing professors, and
faculty and staff from across the college. When using this guide,
please remember that it may not address every nuance of writing in
every discipline; you should consult with your professor for questions
that are not answered here.

You may also seek assistance with your writing at the Writing Center
located in 122 Barret Library. In 30-minute sessions, trained tutors
will help you at any stage of the writing process: brainstorming
ideas, narrowing your topic, forming a thesis, outlining, re-
organizing paragraphs, revising a draft, or even understanding
professor feedback on a graded paper. To set up an appointment,
go to: [Link]

Ultimately, what both the Writing Center and this guide will help
you with is seeing the relationship between your writing process and
the resulting product, which is the paper that others—presumably
your professor—will read. Essentially, every writer begins to write

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according to his or her own process (some must have an outline,
others dive right into the prose, and so on), but at some point that
process must take shape for the reader. This guide will help you
move through those stages.

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 ~ I. THE WRITING PROCESS ~

The art of paper writing is generally a three-step process comprised

of planning, writing, and revising. The planning stage includes asking
and answering a lot of questions about your subject; the writing stage
puts those answers into a developed argument; and the revising stage
involves refining your thesis, possibly restructuring your paper, and
proofreading.

A. Planning

1. Brainstorming
Before you begin to write, carefully read your assignment, paying
special attention to identifying exactly what the professor has asked
you to produce. Each type of paper has a specific goal to accomplish.
For example, a history paper that compares the Battle of Bull Run
with the Battle of Gettysburg seeks to sort out the similarities and
differences between two events; an international studies paper that
applies the realist theory of international relations to the context
of the Cold War seeks to support a given theory through historical
evidence. The topics and research you need to consider largely depend
on what kind of paper you are writing. Therefore, the first step to
writing a well-organized essay is to identify the type of essay you are
assigned to write and plan your essay according to the guidelines
given by your professor. To set up an appointment, go to:
[Link]/writingcenter/[Link]

A typical problem students have with their writing assignment is

selecting a subject (or argument about that subject) that is too broad
to cover in the space of a single paper. The unfortunate result is a
paper weighed down by generalizations, assumptions, and summary.
When considering your subject, be sure to locate your own particular
argumentative niche so that your paper will be a focused, thoroughly
considered analysis and will be supported by ample, specific evidence.

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Below is a series of questions to help you begin this process of
narrowing your subject, conceiving of your argument, determining
your evidence, and envisioning a structure for your paper.

Subject: What are you going to write about?

• Is there a specific topic assigned for the paper? Do you have free
reign to interpret the subject as you want or has the professor
asked for particular information in the paper?
• What about the subject interests you? How can you narrow or
interpret the subject in a way that suits your interests?
• What discussions from class about this subject were most
provocative? What have you underlined in your text or taken
notes on in class with regards to the subject? Do you see any
trends?

Purpose: What is the purpose or goal of the paper?

• Is it meant to persuade? Inform? Compare? Assess?
• Is the paper supposed to include outside sources?
• Is it meant to reach beyond class discussions and course texts? Are
you being asked to reiterate a course idea or to expand on it?
• Are you required to answer specific questions?

Argument: What will your argument be?

• What has your professor or someone else said about this subject
that you disagree with or find puzzling?
• What is the most profound question you have about the subject?
How can you turn that question into an argument: a thesis?
• What do you need to do (revisit, read, research) to help you
establish a position about the subject?

Evidence: What type of evidence do you need to support the argument you will
make about the subject?
• Will you use only your own analysis? Or do you need to do any
research?
• Are you being asked to incorporate others’ critical ideas about
the subject? Where do you find this sort of information?

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• What kind of documentation is required? MLA? Chicago Style?
APA?

Organization: What is the best way to organize your ideas?

• Can you group together any of your ideas about the subject? Can
you divide the subject into categories or “sub” subjects?
• Does one idea naturally follow another? Is one idea contingent on
another? Do you want your reader to understand certain points
before others? Are some points more important than others?
• If there is an assigned length, how will that affect your priorities?

As you answer these questions, you should keep the suggested essay
length in mind. A ten-page research project requires lengthier topics
and significantly more factual support than, for example, a three-
page literary analysis. A well-organized paper uses the assigned
space effectively; you should plan for and gather enough topical
information to adequately complete the assignment and support the
thesis before your writing begins. As a rule of thumb, a double-spaced
page with one inch margins and 12-point text has approximately 300
words. With this in mind, you can generally conclude that a 1500-
word assignment is about five typed pages and can plan your essay
accordingly.

TIP: One productive way of brainstorming and asking and

answering questions is to sit down with a peer, whether a friend or a
tutor at the Writing Center, and have a 30-minute conversation about
your ideas. Your professors are often happy to meet with you, too,
to discuss your ideas about the paper. Be prepared, though, to take
notes; in other words, bring a pen and paper.

2. Researching
If your assignment requires outside sources for evidence, you have
one more step before you can begin outlining and then drafting.
Researching can be intimidating, especially if you are having trouble
figuring out what information you need and where to get it. Below

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are some suggestions to get you started.

Research Questions
The first step in beginning research is to come up with research
questions that you need to answer in order to prove your argument.
The answers will be the evidence for your paper. At this stage,
you might also consider adding possible sources for finding the
information. For example, if you are arguing that—despite common
assumptions that the Harry Potter series has increased reading
frequency among adolescents—children today are still reading only
as much as they did ten years ago, you might include the following
questions (Q) and source (S) ideas:

• Q: How many adolescents read books before Harry Potter?

S: Reference materials for the Literacy Council; history of
adolescent book purchasing, library records.
• Q: How many adolescents read books today? S: Same sources as
above but for current year.
• Q: What changes in education have occurred in the last ten
years that might have affected reading habits? S: Department of
Education curriculum and/or reading initiatives.
• Q: Are there any social or cultural changes that might have
affected reading habits? S: Surveys on adolescent activities,
behavior.

Search Words
Most students know what search words are and most can come up
with an initial list of obvious search words for a topic. In the example
of Harry Potter, the search words that come to mind immediately
are Harry Potter, JK Rowling, reading, adolescent, reading rates, and even
the individual book titles. However, if you restrict yourself to just
these obvious words, your search will not yield enough results to
build a formal paper and thoroughly prove your thesis. You must
stretch your thinking to come up with additional terms for your
search. For example, try adding these words to your list: teen, pre-teen,
literacy, behavior, books, kids, children, phenomenon, trends, literature, juvenile,

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media, television, Scholastic (publisher of HP books), libraries, motivation,
education. By combining some of these terms, your searches will yield
far more “hits” and potentially more interesting, certainly more
productive, results.

Online Databases
The Barret Library website includes a comprehensive listing of
online databases accessible through the library’s pages. The college
pays for subscriptions to these databases and their use is limited to
current Rhodes students and staff. To access a database from on
campus, you must be logged into a computer. To access one from
off-campus, simply click on the database link from the Rhodes
Online Database page, and you will be prompted for your Rhodes
username and password.

Your first stop for research should be [Link]/barret/. On

this page, you will find numerous options; the most popular link for
perusing online databases is in the left box: click on the highlighted
word “databases,” which will take you to an extensive description of
online databases and resources. Most of these databases are particular
to specific fields or topics, such as psychology or “Civil War,” but
some encompass larger categories like “the Humanities” and some
are purely reference sources like the Oxford English Dictionary. By
clicking on the “more info” button, you can find out what kind of
information the database offers. In most cases, a non-reference type
database will ask for your search terms and then provide a bibliography
of articles and (less often) books that include information about your
subject. Be prepared to spend a good deal of time with the “Online
Databases” website: this part of researching can be laborious because
you will undoubtedly uncover many sources that you do not need,
and weeding through the vastness of information can be tedious.
However, if your goal is to produce “outside” evidence for your
paper’s argument, it is a necessary process.

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Scholarly Articles
It isn’t hard to figure out what constitutes a newspaper article or
a survey, but determining what qualifies as a scholarly article can
be difficult. At some point at Rhodes, you will be required to use
scholarly or “critical” articles in a paper and you should be prepared
by knowing what that means. A piece of scholarship is very different
from any other kind of resource. In the simplest terms, it is a text
written by a scholar, reviewed and ultimately approved by scholars, and published
by a scholarly source. You must confirm these aspects of an article
before you can consider it scholarly. The easiest way to determine the
scholarliness of an article is to search for it in a database that covers
only scholarly journals. These journals have an editorial board of
experts in the field to review and approve the articles contained in
each publication, including online editions. You might also consult
the database “MLA Bibliography of Periodicals” and find the entry
for the journal in which the article is published. This entry will tell
you whether or not a journal is “peer-reviewed,” which is another
way of identifying scholarly work. You should consult with your
professor for a list of databases or journals that are relevant in the
field of your course study.

Internet Sources
Be wary of using the World Wide Web as a source for an academic
paper’s evidence. Although the internet provides a constant stream
of information, it is often impossible to know where that information
came from and whether or not it is accurate. It is especially dangerous
to use the web for “scholarly” information. For example, if you are
researching the effects of living near a particular chemical plant,
you probably can find quite a bit of commentary on the web. You’ll
discover local newspaper articles debating the issue; you’ll see the
plant’s own public relations announcements; you might even find
blogs written by people living near the plant. Although some of this
information might be anecdotally relevant to your topic, none of
it can be considered scholarly evidence. It is simply commentary,
probably from biased parties.

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 TIP: When you are compiling your evidence from an outside source,
be sure either to print the actual text or to copy it verbatim—in
quotation marks—so that you always have a record of the original.
Students have been known to paraphrase a source text only to
paraphrase again in the course of writing their paper and end up with
a version that is too similar to the original. It is not worth the risk of
being accused of an honor violation. You can find more information
about quoting and paraphrasing in the next chapter: II. Intellectual
Honesty.

3. Outlining
Once you have considered these “planning” questions, begun
researching (if necessary), and established your basic argument
or hypothesis, you should create an outline, which serves as the
transition between your ideas and your draft and is basically a
directional map—a step-by-step guide through the essay. You
should write down your outline, even if it is informal; you might
have only a “working title,” a thesis statement, and one descriptive
sentence for each body paragraph. Also at this stage of the planning
process, you should remember to document any quotations or data
from your texts or research that you intend to use in your draft. Be
sure to include correct citations with your notes to avoid unintended
plagiarism. For a more comprehensive and useful outline, follow the
steps below.

Developing your Argument

To begin, determine the main points that support your thesis. Main
points are essentially claims that will develop your larger argument.
In “report” type papers, these points are topic sentences. A well-
conceived thesis should direct you towards the nature, order, and
relative value of your main points. (You can find more information
about writing a thesis in the next chapter.) Not every claim will be of
equal value, and some may need to come before or after others or be
privileged in a particular way. These main points will constitute the
Roman numerals in your outline.

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Determining Evidence
Each main point or claim needs to be supported by evidence and
analysis that essentially connects the evidence to the claim. For the
sake of an outline, you should list pieces of evidence under their
corresponding point and identify where to locate that evidence later
(i.e., page number, source). If you encounter evidence contrary to
your main points, you should determine how you can undermine that
evidence, thus weakening a potential counter argument. Each piece
of evidence can be listed with a capital letter under its corresponding
Roman numeral “claim.”

Organizing your Ideas

Once you have categorized your supporting points and evidence
into an outline, you should check the format of your outline. A
well-organized outline is logical and consistent and follows—
from beginning to end—an understandable route, with one point
building on the previous one or adding a new, but appropriate, idea.
For example, if an outline for a history essay begins in chronological
order, it must carry this logical format through to the end.

Documenting your Sources

Even at this stage of the writing process, you should remember to
document any quotations or data from your texts or research that
you intend to use in your draft. If you include correct citations at this
point, you are less likely to forget or mis-cite a source in your final
draft. Plus, you will have any easier time locating that information
when you need it for your draft.

Moving from Outline to Draft

If you have carefully organized your outline, it will be much easier
to expand it into a successful paper. Each main point in your outline
will become a topic sentence or claim statement in your paper. A
topic sentence is generally the first sentence in a paragraph that
states the point (the topic) of that paragraph, and while it should
create a transition from the previous paragraph, it should not just
repeat or reword the last sentence of that paragraph. Paragraphs

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that lack topic sentences are confusing, unfocused, even distracting.
Each topic sentence should in some way relate to your thesis; that is,
each topic sentence needs to support your thesis the way each main
point supported the thesis in your outline. Your supporting points
(evidence) in your outline will be used to write supporting sentences
in your paragraphs. With a clear topic sentence and well-crafted
supporting sentences drawn from your outline, each paragraph
should be unified and focused on one main topic.

TIP: If you are really stuck even after answering the planning
questions or if outlining has been unsuccessful, you might try free
writing, an exercise developed by Peter Elbow in his book Writing
without Teachers (Oxford: UP, 1998). In free writing, you write non-stop
for about ten minutes on anything about your subject that comes to
mind. During this time, you do not lift your pen from your paper
or your fingers from the keyboard. You do not worry about sentence
fragments, correct grammar, word choice, spelling, or coherency.
You do not re-read as you write. You simply write. At the end of the
ten minutes, you take from your writing sample whatever good ideas,
phrases, and sentences you can and try again. Repeat the process
again and again until you have something you can use for your paper.
It may take several runs to get a few sentences worth keeping, but it
definitely helps get past writer’s block.

B. Writing
One of the most common mistakes that students make when paper
writing is to put it off until the last minute; thus, there is rarely time
to create a draft. First drafts can be particularly useful in that they
allow for a stream of ideas while subsequent editing prevents these
ideas from being disorganized or unclear. When you write a draft
you also have the mental and emotional benefit of knowing this
is not the final product and that you have time to make mistakes,
correct them, throw out entire paragraphs, even change your thesis.

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The first step in drafting a paper is to articulate a clear and cohesive
thesis. Then, you should consider how the paper is divided into
sections: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

1. The Thesis Statement

Professors in first-year writing courses spend an entire semester
teaching and reviewing the thesis statement, and so it stands to reason
that, despite most students’ familiarity with the term, the thesis is
often the most difficult part of a paper to master. What exactly do
professors mean when they ask for a clear thesis statement? And do
they always have to be stuck at the end of your first paragraph? This
section will help you answer these questions and teach you how to
write strong, effective theses.

What exactly is a thesis statement?

A thesis is a succinct statement of your essay’s main argument. It does
not necessarily have to be limited to one sentence in length and should
not be a self-evident conclusion with which anyone knowledgeable
on the topic would fundamentally agree. In other words, your thesis
should be your own personal, arguable, and defendable stance on
a particular topic. The keyword here is “argument.” Your thesis
statement should make a relatively original claim that can be either
proven or, at least, well-supported in your proceeding paragraphs. It
is not an “opinion” because by definition an opinion needs no support.
It is, rather, a position that acknowledges a certain precariousness
and so needs support through analysis and evidence.

Your entire essay relies on your thesis. Therefore, in addition to being

argumentative, a thesis should be concise, thorough, and clear. It
should suggest that there is evidence to support it, and it should outline
the major topics that will develop the argument throughout the essay.

How is a thesis different from a topic sentence?

Many students confuse the terms “thesis statement” and “topic
sentence.” The difference lies in the specificity and the arguability of
the statement in question. A topic sentence is one that describes the

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general subject of the paragraph or essay but does not address what
exactly the writer wants the reader to conclude about the topic. A
thesis statement, on the other hand, is a much more specific and, at
some level, controversial statement about the topic. It is a claim up for
debate based on interpretation of evidence. And it is a statement that
needs support and development to be persuasive. It is not inherently
persuasive or accepted.

The following examples illustrate the differences between topic

sentences, statements of opinion, and thesis statements.

EXAMPLE
Topic Sentence:
In my essay, I will address the significance of color imagery in
The Great Gatsby, especially the colors green, white, and brown.
Statement of Opinion:
Gatsby is foolish for attaching so much significance to the colors
green and white.
Thesis Statement:
In The Great Gatsby, different colors define the boundaries between
social classes, with grey, navy, and brown being associated with
the poor in the Valley of Ashes, bright primary colors with the
middle class in West Egg, and white, green, and muted colors
with the wealthy in East Egg.

EXAMPLE
Topic Sentence:
In his novel, 1984, George Orwell used war and battle metaphors.
Statement of Opinion:
Winston should not have succumbed to Big Brother’s ideology.
Thesis Statement:
Orwell’s 1984 is a critique of modernization and industrialization,
in that it reveals the loss of individual identity for the sake of
greater efficiency.

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Thesis Placement
Most readers, including your professors, look for a thesis early on in
your paper, but not necessarily at the end of the first paragraph. Thesis
statements are usually most effective in the introduction because they
do, in fact, introduce the argument. However, sometimes a paper is
most persuasive if the thesis comes later. These are known as “delayed
thesis” papers. In this instance, the paper works towards the thesis,
which may be located in the middle or even at the end of the paper.
The delayed thesis works particularly well for close analysis papers
where the goal is to analyze the language rather than use the language
to prove your analysis; a good example of this type of analysis is poetry
explication. In addition, the delayed thesis can be used effectively for
longer essays where the claim is too complex to contain within the
first paragraph, or when the writer expects an initially hostile reaction
to his or her thesis and wants to establish common ground with the
reader first. It is worth noting, however, that while a delayed thesis
can work exceptionally well, if not executed properly, it can make the
paper disorganized and therefore more difficult for a reader to follow
and understand. Because of this risk, less experienced writers should
state their thesis early on, allowing the reader to get a strong grasp of
the paper’s argument from the start.

The Changing Thesis

Often during the course of writing or revising, it becomes clear
that the thesis of your paper has changed. It may be that you’ve
found new and different evidence than you anticipated or that you’ve
simply realized a new argument through your analysis of the subject.
Be aware of such shifts in your thinking and be sure to adjust your
thesis statement accordingly. During the writing process make a
conscious effort to ensure that your thesis is present and consistent
in the essay, that every paragraph works to support and promote
your thesis. Assuring that your reader can follow your argument is
imperative in a persuasive essay.

2. Introduction
In general, an introduction is a paragraph (about 5-10 sentences or

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100-200 words) and basically introduces the reader to your subject. In
this section of the paper, avoid summarizing the topic and quoting
or referring to specific evidence. Instead, begin contextualizing your
claims and showing the direction the paper will take. Do not write
so generally that your reader must search for your argument, and
avoid phrases like “Throughout history” and “Since the beginning
of time.”

A strong introduction should

• Identify the subject of the paper.
• Engage the reader.
• Offer a general outline of the paper (what its structure will be).
• Communicate the argument.

An introduction might also

• Provide necessary background information. • Relay a story
about or describe your topic.
• Establish your credibility as a writer on this subject (so the
reader will trust your claims).
• Offer counter-arguments (against your thesis) that will
“hook” the reader.
• Begin with a notable quotation that leads to your larger
discussion.

3. Body Paragraphs
Once you’ve introduced your subject and stated your thesis, you then
must organize your analyses, research, and ideas into fully developed
body paragraphs. Careful, thoughtful organization is essential to
ensuring that your paper is readable and persuasive. If, however,
you structure your paper with one topic here and another topic
dangling over there and no coherence whatsoever, the reader may
lose interest or get so confused that your intended argument gets lost
or misunderstood.

The body paragraphs of the paper should include—as fully

articulated topic sentences—the claims you alluded to in your

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introduction. These claims are like mini-thesis statements that both
articulate the supporting point of and provide direction for the
paragraph that follows (in the same way that the thesis itself provides
direction for the entire paper). The ideas and evidence that follow
should be relevant to and support this claim. If there is disjuncture,
the evidence may belong in another paragraph or perhaps the claim
needs better or different examples. Maybe the claim itself is faulty
and doesn’t adequately pull together the evidence that is meant to
support it.

Linking Paragraphs
One distinguishing feature of a strong essay is that successive
paragraphs are linked in a coherent fashion. In an outline, main
points are bulleted, presented in isolation with no clear link from
one idea to the next. Paragraphs developed in a paper, on the other
hand, must be clearly connected to one another. They must be linked,
either through ideas or words, in such a way that the reader can easily
follow the development of your thesis.

An idea link is a connection (also called a transition) between two

paragraphs based on a similar train of thought or repetition of an idea.
Idea links tie the paragraphs together because the reader is clearly told
how one paragraph relates to another by the related ideas they employ.
An idea link may consist of a repeated phrase, a related anecdote, or a
similarly worded summary of the idea previously presented.

EXAMPLE
In the following example, from “The Lost Year” by Dan Baum (The
New Yorker, August 21, 2006, 46-59), the paragraphs are linked by
the idea that the redevelopment of New Orleans after Katrina is a
project with global appeal.

Baker’s proposal [to finance reconstruction] was big enough

to save New Orleans. It would put money and options in
the hands of homeowners. And it was tailored to appeal
to Bush’s sensibilities—government involvement would

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 be temporary, and about half of the initial public outlay
would be recovered when redeveloped properties were
sold. The bill made New Orleans the greatest urban-revival
opportunity in recent American history, and planners and
architects from around the world gathered to help.
More than just New Orleans was at stake. A
third of the world’s population lives in coastal zones,
many of them in delta cities that may flood as the climate
changes and seas rise. The Netherlands’ complex of
levees, fortified after a hurricane killed hundreds in 1953,
is a respected flood-control model; done right, planners
said, New Orleans could serve as another example of
how to rebuild, smarter and better, a city flooded on an
unprecedented scale. (Baum 49)

In the final sentence of the first paragraph, the author remarks that a
government bill has attracted the attention of international building
professionals, and in the opening of the second paragraph, he moves
to more general concerns and hopes about urban development
in flood risk areas around the world. Thus, Baum is linking the
internationally popular proposal to revitalize New Orleans with
growing global interest in securing and developing other coastal
urban centers.

Where an idea link is a compositional link between paragraphs, a

word link is a syntactic transition. Word links such as however, although,
needless to say, then, secondly, next, as it pertains to, as you can see, similarly,
on the other hand, conversely, and subsequently, signal to the reader that
you are further developing a topic in this paragraph based on the
information you have provided in previous paragraphs. Word links
are very important because they allow your reader to follow your
argument, seeing quickly and easily how each new paragraph pertains
to the thesis and relates to the paragraph before it.

EXAMPLE
In the first sentence of the next paragraph of Baum’s article, he uses

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the word link “though” to show transition to a new idea (Note: the
ellipses after the first sentence signals that a portion of the text has
been removed by the editor of this guide).

More than just New Orleans was at stake. . . . “We have

this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reëngage
and recalibrate this city in a way that, politically, you might
never have been able to get to.” Joseph Canizaro called the
city a “clean sheet.”
In their enthusiasm to create a new city, though,
the planners were up against New Orleanians’ uncommon
fondness for the old one. (Baum 49)

Word links and idea links make your paragraphs coherent; always
check to ensure that transitional ideas and phrases connect each
paragraph like directional markers on a map.

Sentence Structure
In addition to considering how your paragraphs logicially develop the
argument set forth in your introduction, you should pay close attention
to how your sentences develop the ideas presented in your paragraphs.
Essentially, sentences are the building blocks of your paragraphs, and
they should be clear, engaging, and varied. For example, make sure
that parallel ideas exist within parallel phrases or sentences and that
every sentence doesn’t begin the same way. Sentences with the same
word order or length produce the kind of monotony that is boring
to readers. To make your sentences more interesting, add variety by
making some longer than others and by finding alternatives to starting
every sentence with the subject followed by the verb. Below are some
strategies to help achieve that variety.

Combining Sentences:
• Combine two sentences into one longer sentence.
• Join the subject of two independent clauses into one sentence
when the verb and the rest of the clause are the same.
• Join two predicates when they have the same subject.

18
Adding Words:
• Add a description about a noun after the noun or add an
adjective before the noun.
• Add a who, where, or which clause after a noun.
• Add a modifying phrase or a clause to the beginning of a
sentence.
• Begin with infinitives or with phrases beginning with –ing
or –ed verbs.
• Begin with a dependent clause (i.e., beginning with after,
although, because, if, since, until, when, while).

Changing Words, Phrases, and Clauses:

• Move adjectives to a new place in the sentence.
• Expand your subject into a phrase or clause.
• Change your sentence into a dependent clause and attach it
to an independent clause.

In addition to having varied sentences, you should have efficient

and precise language in those sentences. Remember to delete any
unnecessary words or phrases and to maintain a consistent verb
tense (usually the present tense), a consistent point of view (usually
third person), and a consistent level of formality throughout the
paper. You may use contractions, provided they are used correctly,
and unusual sentence constructions provided they are used for an
obvious stylistic or rhetorical purpose.

TIP: When writing the body of the paper, use the same language
that you used in the introduction, especially if you coined a catchy
phrase or defined an abstract concept with a specific word. By
referring to things consistently throughout the paper, you make the
paper more coherent and readable, even memorable. Consider this
word or phrase like a thread running through your essay that keeps
pulling the reader back to your subject.

19
4. Conclusion
The conclusion should reinforce the development of the argument and
establish closure for the reader without blandly restating the thesis. Most
conclusions begin with a summary of the major points or evidence in
the paper. However, your conclusion shouldn’t be simply repetitive.
Upon reaching the conclusion to your paper, imagine the reader saying
“Okay, I’ve been persuaded, but what does this mean to me?” or simply
“So what?” Below are suggestions for writing a conclusion.
• Avoid quoting or presenting evidence (as with the
introduction).
• Summarize the main body points as briefly as possible in the
order they appear in the paper.
• Offer an explanation as to why this paper needed writing in
the first place.
• Describe how your argument might have larger implications
that extend beyond just the paper. Relate your thesis to a
broader issue, showing that it has some meaning and
relevance outside of an academic exercise.
• Point to the implications of your argument for further study
in the field.
• Show exactly how your paper fits into the existing literature
on the subject.

C. Revising
Many students think that revising is proofreading. It is not. Revising
involves an in-depth analysis of how well you have communicated
your ideas to your reader. It is a broadly scoped and yet often
tedious process. Beware of the impulse to stop at your draft, without
revising; just because you have something printed doesn’t mean it’s
ready to hand in to your professor. Be prepared to move ideas, delete
paragraphs, even shift the entire paper to a new thesis if necessary.

To begin revising, you should ask several fundamental, far reaching

questions:

20
 • Have you proven your thesis?
• Is your evidence adequate? Appropriate?
• Does each paragraph develop the argument?
• Do any paragraphs or points seem disconnected from the
larger focus of the paper?
• Are sentences grammatically correct?
• Are the tone and language consistent?

If you are having trouble seeing from this critical perspective, it

may help to distance yourself from the draft in order to look at it
objectively. Consider putting it aside for a day or so before re-reading
one last time. The difference between a first and a final draft can be
significant and can make the difference of an entire letter grade, if
not more. And ultimately, professors are not only looking at what
you’re saying, but also how you’re saying it. For this reason the final
editing stages can be the most important. You will need to approach
revision with everything from argument to punctuation in mind.

1. Editing for Content and Argument

At this first stage in the revision process, you should concentrate
on larger rhetorical concerns like a focused structure and a strong
argument with adequate textual support. Your first step should be to
read through the paper as a whole and ask yourself a) whether you
accurately responded to the assignment or prompt, and b) whether
you proved your own thesis.

The next step is to look for holes in your research or evidence. Are
there possible challenges to your thesis that you have not addressed
and refuted? Conversely, look for areas where you have included
information that while interesting may not necessarily be relevant to
your thesis. Your goal at this stage is to ensure that each paragraph
contains adequate references, source material, and quotations that
substantiate claims made by the thesis and topic sentences, and
that those references and quotations are seamlessly embedded into
the body of the paragraph. Do not include quotations that you do
not explain or analyze. Quotations that are placed in the body of a

21
paper without analysis are called “dropped quotations.” These serve no
analytical or persuasive purpose and detract from the overall effectiveness of your
paper and evidence. Do not include new information or ideas without
connecting them to the topic sentence.

TIP: A reverse outline can be useful for determining whether or

not your argument and structure work well together and whether
or not your points are clear and organized. Go through the paper
a paragraph at a time (even starting at the end to give you more
objectivity). For each paragraph write a sentence summarizing
the paragraph, but don’t simply copy the topic sentence or claim.
Consider these “summarizing” statements collectively in relation to
your thesis. It might be that you must rework or reword the thesis to
correspond with the rest of your paper.

2. Editing for Clarity and Style

There are several things to consider when editing for clarity and
style. The first is organization, the second is language, and the third
is transitions, or “links.”

With changes to the content and thesis complete, reorganization is the

next step. Using the reverse outline (see the TIP in previous section),
number the sentences that describe each paragraph, revisit them in
relation to the newly defined thesis. Reorder them where appropriate
to ensure a logical progression of ideas. At this point you might notice
that several paragraphs have the same topic or that one paragraph has
more than one topic. Consider combining or dividing such paragraphs.

Next, look at each paragraph as its own entity. Are the ideas self-
contained? Then look at each sentence individually. Does the sentence
as it stands alone make sense? Avoid sentences that use the word “this”
or “these” unless it is very clear to what “this/these” refers. Are your
sentences ambiguous? Is your language appropriate? Have you used
language correctly? Don’t use words that you don’t understand.
Finally, in the same way that paragraphs should be linked, so should

22
sentences be linked. A link may be thematic or syntactic. A thematic
link is a repeated idea or fact that reminds the reader how or why the
new sentence relates to what has been said before. A syntactic link is
a word or phrase that indicates to the reader some sort of order that
helps him or her organize the flow of ideas.

EXAMPLE
Unlinked sentences:
The library’s hours of operation do not provide for all students’ academic
needs. On Friday night the library closes at five o’clock.
Thematically linked sentences:
The library’s hours of operation do not provide for all students’ academic
needs. On Friday night the library closes at five o’clock leaving students
who need to study or research during that time with no place to go.
In the above example, the repetition of “students’ needs” provides a
clear link between the ideas expressed in the two sentences. Without
the thematic link, as seen in the unlinked example, the reader is
unsure why it is significant or relevant that the library closes at 5:00
on Friday night.

EXAMPLES
Unlinked sentences:
Many students like to dine outdoors. There are four outside tables at the
Refectory.
Syntactically linked sentences:
Many students like to dine outdoors. However, there are only four outside
tables at the Refectory.
In the above example, “however” links the first sentence to the
second one, suggesting that the number of tables is insufficient for
the number of students who wish to eat outside. This point is further
articulated by inserting “only” into the second sentence.

Words and phrases like however, although, in that regard, therefore, then, on
the other hand, contrary, alternatively, furthermore, similarly give your reader
a syntactic clue that the sentence they are now reading is related to
the previous sentence. Syntactic links make it much easier to follow

23
a rhetorical argument because they pull the reader through the
consecutive build-up of ideas.

TIP: The Paramedic Method is a particularly effective method of

editing and was created by Richard Lanham in his book Revising Prose
(NY: Longman, 2006). This method works especially well when you
want to make sure that the paper is in active voice and the sentences
are clear and concise. Begin by circling the prepositions: before, after,
in, on, to, apart, for, into, above, from, by, beside, over, among, through, around,
between, etc. Too many prepositions pollute and belabor the paper.
Remove as many of the prepositions as possible to ensure that your
prose remains clear and concise. Then circle the “is” forms. Though
technically a verb, the “is” construction is weak. Replace these “to
be” verbs with action verbs in active voice. To figure out if your
paper uses active or passive voice, look at each sentence individually
and ask, “Where’s the action?” For example, “Who’s kicking
whom?” Then put this kicking action in a simple (not compound)
active verb, “The boy kicked the girl” (active) versus “The girl was
kicked by the boy” (passive). Be direct in your prose: don’t force a
reader to decipher what you mean. Don’t say things like “the fact is”
or “the thing that this brings us to;” instead, get right to your point.
Your prose will be less wordy, and you will sound more forceful and
credible. Finally, go through and take out unnecessary words. Look
at your longer sentences, and try to get them down to as few words as
possible without changing the original and intended meaning.

3. Proofreading
Proofreading for grammar and punctuation is the final stage of
editing. After you’ve addressed the broad concerns of revision
(argument, organization, and clarity), edit the draft at the sentence
level, looking for fragments, misspellings, punctuation errors, verb
tense inconsistencies, and so on. Do not rely on your word processing
software to detect errors. Consider reading your paper aloud to find
changes in tense, awkward or wordy passages, and to help you
determine whether you’ve employed proper grammar. If you find
yourself having to re-read or pause, it is generally a good indication
that something is amiss. By reading aloud, you’ll also be able to easily
24
detect any unnecessary repetition.

4. Formatting
The final step in revising is to check your formatting. Include your
name, your professor’s name, your class and the date all double-
spaced in a block to the left of your first page. Also be sure to include
any other information required by your professor; for example, a
word count or your student ID.

EXAMPLE

Michelle Hope

Professor Finlayson

English 230

May 14, 2006

Dividing the Father:

Patriarchy and Power in Shakespeare’s King Lear

There should be one return between the heading and your title.
Titles should not be underlined or italicized and should not contain a
period. If your title contains the title of a book, the book title should
be italicized or underlined. Titles of articles or short stories should
be set in quotation marks. Some professors might prefer that this
information be included on a title page rather than on the first page
of your paper. Title pages (which are required for papers written in
Chicago Style) should also include a word count and your pledge to
uphold the honor code.

EXAMPLE

25
 Dividing the Father:
Patriarchy and Power in Shakespeare’s King Lear

Michelle Hope
Professor Finlayson
English 465
May 14, 2006

Pledged:
____________________________________

Word Count: 1500

5. Citing
College level writing demands evidence. Students typically are given
free range to make any analysis they see fit provided that they can
substantiate such claims with textual evidence and often with critical
research. And, in fact, the way you cite depends very much on the
nature of the evidence you use and the way you are using it. Imagine,
for example, that you are writing a literary analysis of John Milton’s
Lycidas and you want to examine the poet’s words, “Weep no more,
woeful shepherds, weep no more, / For Lycidas your sorrow is not
dead.” It might not occur to you that a poem requires a different format
of citation than regular books, or that the format for these citations
would differ greatly depending on whether you were writing a literary
analysis or using Lycidas as an example of anti-Anglican rhetoric in a
historical paper on the English Civil War. In a literary analysis you
would use the Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers, 8th ed. (New York: MLA, 2009), while in a history

26
paper you would use the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago:
UP, 2010) or Kate Turabian’s more compact A Manual for Writers of
Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed. (Chicago: UP, 2013).

While these style manuals dominate writing-heavy disciplines within

the humanities, other style manuals include Scientific Style and Format:
The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed. (Cambridge:
UP, 1994) and Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
5th ed. (Washington: APA, 2009), which govern research writing in
the sciences and social sciences, respectively.

MLA In-Text Citations

In addition to including a final list of the sources you used, you
will be citing throughout your paper. You should cite whenever you
include information from an outside text or source, whether that
information is quoted or paraphrased. In MLA format, your in-text
citations are “parenthetical” in that they appear at the end of the
source material or reference in parentheses. Here you must include
the author’s name, if it is not already self-evident by the way you’ve
introduced the information, and the page number. Do not use a
comma or the word/abbreviation “page/pg/p” between the author’s
name and the page number. Occasionally, you must include additional
information in a parenthetical citation; for example, if you use more
than one article by a single author, you must include the author, the
article title, and the page number. The “common sense” key to all
citations (particularly in-text ones) is to accurately and thoroughly
communicate to your reader where you got the information.

As you write, keep in mind that different types of texts require

different kinds of information in their parenthetical citations.

Poetry
If the poetic quotation consists of three lines or less, you should insert
a diagonal line to indicate a line break in the actual poem (as is done
in the example below); if the poetry extract is more than three lines
long, however, then the quotation should be blocked and indented

27
one-inch (retain double spacing). Moreover, the correct MLA format
for in-text citation is to put the line numbers in parentheses (175-
177), or if the author is not named in the sentence, then to write the
author’s name followed by the line numbers (Milton 175-177).

EXAMPLE
From a paper on Milton’s Lycidas:
When the speaker declares in the penultimate verse paragraph
of Milton’s Lycidas, “With nectar pure his oozy locks he laves, /
And hears the unexpressive nuptial song, / In the blest kingdoms
meek of joy and love” (175-177), the pagan image of nectar, the
food of the gods, merges with the Christian marital song of
God’s “blest kingdoms.”

Prose
If you are citing prose in-text (whether a scholarly book, journal,
literary work, etc.), then the quotation or other information should
be introduced and then separated by either a comma or a colon (if
the excerpt is over three typed, double-spaced lines on your screen,
remember to block and indent). Once again, the author’s name and
the page number should be in parentheses, and the period comes
after the parenthetical citation. If your quotation is long enough
to be block indented, omit the quotation marks and place the final
period before, not after, the parenthetical citation.

The following example demonstrates how to format a quotation

within a quotation—use single quotation marks on either side of the
borrowed phrase (the phrase ‘affable archangel’, from Paradise Lost).

EXAMPLE
From a paper on George Eliot’s Middlemarch:
Just before Dorothea’s marriage to Casaubon, the narrator uses
free indirect discourse to articulate how her vision of marriage
is marred by literary allusion (and illusion): “For he had been as
instructive as Milton’s ‘affable archangel’; and with something of
the archangelic manner he had told her how he had undertaken

28
 to show. . .that all the mythical systems of the world were
corruptions of a tradition originally received” (Eliot 24).

The use of ellipsis (…) denotes that something has been left out of
the sentence; when using ellipsis remember to maintain the sense of
the sentence and not to misconstrue the author’s meaning.

EXAMPLE
From an evaluation of the Rhodes Summer Writing Institute:
According to a recent survey conducted over a seven-year period,
approximately 20% of the students who attend the Summer
Writing Institute at Rhodes eventually matriculate at the college
(Finlayson 1).

This sentence does not use quotation marks because it paraphrases

the source material. It does include a citation.

Play
When quoting a play, list the act, scene, and line numbers
parenthetically; for example (3.2.21-23). Do not include the words
“Act” or “Scene.” All other rules remain the same.

TIP: In a paper with outside sources, you always want to signal

to the reader when your own commentary or argument ends and
the source material begins. “Signaling” not only helps the reader
understand the shifts in your paper, it also helps your credibility by
showing what is your idea versus another writer’s. You can signal
such a shift by using phrases like “According to psychologist Julie
Steel in her article on altruistic behavior” or “In his book on David
Foster Wallace, Marshall Boswell argues.”

MLA Works Cited

The standard MLA works cited page requires double spacing and
lists the author, title of the work, publisher, year of publication, and
page numbers (if applicable); any deviations from this format are

29
noted below. Also, a hanging indent must be applied to each citation,
and titles of books and journals must be underlined or italicized,
while essays, poems, articles, and short stories must be in quotations.

Book

Gilligan, Carol. In a Different Voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press, 1993.

Journal article

Cahill, Edward. “Federalist Criticism and the Fate of Genius.”

American Literature 76.4 (2004): 687-717.

Essay in a scholarly book or collection of essays

Knoepflmacher, U.C. “Fusing Fact and Fiction: the New Reality of

Middlemarch.” This Particular Web: Essays on Middlemarch.

Ed. Ian Adam. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,

1975. 43-72.

30
Work in an Anthology

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Norton

Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton &

Co., 1997. 1381-1444.

Book by two or more authors

Eggins, Suzanne, and Diana Slade. Analysing Casual Conversation.

London: Cassell, 1997.

An Edition

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York:

Norton, 2001.

A Poem

Jonson, Ben. “On My First Son.” The Norton Antholog y of English

Literature: The Sixteenth Century-The Early Seventeenth Century. Ed.

M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000.

A Translation

Allende, Isabel. Daughter of Fortune. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden.

New York: Harper, 2000.

31
An Electronic Source

Bing, Gordon. Due Diligence: Planning, Questions, Issues. Westport, CT: Praeger,

2008. NetLibrary. Web. 19 July 2010.

TIP: With so much of contemporary research published online,

you probably will have articles or other types of sources that are not
technically “in print” or for which you have no hardcopy. Still, the
“publication” information should be clear. For example, an article
that appears in full text in an online journal should have an author, a
title, a date of “publication,” even page numbers, just like a hardcopy.
If the online version does not offer page numbers, exhaust all possible
avenues of inquiry to establish what the original page numbers are.
As a last resort, print out the document and cite the pages according
to the page breaks in the printed copy. In any case, when citing
online sources, you should conform to the same guidelines as you
would for printed editions, with one addition: include in your MLA
Works Cited the date you accessed the online source. Note: MLA no
longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. If your instructor
requires the URL, then MLA suggests that the URL appear in angle
brackets after the access date. < >

Chicago In-text Citations

Chicago style retains formatting nearly identical to MLA for blocking
quotes, using quotation marks, inserting ellipsis, and knowing when
to quote, but Chicago style does differ in that it mandates a use of
endnotes or footnotes (rather than parenthetical citations) for each
quotation or other source material.

When quoting a source in Chicago style, be sure to place the

superscripted number after the quotation marks; for example, “Even
if more people were becoming literate [in the Stuart Age], it does
not necessarily follow that they read or were taught new, ‘modern’

32
ideas.”13 The footnote includes author, title of work, publication
information, and page number and reads as follows:
13. Barry Coward, The Stuart Age (New York: Longman Group,
1980), 59.
Each succeeding footnote referring to this same source would be
abbreviated:

Coward, The Stuart Age, 59.

Chicago Bibliography
Chicago Style stipulates that you include either footnotes or endnotes
for all individual quotations and source materials, but you must also
compile a bibliography following your list of endnotes (if you did
indeed choose endnotes over footnotes). Although similar to an
MLA Works Cited, Chicago Style Bibliographies are single-spaced
with double spacing only between entries.

Book
Kenny, Colum. Tristram Kennedy and the Revival of Irish Legal Training,
1835-1185. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1996.

An Edition
Rolle, Andrew F. California: A History. 5th ed. Wheeling, IL: Harlan
Davidson, 1998.

Work in an Anthology:
Loewenstein, Joseph. “The Script in the Marketplace.” In
Representing the English Renaissance, edited by Stephen Greenblatt,
265-278. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1988.

Journal Article
Kelly, Michael. “The Nationalization of the French Intellectuals in
1945.” South Central Review 17, no. 4 (2000): 14-25.

33
Translation
Guerra, Tonino. Abandoned Places. Translated by Adria Bernardi.
Barcelona: Guernica, 1999.

Full Text Online Journal Article

Montgomery, David. “Presidential Address: Racism,
Immigrants, and Political Reform.” Journal of American History
87. no. 4 (2001): 1253-74, accessed month/dd/yyyy, http://

34
 ~ II. INTELLECTUAL HONESTY ~
Plagiarism is serious. It can range from using someone’s ideas without
giving proper authorial credit to trying to pass off someone else’s
work as your own. Don’t underestimate your professor. All are well-
versed in current scholarship and are aware of the existence of less
credible sources of information in the form of websites and “study
aids.” Plus, through the course of a semester, professors get to know
your writing style, your writing skills, and your writing potential, and
they can often sense when a paper—or part of a paper—isn’t your
own. Given this, it is more likely than not that, if you plagiarize, your
professor will know and will report you to the Honor Council. The
consequences could be as severe as expulsion from the college.

A. To Cite or Not to Cite?

In Honor Council hearings, students often defend their errors by
stating that they do not know when they must cite a source and
when they can simply include information without documentation.
Although this section explains explicitly when a citation is required
and when it is not, you should always ask your professor for
clarification if you have any uncertainties about acknowledging your
sources.

1. Uncited
The following types of information do not require a citation:

• Personal experience or interpretation

• Observation
• Common knowledge, found in multiple, common sources
(e.g., “The American Civil War lasted from 1861-1865”).
If you are ever unsure whether or not the knowledge is
“common,” consult your professor or provide a citation,
even if it is extraneous.

35
 TIP: Deciding whether or not certain information constitutes
“common knowledge” can be tricky. Here are some rules of thumb
for making this determination: If the information is not “common”
to your own college-educated knowledge, then you should probably
cite it. If the information is common knowledge, but you use the
exact language of the source, you must quote and cite it. If the
information is common enough that a reasonably educated person
like yourself should know it, then it is probably safe to leave it uncited.

2. Cited
More often than not, the outside information you use for a written
assignment will require a citation or will otherwise be considered
plagiarized. Different departments or disciplines (e.g., psychology,
English, biology, theater) may have particular guidelines regarding
citation, but the basic rule is the same: Generally speaking, if someone
else already said or wrote it, you must cite it, regardless of when or in what
context you read or heard about it and regardless of whether or not the source
is your roommate, a scholar, your professor, or an anonymous writer. In some
cases, you may even have to do additional research to find out exactly
how, when, and where the information originally appeared. Here is a
general list of what needs textual documentation:
• Quotations, including those from any published or unpublished
source (e.g., scholarly articles, class texts, websites).
• Paraphrased and interpreted text and ideas, including summaries
or sections of articles, entire books, professor’s lectures, previously
read material, reviews, abstracts. This list is not exhaustive and
you should consult with your professor if you have any question
about the use and documentation of a source.
• Data or information—including statistics, graphs, polls,
surveys—from reference materials.

For more information about formatting your citations, please

see the preceding chapter’s section on citing and consult your
professors about which citation format is used in their respective
disciplines. If you are ever in doubt about whether or not to cite

36
a source, consult your professor or err on the side of caution and
cite it.

B. When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Generally, you should only quote when you want to analyze or
emphasize the actual language of the quoted source. If the language
itself is not relevant, then you should paraphrase.

1. Quote
A text that exhibits the following characteristics would be a
candidate for quotation rather than paraphrase:
• Conspicuous structural features (i.e., repetition, parallelism)
• Esoteric or otherwise particular language, word choice
• Language that defies paraphrasing
• Tonal emphases (i.e., sarcasm, irony)

2. Paraphrase
On the other hand, if a text or source does not exhibit these
characteristics but you find the information important to include,
you should paraphrase. This is often where people find themselves
in trouble. Anytime you paraphrase, you must document your source.

Basically, you should paraphrase (rather than quote) when

• The information needs summarizing.
• Specific textual issues (language, tone, structure) are not
important or particularly revealing.
• The passage includes extraneous information.

There are very specific, widely accepted rules for paraphrasing. Be

sure to follow each step or risk creating prose that sounds and
looks too similar to the original text and therefore is susceptible to
the accusation of plagiarism.

1. Identify the key elements of the sentence or paragraph that

are important to your point.

37
 2. Change the vocabulary.
3. Change the structure of the sentence(s) by, for example,
moving clauses, forming new parallelisms, shifting from
passive to active voice.
4. Maintain the general chronology and priority of ideas in the
source text.
5. Cite your source according to your professor’s formatting
standards.

EXAMPLES
The original text
“Types of Plagiarism.” [Link]. dd/month/yyyy.

“Anyone who has written or graded a paper knows that

plagiarism is not always a black and white issue. The boundary
between plagiarism and research is often unclear. Learning
to recognize the various forms of plagiarism, especially the
more ambiguous ones, is an important step towards effective
prevention. Many people think of plagiarism as copying
another’s work, or borrowing someone else’s original ideas.
But terms like ‘copying’ and ‘borrowing’ can disguise the
seriousness of the offense” (“Types of Plagiarism”).

A strong paraphrase
According to contributors at [Link], both writing
students and professors alike understand the gray zone that
plagiarism inhabits. It is frequently confusing to detect when
research has, in fact, become plagiarism. If you become aware
of the wide range of plagiarizing possibilities, you have a better
chance of avoiding mistakes. Most consider borrowing or
copying another’s words or ideas to be plagiarism, and therefore
fail to recognize that plagiarism is much more serious (“Types
of Plagiarism”).

38
 An appropriate summary
Because types of plagiarism are so varied and are more serious
than just borrowing or copying, students should familiarize
themselves with all the rules of research and plagiarism in order
to avoid making mistakes (“Types of Plagiarism”).

Poor paraphrasing=plagiarism
Any student who has written a paper or any professor who has
graded one knows that plagiarism is not an either/or situation.
The line between plagiarism and research is frequently not
as clear as it might seem. Learning to see the different types
of plagiarism, particularly the ambiguous types, is a good
step towards effectively avoiding them. Many students think
of plagiarism as copying someone else’s text or borrowing
someone’s ideas, but words like these can confuse the severity
of the problem.

It is critical to remember that citing a source after poorly paraphrasing

does not exempt you from an Honor Code violation. You cannot
have language somewhere between paraphrasing and quoting: you
must either paraphrase properly or quote and in both cases cite your
source.

39
 C. The Honor Code
Below is an excerpt from the Rhodes College Honor Council
Constitution that articulates the Honor Code with regards to writing.

The term “cheating” is defined as the attempt or act of willfully

giving or receiving unauthorized aid from any source on
academic course work.

“Cheating” includes plagiarism. Plagiarism is an act of academic

dishonesty. A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas,
words, or statements of another person without appropriate
acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the
originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness
whenever he or she does any of the following:

1. Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or

written.
2. Paraphrases another person’s actual words, either oral or
written.
3. Uses another person’s idea, opinion, or theory.
4. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material
unless the information is common knowledge.

For a full copy of the Honor Code, visit this file: [Link]
[Link]/honor-council-constitution
And for more information about the Honor Council, visit their
website: [Link]

40
 ~ III. GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION ~
For some, maintaining proper grammar is easy and even instinctive,
but many students never feel like they have a firm grasp of the basic
rules of grammar—and punctuation—or how to apply those rules
to their prose. Below are some basic rules and definitions.

A. Sentence Structure
A sentence is a series of conjoined words relating to the same subject,
object, and action (verb). Thus, in order to be complete, a sentence
must always contain a direct or implied object, subject, and verb. The
subject is the thing doing the action; the object is the thing to which
the action is being done; and the verb describes the action.

1. Clauses
Two kinds of clauses exist in sentences: the independent (main)
clause, which is grammatically complete and therefore can stand
alone as a complete sentence, and the dependent (subordinate)
clause, which is grammatically incomplete and needs to be connected
somehow to an independent clause to form a complete sentence.

EXAMPLE
While the students were away during the summer, the college renovated the
empty dorms.
The clause preceding the comma is dependent, and the clause
proceeding the comma is independent.

2. Sentence Fragments
Fragments are often dependent clauses that haven’t been connected
to an independent clause or they are incomplete because they lack a
subject or verb or both.

41
EXAMPLES
While the students were away during the summer, the college renovated the
empty dorms. Because it is difficult to get painting and repairs done when the
students are living on campus.
The first sentence is complete with both a dependent and independent
clause. The second “sentence” is actually just another dependent
clause and therefore must be considered incomplete or a fragment.
To correct the fragment, connect it to the first sentence.
Because it is difficult to get painting and repairs done when the students are
living on campus, the college renovated the empty dorms while the students
were away during the summer.

3. Run-On Sentences
Run-on sentences contain two independent clauses that have not
been joined correctly. In other words, there is no conjunction or
punctuation between the clauses. Run-ons can be rectified by
inserting the missing links or punctuation.

EXAMPLES
Rhodes has needed a thriving social hangout since Briggs closed its pub over
a decade ago and now that the renovation of the Lynx Lair is complete,
students finally will have that much needed venue.
This run-on sentence has two independent clauses separated by the
word “and” with no punctuation. In order to correct the problem,
either add a comma before the “and” or replace the “and” with a
semi-colon.
Rhodes has needed a thriving social hangout since Briggs closed its pub over
a decade ago, and now that the renovation of the Lynx Lair is complete,
students finally will have that much needed venue.
OR
Rhodes has needed a thriving social hangout since Briggs closed its pub over
a decade ago; now that the renovation of the Lynx Lair is complete, students
finally will have that much needed venue.

4. Parallelism
If a sentence conveys parallel ideas, then it should also employ parallel

42
form. In other words, the language and structure of the sentence’s
parts should mimic the content.

EXAMPLES
Without parallel structure:
Barret Library has provided students with a plethora of resources, and the
students also have a beautiful environment for study.
Here, the ideas are parallel—the library has given students two
things—but the structure of the sentence places students as the
indirect object in the first clause and as the subject in the second
clause.

With parallel structure:

Barret Library has provided students not only with a plethora of resources
but also with a beautiful environment for study.
In the parallel example, the preposition “with” repeats, and the word
pairs “not only” and “but also” link the two prepositional phrases.

EXAMPLES
Without parallel structure:
The apostrophe has three main uses: to form possessives of nouns, in a
contraction, and to indicate plurals of lowercase letters.
This sentence lacks parallelism because the first and third items in
the list include infinitives and plurals while the second item does not
include an infinitive and is singular.

With parallel structure:

The apostrophe has three main uses: to form possessives of nouns, to create
contractions, and to indicate plurals of lowercase letters.
Now all of the items in the list include infinitives and plurals, forming
parallelism.

5. Dangling or Misplaced Modifiers

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies either the wrong
word or no word in the sentence. In other words, what the modifier
modifies is not clear. This can usually be solved by rearranging the

43
sentence. A misplaced modifier appears at the wrong place in the
sentence and thus appears to modify the wrong word.

EXAMPLES
Dangling modifier:
While running across the fields, mud covered my boots.
The problem with this construction is that “mud” appears to be
running. To rectify this and clarify the subject (the thing being
modified), name the subject in the independent clause:
While running across the fields, I got mud on my boots.

Misplaced modifier:
I got mud on my boots while running across the field.
The problem with this construction is that “boots” appear to be
doing the running when “I” should clearly be doing the running.
The solution is to move the modifier next to “I.” Both the dangling
and misplaced modifiers are corrected in the following example:
While running across the field, I got mud on my boots.

B. Verbs
A verb is the part of the sentence that describes the action, the
occurrence, or state of an object. For the purposes of writing
academic papers, the key terms to remember are “agreement” and
“consistency.”

1. Subject-Verb Agreement
If a subject of the sentence contains two or more nouns or pronouns,
it is important that the verb agree with the plural subject. While a
sentence containing a single subject might correctly read “John is going
to the store,” a sentence containing a plural subject (or two subjects)
should read “Anna and John are going to the store.” Here, the “to be”
verb has been altered from the singular “is” to the plural “are.”

44
2. Verb Tense
One of the biggest mistakes that students make, often unintentionally,
is to change tense throughout the course of their papers. This can be
confusing for the reader. As a general rule, most non-narrative writing
is written in the simple past (I wrote) or simple present (I write).

Use present tense to relate the events of a piece of fiction (play, short
story, novel) because the events, in effect, continue to happen every
time someone reads the text.

EXAMPLE
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the lovers inhabit a typical Green
World.

Use past tense to refer to an author or an author’s ideas as historical

entities.

EXAMPLE
Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1595 or 1596.

Use present tense to state facts and to refer to continuing actions.

This differs from the present perfect tense (I have written), which
describes action occurring before the time of the narration. It can
also be used to narrate action that began in real life in the past but
is not completed, may continue, or may be repeated in the present
or future.

EXAMPLE
Psychologists continue to assess the impact of the digital age on childhood
behavior.

3. Passive and Active Voice

Passive constructions are those in which something other than
the subject is doing the action. Because of this inherent confusion,
passive voice is weak and should only be used for a specific and clear
stylistic or rhetorical purpose.

45
You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase
will always include a form of the “to be” verb, such as am, is, was, were,
are, or been. Remember that these are not mutually exclusive: while
the “to be” verb is required for passive voice, just because a sentence
has a “to be” construction does not mean that it is passive.

EXAMPLES
Passive voice:
The ball was kicked.
Active voice:
The children kicked the ball.
In the active voice sentence, there is no question about who is kicking
the ball.

Active voice sentence constructions are clearer, more concise, and

more direct because the subject is, in fact, doing the action of the
verb and nothing is implied or left unsaid.

C. Language
Elements of language—rules and choices about words—can
drastically alter the meaning of the sentence. If you use “that”
instead of “which,” for example, you are implying that the phrase
that follows is a required part of the definition of the words or
concepts in the sentence, and this interpretation may change your
entire point. Below are descriptions of the most common language
choices you must make in writing.

1. That versus Which

Knowing when to use “that” and “which” puzzles many writers. The
basic difference in the use of “that” and “which” is the nature of the
clause that follows. Nonessential clauses can be connected to the
sentence using “which,” while essential clauses—in other words,
those that significantly change the meaning of the sentence—can
be connected to the sentence using “that.” Essential clauses do not
need commas. You can also think of these clauses as nonrestrictive

46
and restrictive. Nonrestrictive clauses tell you something about
the subject of a sentence, but they do not restrict the meaning.
Restrictive clauses, on the other hand, limit the possible meaning
of the subject.

A helpful way to determine whether or not your clause is essential

(restrictive) is to read your sentence aloud both with and without the
clause. If the two sentences convey specifically different meanings,
your clause is essential and you must use “that.”

EXAMPLES
Nonessential or nonrestrictive clause:
The poetry reading, which was held at Otherlands, was successful.
The poetry reading was successful (the location was not a factor
in this).

Essential or restrictive clause:

The poetry reading that was held at Otherlands was successful.
The poetry reading at Otherlands (but not necessarily elsewhere)
was successful, or that out of all the locations where readings took
place, Otherlands had the only successful poetry reading.

Nonessential or nonrestrictive clause:

The minor medical center, which is in the Baptist healthcare network, is on
Poplar Avenue.
This sentence establishes that the medical center is on Poplar
Avenue; the fact that it is in the Baptist healthcare network is
extraneous information.

Essential or restrictive clause:

The minor medical center that is open on Sunday is on Poplar Avenue.
This sentence conveys that the particular medical center location
on Poplar is open on Sundays. The fact of its Sunday hours is critical
to the meaning and so the clause must be essential or restricted by
using “that.”

47
There are of course exceptions, and this rule applies only when
referring to inanimate objects or nameless animals. When referring
to a human being or named animal, you should use “who” or
“whom.” Whom is an objective form of “who.”

EXAMPLES
The professor who won the Clarence Day Teaching Award is Patrick Shade.
The professor to whom we owe the loudest round of applause is Patrick Shade.

2. Prepositions
A preposition links nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words
in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces
is called the object of the preposition. Some common prepositions
include the following:

about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind,
below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by, despite, down, during,
except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, on, out, over, to, with

Formal writing should not have sentences that end in prepositions.

Prepositions should be moved to the beginning of the clause.

EXAMPLES
Faulty construction:
Grammar is something I need help with.
Correct construction:
Grammar is something with which I need help.

3. Apostrophes and Contractions

The apostrophe has three main uses: to form possessives of nouns,
to create contractions, and to indicate plurals of lowercase letters.

To form possessives of nouns add ’s to the singular form of the

word, add ’s to the plural forms that do not end in –s, add an ’ to the
end of plural nouns that end in –s, and add ’s to the last noun in a
list to show joint possession of an object.

48
Apostrophes are used in contractions. A contraction is a word in
which one or more letters have been omitted. The apostrophe shows
this omission. To use an apostrophe to create a contraction, place an
apostrophe where the omitted letter(s) would go.

Be careful. Many words and contractions that are phonetically

identical have different meanings. For example “they’re” means “they
are,” which differs from “their” (possessive) and there (place). Also,
“you’re” means “you are,” which differs from “your” (possessive).

4. Pronouns
Pronouns replace and refer to other nouns. Many students use
ambiguous pronoun references. To avoid this mistake, all pronouns
in your paper should accurately and clearly refer to their appropriate
nouns. For example, never use the pronoun “their” when referring
to something that belongs to “someone,” and never use “he” if there
are two male possibilities in the sentence.

EXAMPLE
Inconsistent, faulty reference:
A student at Rhodes must register for their classes online.
“Student” is singular; whereas “their” is plural. The consistent,
correct reference is below:
Students at Rhodes must register for their classes online.
A student at Rhodes must register for his or her classes online.

Double, unclear reference:

Brian and Michael, having saved up enough money for a spring break trip,
decided to drive down to Florida and stay in his father’s condo at the beach.
“His” could refer to Brian or Michael. To correct, replace “his”
with the correct name in possessive form.

The teachers claim that grammar rules are clear, but they are confusing.
“They” could refer to teachers or rules. Which are confusing: the
teachers or the rules?

49
 D. Punctuation
1. Colons
A colon is like an equal sign: it means that what comes after the
colon explains or results from what comes before the colon. In the
same way, the colon also announces what follows: a list, a quotation,
or a qualification.

EXAMPLES
The meeting included the following administrators: the Provost, her assistant,
and the Associate Dean.

The new $40 million library could not have been built without the generosity
of a devoted alumnus: the money was a gift from Paul Barret, Jr.

2. Semicolons
A semicolon connects two independent clauses that have similar
ideas or content and are not otherwise joined by a comma with a
coordinating conjunction. Be especially careful with semicolons, as
misusing them can result in fragments.

EXAMPLE
Rhodes is a top liberal arts college; it consistently ranks in the first quartile
of colleges nationwide.

3. Commas
A comma is used to separate terms in a list, to separate a long
introductory phrase or dependent clause from the main clause, to
separate a non-restrictive clause or incidental phrase, and to separate
independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but,
yet, or, nor, for).

EXAMPLES
List:
The meeting included the Provost, her assistant, and the Associate Dean.
Rhodes College’s lush, Gothic campus is appealing to prospective students.

50
Introductory phrase:
With the Lynx Lair renovation complete, students will enjoy a pub
atmosphere.
Nonrestrictive clause:
The library, you will be amazed to hear, cost $40 million to build.
Independent clauses:
Rhodes is a top liberal arts college, and it consistently ranks in the first
quartile of colleges nationwide.

51
 ~ IV. WRITING ETIQUETTE ~
Writing is a form of expression and communication and, as such,
should follow certain community standards. Below are the rules of
etiquette both for academic work and emails.

A. Papers
1. Final Draft
Papers should be handed in on time; contain correct and accurate
citations; and include page numbers, a title, your name, a word count,
and a pledge to the honor code. In addition, your paper should be
typed using 12-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.
The paper should be proofread for grammar and contain complete
sentences and paragraphs, and it should be scrutinized for accurate
citation and paraphrasing.

2. Late Papers
If for some reason you are unable to hand in your paper on time, you
should speak with your professor at least two days in advance of the
deadline (never wait until the day/night before). Some professors are
willing to give you an extension, depending on the circumstances,
but some are not. If you are not granted an extension or simply turn
in your paper late, accept any late penalty outlined in the course
syllabus. Consider it your payment for taking more days than your
classmates to complete the assignment.

3. Paper Grades
Sometimes a grade you receive on a paper isn’t the grade you expected.
Most professors are willing to discuss their comments and further
explain the grade provided that you take some time to prepare your
concerns and questions. Before meeting with your professor, take a
day to read and consider his or her feedback, re-read your paper with
that feedback in mind, and write down your concerns. Be sure that you
can articulate exactly what you disagree with before you speak with

52
your professor. Never just walk in and say you don’t like the grade.

4. Backup Copies
It is imperative that you keep both an extra hard copy and backup
electronic file of every piece of writing you do for your courses.
Professors hear all kinds of stories about lost papers and computer
crashes, and none of these is any excuse for not turning in your work
when it is due. The bottom line is this: it is your responsibility to print
and submit your complete, final paper on time. If you save your work
to the Student Community server, it will be automatically saved
every week, making it much easier for you to retrieve an extra copy
should you need one.

B. Emails

1. Appropriateness
Emailing is decidedly the most efficient and accessible mode of
communication. Although professors sometimes prefer you to
contact them via email with questions or information about the class
or your own work, email is not usually the most appropriate forum to
discuss lengthy concerns. If you miss class, for example, do not email
the professor to ask what you’ve missed; instead, contact a classmate
to get that information. Likewise, if you disagree with feedback or a
grade on a paper or exam, make an appointment or stop by during
the professor’s office hours. Emailing in these circumstances appears
lazy or suspect.

In cases where email is appropriate (i.e., if something is unclear on the

syllabus or if you are traveling for the debate team and must miss class),
be sure to compose your prose with the same care you would a writing
assignment in the course: use correct spelling and punctuation, a
formal and respectful tone, and concise language. Emails are excellent
written records of your communication, and you should not delete
them until the issue communicated in them is resolved.

53
2. Pitfalls
Remember that emails can be delayed, misunderstood, or even lost.
Therefore, it is always wise to follow up with a call or visit in person.
Also, remember that your professors typically receive more than 50
emails each day and so yours may go unnoticed; use the subject line
to call attention to your content and keep the body of your email
short and simple. Do not expect an immediate reply. Give your
recipient a day or two to respond. If you haven’t heard from him/
her by then, consider calling or stopping by during your professor’s
office hours.

54
 ~ V. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ~

A. Citation
1. American Psychological Association
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
6th Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association, 2009.

APA Online. [Link]

Ohio State University APA Citation Guide.

[Link]

2. Council of Science Editors

Huth, Edward. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for
Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 6th Edition. Cambridge: UP, 1994.

Ohio State University CSE Citation Guide.

[Link]

3. Chicago/Turabian
The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th Edition. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2010.

Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and

Dissertations. 8th Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2013.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online.

[Link]

55
American Anthropological Association
[Link]/publications/style_guide.pdf

4. MLA
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
7th Edition. NY: MLA, 2009.

Modern Language Association. [Link]

The OWL at Purdue: MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

[Link]

B. Grammar and Punctuation

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to
Punctuation. NY: Gotham, 2009.

Straus, Jane. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. 9th Edition.
NY: Straus, 2007.

C. Online Writing Labs & Resources

Dartmouth College Online Writing Materials.
[Link]

Enhance My Writing. [Link]

The OWL at Purdue: Online Writing Lab.

[Link]

D. Plagiarism
Fox, Tom, Julia Johns and Sarah Keller. Cite It Right: The SourceAid
Guide to Citation, Research, and Avoiding Plagiarism.
Osterville, MA: SourceAid, 2007.

56
The Learning Center.
[Link]/article/preventing-plagiarism-when-writing

The OWL at Purdue: Is It Plagiarism Yet?

[Link]

E. Writing Process
Bernstein, Theodore. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English
Usage. NY: The Free Press, 1995.

Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing.
Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1985.

Elbow, Peter. Writing without Teachers. 2nd Edition. Oxford: UP, 1998.

Hacker, Diane and Barbara Fister. A Writer’s Reference and MLA

Quick Reference Card. 7th Edition. NY: Bedford St Martins, 2010.

Lanham, Richard. Revising Prose. 5th Edition. NY: Longman, 2006.

Ross-Larson, Bruce. Edit Yourself: A Manual for Everyone Who Works

With Words. NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.

Strunk, William Jr, E.B. White, and Roger Angell. The Elements of
Style. 4th Edition. MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
[Link]/141/

Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. 30th Anniversary Edition. Harper

Collins Press, 2006.

57
 Appendix. Shorthand Symbols

Professors literally spend hours grading your papers and in the

interest of time often use shorthand to convey their thoughts of
your prose. Below is a list of common symbols and their meaning.
delete
weak or incorrect
good idea, well-said
reverse order, invert
insert letter, word or punctuation
new paragraph needed
parallel structure problem
confusing, unclear
letter needs capitalization
word choice
wrong word
spelling problem
grammar problem
punctuation problem
subject-verb agreement problem
antecedent (pronoun reference) problem
sentence fragment
italicize
underline
passive voice (change to active)
footnote needed
citation needed
quote or use quotation marks
too colloquial/casual
awkward wording or usage

58
59
 A publication of the
R hodes College WRiting CenteR

Barret Library 122

[Link]/writingcenter
901.843.3393

60