the english essay

7/28/2019 The English Essay

1/26

1

THE ENGLISH ESSAY

This handout is to let you know what Im looking forand not looking forin an essay. I find

that most of the books available on essay-writing take so long to wade through that you have

little time left to write your essay. Ive tried to keep this handout short and to the point. Iwouldnt say it contains absolutely everything you need to know, but I can say for a fact it

doesnt contain anything you dontneed to know.

I advise that you read through the whole handout before you begin writing your essay, use the

parts on format as a guide while you write, and read through the whole handout againand

then your essayas you begin to revise.

If you are using secondary sources in your essay, please note that this sheet is only a

supplement to theMLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, which I strongly advise you

to purchase and to consult while writing your essays. The additional tips provided here on using

secondary sources are NOT meant to replace theMLA Handbook, which provides complete

instructions.

For any questions you might have about this handout or about essay writing in general, please

feel free to drop by during my office hours or make an appointment (if its a quick question, I

dont mind drop-in visits outside office hours either). One-on-one help with your writing is also

offered by the instructors at the Academic Writing Help Centre (110 University St., phone 562-

5800 ext. 3820; more information can be found at http://www.sass.uottawa.ca/en/awhc/).


2/26

2

Table of Contents

The four basic requirements of an essay..............................................................................................3

How to structure an essay....................................................................................................................7

How to structure a paragraph...............................................................................................................8

How to integrate quotes from the text into your essay........................................................................10

How to quote dramatic verse..............................................................................................................13

How to quote dramatic prose..............................................................................................................15

How to quote dramatic dialogue.........................................................................................................17

How to cite secondary sources............................................................................................................18

What else do I need to know to get a good grade? Part One...........................................................20

What else do I need to know to get a good grade? Part Two...........................................................23


3/26

3

SO, WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Another way of phrasing this question is what exactly is an essay supposed to do?. Since everyone comes tomy class with different kinds of preparation (what you learned in high school, what other professors have told

you, the advice from your friend who got an A in Shakespeare last year), its only fair to let you know whatIexpect an essay should do. Moreover, I doubt that many of your other professors will disgree with me on most

of these points, so you may consider this handout transferable knowledge.

An essay has four basic requirements:

1. An essay must make an argument. This argument must be stated in the first paragraph and thenproven in the rest of the essay.

The statement of the argument is called a thesis statement, or just a thesis. It makes a claim that the rest of

the essay will prove. Here is an example of a workable thesis: Othellos susceptibility to Iagos plot is not dueto stupidity or short-sightedness, but to his anxietyvisible from the start of the playover how marriage

compromises his honour. Note how this thesis clearly and specifically states what the essay will argue.

Your aim in writing this statement is to help the reader follow the subsequent argument, not to place the readerin a state of suspense. Avoid mysterious thesis statements like Othellos susceptibility to Iagos plot is not due

to stupidity or short-sightedness, but to something else altogether. The reader should end the first paragraphwondering how is the essay going to prove this claim? not what is this essay going to prove?.

The thesis statement typically comes at the end of the first paragraph. What else do you say in the first

paragraph? Learning how to build up to your thesis statement is an art that takes practice to master, but heressome advice. The first paragraph should avoid generalities and irrelevant statements. To build up to our sample

thesis statement, you might talk about how Othellos readiness to believe Iagoa man he knows has reason tobear a grudge against himis puzzling, because it would seem to be at odds with his love for and faith in

Desdemona, and even at odds with common sense. You should notbegin with sweeping statements like

Othello is one of Shakespeares great tragedies or (worse) Shakespeare is the greatest English playwright ofall time.... or (even worse) Love and jealousy are complex emotions that we still experience today....

2. The essays argument must give its reader insight into some aspect of the play that is not immediatelyobvious.

Probably the most common problem I encounter in essays is what I call arguing the obvious. These essays

have a thesis and an argument, but the thesis states a fact or a set of facts obvious to anyone who has read theplay. An example of an overly obvious thesis would be Othello loves Desdemona and has faith in her, but is

led by Iagos evil machinations to distrust her. Notice how this statementwhile perfectly truecan be

proven by merely retelling the story of what happens in Othello. Anyone who has read the play knows thisstatement to be true. You have essentially left yourself with nothing to prove and very little to say in an essay. Ifyou find that your thesis can be proven by recounting the facts of the play, you need to choose a thesis that is

less obvious.

How do you find a thesis that isnt obvious? What are you supposed to be giving the reader insight into? Oneway to find a thesis is to think about an aspect of the play that puzzles or surprises you, or a pattern that keeps

recurring for no apparent reason. For example, you might ask yourself why Bianca appears onstage in Othello;after all, all we really need for the purposes of the plot is to know that Cassio is seeing a courtesan about whom

Iago teases him to make Othello think he is talking about Desdemona. Why does the audience get to meet


4/26

4

Bianca in person? Or you might notice that Iago frequently makes reference to animals: horses, monkey, goats,baboons, and so forth. Why does he do this? If you were to come up with a thesis on Iagos animal references,

the thesis Iago uses a great deal of animal imagery would be too obvious: all youd need to do to prove itwould be to write a series of paragraphs pointing out that here he refers to horses, here to monkeys, and so on,

telling the reader nothing that he or she cannot get from simply reading the play. If you look closely at eachanimal reference, however, you might decide that Iago compares people to animals whenever he wants to

suggest that love is no more than animal attraction, and that he wants to convince Othello that love is merely

animal attraction because it helps his insinuation that animals mate with their own kind (and thereforeDesdemona will eventually tire of her Black husband). Note how this is an argument that would require a fairamount ofproof: first, proof that Iagos comparisons do tend to reduce love to animal attraction, and second,

that he then uses these comparisons and the idea behind them to convince Othello of Desdemonas inevitableinfidelity.

Heres another way to think about the kind of things your thesis and argument might illuminate: pay attention to

what Im doing in with the plays in class. When I teach a play, Im not merely explaining whats happening inthe plot or what certain obscure lines mean. I am primarily trying to show you how one might read between the

lines and grasp the subtext of a play: for instance, the thesis about Othello being anxious from the beginningabout how marriage compromises his honour is something I teach in class. Its not obvious on first reading, and

its something that I think helps make the play something more than a melodrama about an irrationally jealousman who murders his wife: it gives Othello more psychological depth, and also shows us something important

about Shakespeares culture, since modern Western society is unlikely to view marriage in this way. Mostimportantly, it helps to answer a puzzling question: Othello seems to be an intelligent, logical man who marries

a woman he loves and trusts; why, then, is he so quick to believe in her infidelity on such flimsy evidence?Once you grasp the nature of what Im trying to do with the plays, you can try to use the same principles on

some aspect of the play I havent had time to discuss in class.

Please do not, however, base your essay on your class notes, essentially rehashing my argument about someaspect of the play. You are welcome to use ideas from class to support your own original work, but try not to

make class material the backbone of your thesis. I know what my argument is. I happen to think its a good

argument. But for you to hand me back my argument is to avoid the trouble of doing your own thinking. Theplace for showing that youve been listening to what Ive said about the plays is on the exam. The final essayshould be based on your own ideas.

3. The argument must be proven using evidence from the play.Evidence consists of quotations and analysis. When you make a claim about the play that is not a claim of

fact, you must support it with a quotation and your own analysis of the quotation to explain how the quotationproves what you claim it proves. Othello is a Moor is a claim of fact; it needs no proof. Othello uses his

military prowess to compensate for his uncertain status as a Moor in Venetian society is not a claim of fact; itis your interpretation of Othellos behaviour, and it requires a quotationor several quotationsto back it up,

PLUS your analysis or close readings of the quotations, showing exactly how the text of the play proves yourclaim about Othellos behaviour.

When you make a claim about something in a play, you need to also be aware of possible counter-arguments. It

is not enough to find evidence to support your claim; you also need to take into account evidence that mightundermine it and ensure that it does not damage your overall argument. For instance, if you were to argue that

Posthumous in Cymbeline is quarrelsome, cruel, shortsighted, a dreadful misogynist, and in general completelyunworthy of Innogen, you would have plenty of evidence to support your argument. However, you would also

have to deal with act one, scene one, in which the two gentlemen tell us how wonderful, wise, and generallybeloved Posthumous is. How do you reconcile the two? This is where you have to think your argument through

really clearly, and make sure its not trying to distort the facts of the play. Your choices here would seem to be


5/26

5

the following: that the gentlemen (and everyone else in the kingdom) are deluded and Posthumous hasdeceived everyone about his true nature; that the gentlemen are not telling the truth; that Posthumous changes

during the course of the play; that it is possible to be wonderful, wise, and generally beloved andto bequarrelsome, cruel, shortsighted, and a dreadful misogynist. Notice that any explanation you decide upon has

significant implications for your reading of the play as a whole.

Is there such a thing as a wrong argument? Yes. Writing about literature is not all subjective, as some

people claim. There are three main ways you can be factually wrong:

One: failing to understand what you are reading. If you dont read a passage closely enough or pay attention to

the glosses, you risk misunderstanding the literal meaning of what a character is saying. If you think"Wherefore art thou Romeo? means Romeo, where are you?, then your reading of the text is wrong, because

wherefore means why, not where. If you base an argument on a misunderstanding of the literal meaningof a speech, then the argument cannot be correct. If in doubt about the meaning of a word, consult the OED.

Two: making a claim that is flatly contradicted by evidence elsewhere in the play. It might be aesthetically

satisfying to argue that Rosalind exists only as a figment of Romeos imagination (we never actually meet herand hes certainly idealized her out of all proportion), but such a claim comes up against the fact that Capulet

invites her to his party. Ergo, Rosalind exists and any argument to the contrary cannot be correct.

Three: indulging in unfounded speculation. For instance, while pondering why Juliet might want to run off andget married at 13 to a boy she barely knows, you might wonder if shes had an intolerable home life, perhaps

physically abused by her parents. There is nothing in the play that says she isntphysically abused by herparents, and Capulet does threaten her with some kind of beating when she defies his plan for her to marry

Paris. But nor is there anything in the play that provides evidence that she has been abused. Stick to argumentsthat can be supported by evidence; do not speculate, in the absence of evidence, about what might have

happened. Remember that plays are not real lifeeverything that happened, everything that everyone everthought or said is right there in the play.

4. The argument must pass the so what? test.

By the end of the essay, the reader must know why the argument you have made in the essay is important to our

understanding of the play. Imagine your reader asking so what?as my Ph.D. thesis supervisor actually usedto do, much to my annoyance. But dont despair: the answer to this question does not have to be the answer to

life, the universe, and everything. I dont expect you to uncover great truths about the human condition (Idrather you didnt), or the key to writing enduring tragedy. But your essay should make clear how knowing what

we now knowthat is, what youre proving in your argumentaffects the way we view some larger issue in theplay. Take my hypothetical thesis about Othello: Othellos susceptibility to Iagos plot is not due to stupidity

or short-sightedness, but to his anxietyvisible from the start of the playover how marriage compromises hishonour. So what? A simple but accurate answer would be that once we understand this fact, we have more

sympathy for the protagonist: Othellos story is not the unremarkable downfall of a credulous fool. A morecomplex and insightful answer would also add that Othello shows how the domestic gender hierarchy of early

modern England had the potential to cause suffering for both sexes: Othello is victimized not only by Iago, butby a culture which placed married men in the difficult position of having their honour tied up in their wives

sexuality. This particular patriarchal dictate ultimately served men little better than it served women.

The answer to the so what question should not be reserved for the conclusion: the best essays make it anintegral part of the argument itself.


6/26

6

Beyond the four basic requirements, an excellent essay shows

- complexity of argument: a complex, insightful thesis and argument are harder to formulate than a basic,superficial thesis and argument, and will be rewarded accordingly. That said, your priority should be that

your argument is persuasive, logical, and properly supported with evidence from the play. An essay whichpresents a relatively simple argument that has been well thought out, intelligently structured, and well

written, will do better than a relatively complex argument that suffers from poor logic, confused writing,

and inadequate evidence.

- originality: your own ideas form the core of the argument; ideas learned from my lectures and/or fromsecondary sources are to be used judiciously to complement your own work. Ideas from secondary sourcesmust always be acknowledged. Lecture material need not be cited as suchIll know where its from. Note,

though, that other professors have other policies about the citing of lecture material, so always check withthe professor first.

- clarity in both writing and logic: the most complicated arguments often require the simplest, mosttransparent style and structure. Clear, correct writing free from confusing errors of grammar and syntax isextremely important, but so is the clear explanation of your ideas. Make sure that the logic of your argument

is easily followedwhat is obvious to you (its your argument) may not be so obvious to me. Im not amind reader. Some very smart students fall victim to a very elliptical, allusive style of essay writing and a

dislike of stating what they consider to be obvious, leaving me to write in my final comments, you seem toknow exactly what youre talking about here, but I, unfortunately, do not.

- attention to the mechanics of structure, grammar, punctuation, and format as covered in the rest ofthis handout.


7/26

7

HOW TO STRUCTURE AN ESSAY

Many people have been taught that essay structure consists of an introduction with a thesis, three paragraphs(each making a point that proves the thesis), and a conclusion. This five-paragraph model is not wrong, but it is

almost always inadequate for a university-level essay on literature. A good essay will probably have more thanthree points to make. More importantly, a good essay will probably have a complex thesis that can only be

proven by an argument with a somewhat more complex structure.

Lets take my Othello thesis as an example: Othellos susceptibility to Iagos plot is not due to stupidity orshort-sightedness, but to his anxietyvisible from the start of the playover how marriage compromises his

honour. Note that this thesis requires at least a two-part argument, in which the second part follows logicallyfrom the first. First you need to prove that Othello is anxious about marriage itself at the start of the play, before

Iago has begun to work on him. Then you need to prove that this anxiety is what makes him susceptible toIagos plot. Since you will want to use several different episodes from the play to prove each of these points

(lets say two to prove the first, and three to prove the second), were already looking at seven paragraphs ormore. For example:

1. Introduction, consisting of a brief discussion of why Othello mightseem stupid or short-sighted to believeIago, and then a statement of thesis.

2. Analysis of passage 1 that proves Othello to be anxious about marriage at the start.3. Analysis of passage 2 that proves Othello to be anxious about marriage at the start.4. Analysis of passage 1 that proves this anxiety makes Othello susceptible to Iago.5. Analysis of passage 2 that proves this anxiety makes Othello susceptible to Iago.6. Analysis of passage 3 that proves this anxiety makes Othello susceptible to Iago.7. Conclusion.Of course, you canand probably shouldadd more depth and complexity to this essay. After the introductionyou could add a paragraph discussing some of the other factors which contribute to Othellos susceptibility: his

anxiety over race, perhaps, and Iagos cleverness, acknowledging that while the marriage anxiety is (if such is

your argument) the main factor, there are other factors involved too. You could add a paragraph in which yourefer to the work of social historians and/or other early modern texts (including other plays we have studied inclass) to discuss exactly how and why marriage in Shakespeares time made men anxious. You will want to

decide whether (and if so, why) Othello suffers from this anxiety more than most men, and the extent to whichIago deliberately plays on itthe latter might be integrated into paragraphs 4 through 6, but the former

probably could make another paragraph. And so forth.

So when you sit down to plan your essay, dont think what are my three points?. Instead, think what is themost logical, thorough, and persuasive way to convince the reader that my argument is right?. Always let your

argument dictate your structure rather than the other way round.


8/26

8

HOW TO STRUCTURE A PARAGRAPH

Think of your essayyour argumentbeing made up of numerous smaller arguments, each of which

contributes logically to the whole. Each of those smaller arguments is a paragraph.

Lets take as an example an early paragraph in our essay about Othellos anxieties about marriage. In this

paragraph, you want to discuss the first time in the play where the audience gets a sense that Othello is uneasyabout being a husband. So, you would draw the readers attention to the language Othello uses in his very firstreference to being married: But that I love the gentle Desdemona / I would not my unhoused free condition

/Put into circumscription and confine / For the seas worth (1.2.24-28).

1. The paragraph must begin with a topic sentencelike a thesis statement for the paragraphlettingthe reader know what the main argument of that paragraph will be.

In this case, you might use the following topic sentence: Othellos uneasiness about the nature of marriage is

evident very early in the play; in fact, it creeps into the first speech in which he asserts his love forDesdemona.

2. The paragraph then goes on to focus only on the issue announced in the topic sentence, presenting andanalyzing evidence from the text.

In the body of this paragraph, you would analyze the opposition Othello sets up between his unhoused freecondition(before marriage), and the circumscription and confinement (in marriage) he sees himself as

having agreed to because of his love for Desdemona. What is the etymology of circumscription? What is thesignificance of his choice of expression for theseas worth? (Could he have just as well said for all the tea in

China or for anything?) Note how his description of marriage as confinement comes at the end of a speechin which he prides himself on the honour that he derives from his birth (I fetch my life and being / From men

of royal siege) and his military exploits (my services which I have done the signory . . .my demerits may

speak unbonneted). Both birth and military service have hitherto placed the bachelor Othellos honour firmlywithin his own controlonly his own deeds determine his honour. Since a married mans wifes fidelitydetermines his honour, is this loss of control part of the subtext of Othellos feeling that marriage is the

circumscription of his free condition? You might even look back to Iagos preceding speech, in which hewarns Othello that Brabantio will seek to divorce him or place him under some legal restraint or grievance.

Iago expects, reasonably enough, that Othello would considerseparation from Desdemona a restraint;interesting, isnt it, that Othello uses a word almost synonymous with restraintconfinementbut uses it

to describe marriage?

See how close reading can give you a paragraph out of the analysis of less than four lines of text?

3.

The paragraph ends with a concluding sentence or two that sums up its argument.

For instance: The newly-married Othello feels only love for Desdemona, but his language betrays that he isless comfortable with the fact of being a husband and sees marriage as a kind of loss of control.

4. The first line of the NEXT paragraph should link back to the preceding one by some kind oftransitional remark, referring briefly to what has already been said. Please do NOT place your

transitional remark at the endof the paragraph!

A paragraph transition is a signpost to make it easy for the reader to follow your argument. The logical place for

it is at the beginning of a paragraph: if your next paragraph is going to analyze the even greater unease Othello


9/26

9

shows as a husband in 1.3, then your topic sentence (with transition) for that paragraph might be WhileOthellos discomfort with marriage is merely hinted at during his exchange with Iago, it becomes strikingly

obvious in the next scene.

Note how placing the transition in the first sentence rather than the last (as some people have inexplicably beentaught) works with the readers thought processes. Beginning the new paragraph, the reader encounters familiar

information and thinks yes, this is what I already know . . . okay, so this is what Im now going to find out. If

you place the transition at the end of the paragraphThe newly-married Othello feels only love forDesdemona, but his language betrays that he is less comfortable with the fact of being a husband, and seesmarriage as a kind of loss of control, as is also demonstrated in act one, scene threethe reader experiences a

disruption: what? did I miss something? I dont remember reading anything about act one, scene three . . .oh, Isee, its in the next paragraph.

One of the most common errors in paragraph structure is the paragraph that begins to make one argument,

wanders off topic, leaving that argument dangling, and concludes by asserting something completely differentfrom what it started with. Please keep an eye out for this kind of thing when you revise: I need to be able to

follow the logic from the beginning of the paragraph to the end!

Paragraph mechanicsThe first line of each paragraph is indented one tab. At the end of the paragraph, press enter ONCE, and begin a

new paragraph, with the first line indented one tab. This may seem obvious, but Ive seen too many semi-demi-paragraphs where the writer wasnt quite sure that he wanted to begin a new idea, and so started a new line but

didnt indent, or, on the other hand, pressed enter three times and indented two tabs to signal that this was areally new idea. A paragraph is a paragraph. There are no variations on the theme.

Please note that when you continue your paragraph on the same topic after an indented quote, you

should NOT indent the first line. An indented quote does not automatically mean the end of a paragraph.


10/26

10

HOW TO INTEGRATE QUOTES FROM THE TEXT INTO YOUR ESSAY

All quotations must be grammatically integrated into your writing. What this means is that your own wordsand the quotation must combine to create a complete and grammatically correct sentence.

1. A quotation that is a complete sentence in itself can be joined to another complete sentence in your

essay by means of a colon. Do not leave it as a separate sentence or join the two with a comma, a

semicolon, or any other form of punctuation.

Correct: Before he describes marriage as confinement, Othello reveals how secure he is in his military honour,

confidently asserting that his value to the state will lead the Duke to side with him against Brabantio: Myservices which I have done the signory / Shall out-tongue his complaints (1.2.18-19).

Incorrect: Before he describes marriage as confinement, Othello reveals how secure he is in his military

honour, confidently asserting that his value to the state will lead the Duke to side with him against Brabantio.My services which I have done the signory / Shall out-tongue his complaints (1.2.18-19).

Incorrect: Before he describes marriage as confinement, Othello reveals how secure he is in his military

honour, confidently asserting that his value to the state will lead the Duke to side with him against Brabantio,My services which I have done the signory / Shall out-tongue his complaints (1.2.18-19).

2. A quotation that is not a complete sentence in itself must be grammatically integrated into a sentence

in your essay. Do not use a colon (:) if the sentence leading up to the quote is not a complete sentence.

Correct: Othellos ambivalence about marriage is evident when he says, But that I love the gentle Desdemona/ I would not my unhoused free condition /Put into circumscription and confine / For the seas worth (1.2.24-

28).

Incorrect: Othellos ambivalence about marriage is evident when he says: But that I love the gentle

Desdemona / I would not my unhoused free condition /Put into circumscription and confine / For the seasworth (1.2.24-28). (Note that Othellos ambivalence about marriage is evident when he says is not acomplete sentence, and therefore cannot be joined to the quotation by a colon.)

Correct: Othellos description of marriage as the circumscription of his unhoused free condition (1.2.26-

27) suggests that he sees it as a kind of restraint.

Incorrect: Othellos description of marriage suggests that he sees it as a kind of restraint: my unhoused freecondition put into circumscription (1.2.26-27). (note that my unhoused free condition put into

circumscription is not a complete sentence, and therefore cannot be joined to your sentence by a colon.)

Incorrect: Othellos description of marriage suggests that he sees it as a kind of restraint, circumscription andconfine (1.2.27).

3. If you want to put a complete sentence quotation in the middle of your sentence, use dashesnot

commasto set it off:

Correct: Othello confidently dismisses Brabantios influenceLet him do his spite(1.2.17)because he iscertain that his military honour will win the Duke to his side.

Incorrect: Othello confidently dismisses Brabantios influence, Let him do his spite(1.2.17), because he is

certain that his military honour will win the Duke to his side.


11/26

11

4. Finally, be aware that truly horrible error canoccur when you dont pay attention to grammatical

consistency between your sentence and the quoted sentence. You can end up with incoherent nonsense:

The original line is I know what you are / and like a sister am most loath to call / Your faults as they arenamed.

Correct: Cordelia says to Goneril and Regan, I know what you are / and like a sister am most loath to call /Your faults as they are named (1.1.271-272).

Incorrect: Cordelia tells Goneril and Regan that she know what you are / and like a sister am most loath tocall (1.1.271-272).

Note that when the I is removed and Cordelias line is then combined with the non-quote part of this sentence

we get the ungrammatical she know. Also, while call is the end of the line, it is NOT the end of thesentence. Cordelia is not saying that she doesnt want to call her sisters. Shes saying that because shes their

sister, she doesnt want to come out and bluntly tell them what their faults are. Any student who makes thiskind of error shows that he or she does not comprehend the line being quoted and therefore probably has

not understood much of the play.


12/26

12

When to omit, add, or substitute words in quotations:

Omissions

In general, it is best not to omit words or lines from quotations, as it may distort the meaning. However, somewordslike she said part way through a line of speechcan be safely omitted. Once youve determined that

the omission does not distort the meaning, replace the omitted words with an ellipsis (three spaced periods):

Yes, daughter . . . thou shalt have as much meed for to keep him and help him in his need at home as thou werein church to make thy prayers (378). (The words said our Lord have been omitted.)

If you are omitting one or more complete lines of indented verse, insert one line of spaced periods in place ofthe omitted lines:

At mete wel ytaught was she with alle;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wel coude she carye a morsel and wel kepe

That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.In curteisie was set ful muchel her lest. (127-132)

Additions and substitutions

Occasionally you may need to add a letter or a word to a quotation to integrate it grammatically into yoursentence. For this purpose, use square brackets around the inserted letter or word. In the example below,

Cordelias original line is Time shall unfold what pleated cunning hides:

Incorrect: Cordelias parting words are prophetic, as the rest of the play unfold what pleated cunning hides(1.1.282). The play unfold is an obvious subject-verb agreement error.

Correct: Cordelias parting words are prophetic, as the rest of the play unfold[s] what pleated cunning hides(1.1.282).Here the [s] after unfold grammatically integrates the quotation into the sentence.

Sometimes you may have to substitute one pronoun for another to integrate the line grammatically, and/orreplace a pronoun with a name to clarify the meaning. In the example below, the original line is this last

surrender of his will but offend us:

Correct: At the end of the plays first scene, Goneril and Regan worry that this last surrender of [Lears] willbut offend [them] (1.1.306).

However, use caution when considering substitutions like this. It is usually clear from the context who he or

she is, and it may be better to rephrase your sentence so that the quote can be kept as is. For example,

Also correct: After Lears abdication, Goneril and Regan worry about its effect on them: this last surrender ofhis will but offend us (1.1.282).


13/26

13

FORMAT: HOW TO QUOTE DRAMATIC VERSE

Below are the answers to students common questions about how to include verse quotations in an essay. I havealso given you, on the following page, an example of what a page of an essay containing both long and short

verse quotations should look like. Copy the format exactly.

Q1: When am I supposed to indent a quote?

You indent a quote when it consists of four or more lines of verse. The lines should be kept exactly as they arein the original text, and should be indented 1 inch from the left margin.

Q2: Should an indented quote be single-spaced or double-spaced?

The spacing should be the same as the spacing throughout your essay. If your essay is double-spaced, your

indented quotes should be double-spaced.

Q3: What exactly am I supposed to put in the parenthetical reference after the quote?

The parentheses should contain ONLY the act, scene, and line numbers in the format shown: act one, scene one,lines fifty-four to fifty-seven would appear as (1.1.54-57). Do not use Roman numerals. Do not put the play title

or anything else in the parentheses.

Q4: Where do I put the period at the end of my indented quote?

In an indented quote, the punctuation mark always comes BEFORE the parenthetical reference. See theexample on the next page.

Q5: Should I put an extra space above and below the indented quote to set it off from the rest of my

essay? What about italics or boldface to make it stand out?

No to both questions. And dont think I cant tell when youre trying to pad out your too-short essay with extraspaces. For the font, keep it exactly the same as the rest of your essay. If there are italics in the original, though,

of course you should reproduce them.

Q6: When I begin my new line after the indented quote, should I hit tab?

Absolutely not, unless you intend the indented quote to form the logical conclusion of your paragraph.

Q7: What if I have only two or three lines of verse to quote?

For two or three lines of verse, do not indent. Incorporate them into your own line, but use a slash to showwhere each line ends. See the quotations in lines 5, 6, and 7 of the example on the next page.

Q8: If Im not indenting my quote, where do I put the period or comma after the reference?

For a non-indented quote, the punctuation mark always comes AFTER the parenthetical reference. If your quote

ends with a period and ends your sentence, the period still comes after the parenthetical reference. If the quote isin the middle of the sentence and you need a comma after it, then the comma comes after the parenthetical

reference. Question marks and exclamation marks, however, should be treated like wordskeep them withinthe quotation marks and then put the necessary comma or period after the reference. Follow the examples in the

first paragraph of the next page.


14/26

14

SAMPLE ESSAY PAGE WITH DRAMATIC VERSE QUOTATIONS

Sophonirus enjoys, in effect, the security of being certain that his wife is unfaithful and of knowing exactly with

whom she is being unfaithful, but in exchange he endures a domestic arrangement which subjugates him to his

wife. For while he claims to be happy (1.1.54) about saving himself the labour of begetting children (he trusts

that reserving his sexual energy will prolong his life), he also describes himself as his wifes subject (1.1.36),

admits that the plan is largely to stop her mouth / And keep her quiet (1.1.37-38), andcompounding his

humiliationreveals that he is obliged to spend money on the lover, giving him his table free / And the huge

feeding of his great stone horse (1.1.38-39). Sophonirus hopes, understandably, to better his lot by offering his

wife to the powerful Tyrant instead, but the Tyrant will have none of her. He instead sends his henchmen to

seize Govianuss Lady for his use, leaving the disappointed wittol to soliloquize,

Theyre not so saucy

To seize on her for their own, I hope,

As there are many knaves will begin first

And bring their lords the bottom. I have been served so

A hundred times myself, by a scurvy page

That I kept once;

But my wife loved him, and I could not help it. (2.3.120-26)

Despite his declared contentment, then, it is evident that Sophonirus's wittolry is merely a feeble defense for his

lack of authority over his wife; the mixture of laughter and disgust evoked by his complacency is the

conservative ridicule of the disempowered husband.

Sophonirus is a peculiarly unfortunate wittol, though, for the flow of money between wittol and

adulterer conventionally runs in the opposite direction: where the cuckold loses or fears losing money to his

wifes lover, the wittol almost invariably profits financially from her affair. The nature and the extent of his

profit, however, as well as any individual texts attitude towards it, seem to be closely tied to whether the wittol

manages to overturn the third assumption of cuckoldry as well, paradoxically maintaining his husbandly control


15/26

15

FORMAT: HOW TO QUOTE DRAMATIC PROSE

Most of the rules for prose quotations are the same as the rules for verse quotations. Anything thats different iscovered on this page. The page that follows this one gives you an example of what a page of an essay

containing both long and short prose quotations should look like. Copy the format exactly.

Q1: When Im looking at a play, how do I tell whats in verse and whats in prose?

Look down the left margin of the speech. Do all the words at the start of the lines begin with capital letters? Ifso, its probably verse. If not, its probably prose. The beginning ofTitus Andronicus is in verse; the beginning

ofThe Merry Wives of Windsoris in prose. Compare.

With verse, the beginning and end of each line matters, because each line has a particular metre (inShakespeare, usually iambic pentametre or some variation on iambic pentametre). With prose, it doesnt matter

where the lines begin and end on the page. Prose is simply normal speech, without significant metre.

Q2: When do I indent a prose quotation?

Indent a prose quotation when it takes up four or more lines of a page of your essay. If youre in doubt abouthow much space a quotation is likely to take up, start typing it normally, without indenting. Pay no attention to

where the lines begin and end on the page in yourNorton Shakespeare; dont hit enter at the end of lines likeyou would do if you were typing a verse quotation. If, when its complete, it goes over four lines, indent it. It

should be indented one inch on the left and half an inch on the right from the margins of your essay. See theexample on the following page.

Q3: If my quotation is shorter than four lines on my page and Im not indenting it, do I need to put

slashes between the lines like I do with verse?

No. For the reason stated above, it is irrelevant where lines of prose begin and end on the page. Simply type the

quotation in as if you were quoting normal speech.

Q4: Are all the rules about punctuation, parenthetical references, and spacing the same as they are for

verse?

Yes. Please refer to the preceding section for how to punctuate, reference, and space.

Q5: Do the rules for quoting dramatic prose apply to all kinds of prose, including quotations from

secondary sources?

Yes. For the purposes of formatting quotations, prose is prose.


16/26

16

SAMPLE ESSAY PAGE WITH DRAMATIC PROSE QUOTATIONS

With Whorehound disposed of, Allwit goes so far as to ask his wifes opinion as to what they should do next,

but when she proposes finding another adultererAs we were wont to do (5.1.156)he objects that they are

already richly furnished . . . with household stuff (5.1.156-57), steering her towards the idea of letting out

lodgings instead.

The one scene in which Allwits servants mock their masters wittolry is taken by several critics as

evidence that Allwits financial freedom comes at the price of his reputation and social standing, but the play

makes it clear that among his neighbors, he has the enviable status of a prolific father and prosperous

householder: his boast, I have the name, and in his gold I shine (1.2.40), is not a deluded one. While admired

for his wealth and prolific family by the Gossips, he secretly congratulates himself on having evaded the

expenses of the christening feast:

Had this been all my cost, now, I had been beggared. These women have no consciences

at sweetmeats, whereer they come: see an they have not culled out all the long plums

too. They have left nothing here but short wriggle-tailed comfits, not worth mouthing.

No marl I heard a citizen complain once that his wifes belly only broke his back. Mine

had been all in fitters seven years since but for this worthy knight, that with a prop

upholds my wife and me and all my estate buried in Bucklersbury. (3.2.69-78)

Various comments by the Gossips in the christening scene (e.g. 2.3.25-27; 3.2.9-11; 3.2.30-32; 3.2.89-90)

suggest that theyas representatives of Allwits neighborsknow nothing of the Whorehound affair. One

might note, moreover, that the servants jeer about Allwit being merely [their] mistress husband rather than

their master (1.2.59-62) may mock the fact that he, like them, is paid by Sir Walter, but in no way does it

impugn his marital authority. Far from being the community laughingstock, Allwit is even shown controlling

the dissemination of knowledge about his own domestic situation, telling the shocked Yellowhammer

scandalous tales about one Allwit in an attempt to sabotage Sir Walters marriage (4.1.232).


17/26

17

HOW TO QUOTE DRAMATIC DIALOGUE

If you need to quote a conversation between two or more characters in a play, either incorporate it into your textor indent it and use speech headings. The choice is a matter of judgment, depending on the length of the

dialogue, the grace with which you can incorporate it into your text, and the emphasis you wish to give it.

Incorporated dialogue:

When Regan claims that Lear hath ever but slenderly known himself, Goneril agrees: The best and soundestof his time hath been but rash; then must we look to receive from his age, not alone the imperfections of long-

engraffed condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them(1.1.294-300).

Notes:

a. You do not have to use two separate parenthetical references for the two quotes. Gonerils lines followdirectly after Regans in the play, and so you can simply begin the line numbers at the first quoted line.

b. When there is no parenthetical reference directly after a quote, the punctuation mark (in this case acomma after himself,) is placed within the quotation marks.

Indented verse dialogue with speech headings:

Cordelia does not receive her sisters curt dismissals with silence or submission, but pointedly remarks on theirhypocrisy:

REGAN. Prescribe not us our duties.GONERIL. Let your study

Be to content your lord, who hath received youAt fortunes alms. You have obedience scanted,

And well are worth the want that you have wanted.

CORDELIA. Time shall unfold what pleated cunning hides:Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.Well may you prosper! (1.1.278-284)

Cordelias parting words are prophetic, as the rest of the play does unfold what pleated cunning hides.

Notes:a. Indent one inch on the left for a verse quotation; for prose, an inch on the left and an inch on the right.b. Put the characters name in capitals, followed by a period. After a space, begin typing the lines.c. In a verse quotation like the above, press enter after each line, ensuring that a characters subsequentlines are slightly indented beneath his/her name (see Cordelias lines above). One tab after enter usually doesthe job.

d.

Make sure the lines look like they do in the original text. Note that Gonerils first three words, Let yourstudy, are placed flush with the quotes right margin, as in the original. This is because Regans line,

Prescribe not us our duties combines with Gonerils first three words to form one complete line of iambicpentametre. (And this is to show the solidarityfor the momentbetween Goneril and Regan, but now were

getting into close reading rather than mechanics.)e. After the last line, return to your regular margins and complete the analysis of the quote. Do NOT indentthe first line after the quote unless the quote forms the logical conclusion of your paragraph.f. Note that if you re-quote a word or a phrase in your analysis right after the original quote, you do not

have to put a parenthetical reference after it. And note, once again, that any necessary punctuation after a quotewithouta parenthetical reference goes inside the quotation marks (as the period after hides above).


18/26

18

HOW TO CITE SECONDARY SOURCES

It is important to remember that an English essay, unlike some research papers in the social sciences, must not

be composed primarily of ideas and quotations found in secondary sources. Your own ideas mustmake up thebulk of the essay. And you mustbe scrupulous about citing all secondary sources, whether you borrow a

sentence, a word, or merely an idea. Before using any secondary sources you must consult the MLAHandbook, especially its chapter on plagiarism. The below is merely a supplement to the Handbook. And

if you are in ANY doubt about citing sources, come and talk to me.

The main thing to be concerned with in citing secondary sources is that the reader of your essay MUST be ableto tell which words and ideas are yours and which come from an outside source. Putting in a footnote, an

endnote, or a parenthetical reference is not enoughyou may know precisely what lines in your essay arecovered by the note, but your reader does not. When I cannot tell whose words or ideas are whose, the

quotation or idea is plagiarized, and you will receive a grade of zero on the essay, whether or not the

plagiarism is intentional. (Not being a mind reader, how can I tell the difference? So its your responsibility to

make sure all sources are correctly cited, not mine to try to distinguish carelessness from fraud.)

The easiest and most straightforward way to avoid unintentional plagiarism is to stick with the following

method: in the body of your essay, mention the name of the critic (e.g. As Catherine Belsey claims....). Givethe quotation or paraphrase the idea that you want to use from that critic. Follow the quotation or paraphrase(i.e., the idea of the quotation put into your own words) with the page number in parentheses. That way, your

reader can tell where the critics idea begins (at the name) and ends (at the page number). Then put the critic onyour Works Cited page, following the format given on page 20 of this handout.

The first time you mention a critic in your paper, use his or her full name: Catherine Belsey claims that..... For

the second mention and thereafter, use the surname only: Belsey also observes that.....

The following examples show the same quotation, first correctly cited, and then plagiarized. The original linesare from Elizabeth Foyster,Manhood in Early Modern England(London: Longman, 1999), page 29: In

Western philosophy there was a long tradition of thought stemming from Plato which associated reason withmen. Men were different from beasts because of their reason, but women were thought nearer to the animal

state than men . . . . In practice male reason was contrasted with the weaker vessels susceptibility to passion,lust, and temptation.

Correct citation and best method: In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ford has centuries of conventional

wisdom behind him when he decides to place little faith in his wifes ability to resist Falstaff. As ElizabethFoyster points out, philosophers as far back as Plato have associated men with reason and women with a greater

susceptibility to passion, lust, and temptation (29). Page, on the other hand, defies such beliefs by trusting hiswife to remain faithful.

The above is the safest way to cite a source. The reader is in no doubt as to which are your ideas and which are

the critics. The critics ideas begin at her name and end at the page number. Note that when the writer usesFoysters exact words, they are placed in quotation marks, but the paraphrased material as well as the direct

quote comes between the name and the page number.

Correct citation of a direct quotation without paraphrase: In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ford hascenturies of conventional wisdom behind him when he decides to place little faith in his wifes ability to resist

Falstaff: In Western philosophy there was a long tradition of thought stemming from Plato which associatedreason with men. Men were different from beasts because of their reason, but women were thought nearer to the

animal state than men . . . . In practice male reason was contrasted with the weaker vessels susceptibility to


19/26

19

passion, lust, and temptation (Foyster 29). Page, on the other hand, defies such beliefs by trusting his wife toremain faithful.

This method of direct quote followed by a reference works only if you are careful that NOTHING you write

before or after the quotation marks borrows from the critic. With this kind of citation, the reader expects thatONLY the quote is from the critic. This method cannot be used with a paraphrase. Note that in this method,

only the critics surname appears with the page number in the parentheses. If you later mention the same critic

in the body of your essay, you must follow the usual format of full name on first mention, surname onlythereafter.

Plagiarized: In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ford has centuries of conventional wisdom behind him when hedecides to place little faith in his wifes ability to resist Falstaff. As far back as Plato, philosophers have

differentiated men from beasts by associating men with reason, but women were believed to have less reasonthan men, and therefore to be more like animals. Women were seen as the weaker vessel and thought to have a

greater susceptibility to passion, lust, and temptation (Foyster 29). Page, on the other hand, defies such beliefsby trusting his wife to remain faithful.

The problem with this reference is that the reader cant tell how much of the text before the parentheses borrows

ideas from Foyster. Only the last sentence with the direct quotes? The last two sentences? Everything in theparagraph before the page reference?

Plagiarized: In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ford has centuries of conventional wisdom behind him when he

decides to place little faith in his wifes ability to resist Falstaff. As far back as Plato, philosophers havedifferentiated men from beasts by associating men with reason, but women were believed to have less reason

than men, and therefore to be more like animals. Women were seen as the weaker vessel and thought to have agreater susceptibility to passion, lust, and temptation. Page, on the other hand, defies such beliefs by trusting his

wife to remain faithful.

Foyster is mentioned nowhere; her ideas are stolen and passed off as the writers own. The professor, aware that

this material isnt exactly common knowledge, can tell that a source has been used and not cited. The result is azero on the paper and a case presented to the Faculty of Arts resulting in official academic penalties even if thisis the one and only instance of plagiarism.

Once you have quoted ANYTHINGeven if its just the course textbookyou need a Works Cited

page.

Centre the words Works Cited at the top of the page, and then follow the format below exactly. If you havemore than one work cited, alphabetize them:

Donne, John. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eds. M. H.

Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. Vol. 1. 7

th

ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 1248-1249.Foyster, Elizabeth.Manhood in Early Modern England: Honour, Sex and Marriage. London: Longman, 1999.

Shakespeare, William.King Lear. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eds. M. H. Abrams and StephenGreenblatt. 7

thed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2000. 1109-1195.

In the examples above, note that the second and any subsequent lines of an entry are hanging indents. The

numbers at the end are the page numbers in the volume where the work as a whole (notyour quotation from thework) can be found. Note also that the title of the poem is in quotation marks while the titles of both the play

and the textbook are italicized. Titles in Works Cited lists generally adhere to the rules described in 1.2 on page21. Further information on Works Cited lists can be found in theMLA Handbook.


20/26

20

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW TO GET A GOOD GRADE?

Part One

The rest of this handout is aimed at eradicating common errors that I repeatedly encounter in student essays.In fact, they are so common that I have taken to marking them simply with the number of the handout paragraph

correcting the error (that way, you can refer to the handout after you get your essay back for an explanation of

how to avoid the error in the future). But better yet, please revise your essay with this list in hand before yousubmit it, and save me from having to mark yet more of these basic errors!

1.1 The title of your essay

To me, it is utterly unimportant what your title page looks like, or even whether you have one. However, thetitle itself IS important. The title of an essay should give the reader specific information about the topic and the

essays approach to the topic, as well as indicating the text or texts that the essay is about.

For instance, you might title an essay about how Othellos anxiety about marriage makes him susceptible to

Iago Martial Honour vs. Marital Honour in Othello. This is perhaps not the best title, and it took me quitesome time to think it up. You can probably come up with better. But at least it gives you some idea of what theessay is going to be about (how the honour a man earns as a soldier is different from the honour he must protect

as a husband) and it tells you that the text its dealing with is Othello.

What you want to avoid are titles that tell you nothing about the approach (e.g. Honour in Othello) or, worse,nothing about the text (A Mans Honour) or, worst of all, nothing about either (Love, Honour, and Obey or

the ever-popular Final Essay).

1.2 Titles of works in the essay

Titles of PLAYS, novels, collections of poems, oranything that was originally published as a whole bookby itselfare eitheritalicizedor underlined (its your choicewith the use of word processors, italicizing is

becoming the customary way to do it; use underlining in handwritten essays for exams).

Correct:

Romeo and Julietis commonly taught in Canadian high schools.

In The Norton Shakespeare, the introduction toRomeo and Julietis by Stephen Greenblatt. (Note that both thetitle of the anthology and the title of the play are italicized, because the anthology is a book and the play was

originally published as a book by itself, even though it is now part of an anthology.)The Canterbury Tales is by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Astrophil and Stella is an important sonnet sequence.

Titles of poems in a collection, short stories, chapters of books, essays, or any other text that was neverpublished as a book by itself are given in quotation marks.

Correct:

The Flea is a short poem by John Donne.The Wife of Baths Tale is part ofThe Canterbury Tales.


21/26

21

1.3 Always use the present tense to talk about events in the play

No matter what the chronological order of the events you are referring to, write in the present tense.

Correct: Shakespeare depicts middle-class families in The Merry Wives of Windsor Incorrect: Shakespeare

depicted middle-class families in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Correct: When the play begins, Romeo is in love with Rosalind, but then he falls in love with Juliet.Incorrect: When the play began, Romeo was in love with Rosalind, but then he fell in love with Juliet.

Incorrect: When the play begins, Romeo was in love with Rosalind, but then he falls in love with Juliet.

Correct: Once he has begun to kill, Macbeth is unable to stop.

Correct: Once he begins to kill, Macbeth is unable to stop.

Incorrect: Once he began to kill, Macbeth is unable to stop.

If you are referring to a historical fact, you should of course use the past tense: Shakespeare wroteRomeo andJulietduring the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

1.4 I think that.... and It seems that....

You may have been told that it is always incorrect to give your personal opinion in a formal essay: I think that

Romeo is immature. As a result, you may feel obligated to use certain formal circumlocutions to avoid usingthe dreaded I think. One of the worst things that students do to avoid the I think is to reword it into

the passive voice: Romeo is considered to be immature or worse yet, It is considered that Romeo isimmature (which is not only unclear, but ungrammatical as well). The problem with these statements is that the

reader cant possibly tell WHO considers Romeo to be immature. You? Shakespeare? A certain critic? Juliet?

Almost as bad is to hedge your statement with seems: Romeo seems to be immature or It seems that

Romeo is immature mayseem to be good ways of implying this is only my opinion, but this use of seemsis in fact misleading. It leads the reader to expect an argument along the lines of Romeoseems to be immature,but he is actually surprisingly mature for his age. If you mean to say that Romeo is immature, do not say he

seems to be so.

So, what to do? A reader automatically assumes that any statement you make in an essay is your opinion. It isunnecessary, therefore, to preface anything with I think or I believealthough either of these is

preferable to it seems or Romeo is considered. Simply state what you mean to say asstraightforwardly as you canRomeo is immatureand then provide evidence to persuade the reader

that you are right.


22/26

22

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW TO GET A GOOD GRADE?

Part Two

This part of the handout deals mainly with mechanical errors: grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It is not an

exhaustive list. These are simply the most common and/or the most annoying ones.

Two which will get you seriously marked down are the comma splice and its evil antithesis the sentence

fragment. Recognizing both requires that you know what a complete sentence is.

A complete sentence (also known as an independent clause) is a sentence with a subject (an actor) and a verb

(an action) which can stand alone and make sense all by itself: she speaks or the box is blue are completesentences. She speaks to the blue box is also a complete sentence, if somewhat surreal.

On the other hand, speaking to him or in the blue box are NOT complete sentences. They aresentence

fragments (see 2.2). The first lacks a subject and part of a verb (I am speaking to him would be a completesentence); the second lacks both subject and verb (nothing is in the blue box would be a complete sentence).

One reliable way to recognize when a sentence is NOT complete is that it doesnt make sense by itself, and

instead leaves the reader wondering about crucial information: who is speaking to him? what is in the bluebox? Think of it this way: if you walked up to someone on the street and said the box is blue, that person

would be puzzled but would not immediately doubt your sanity. If you walked up to someone on the street andsaid in the blue box, he or she would suspect you to be a lunatic. That is the difference between a complete

sentence and a sentence fragment.

2.1 A comma splice occurs when two complete sentences are linked by a comma when they should be linked bya semicolon or a conjunction like and, but, unless, or although.

IMPORTANT! The word however CANNOT be used with a comma to link two complete sentences.

The comma splice using however is the most common serious error in student papers. Avoiding it is

simple. Ask yourself if the sentence would still make sense if you replaced however with but. If the answer

is yes, then either replace the comma before however with a semicolon (as in the first example below), orreplace however with but. There is nothing wrong with plain old monosyllabic but. Avoiding it inpreference of the three-syllable however does not make you sound any smarter, and compounding it with a

comma splice has precisely the opposite effect.

Correct: The Monk is a wealthy man; however, he does not share his money with the poor.Incorrect: The Monk is a wealthy man, however, he does not share his money with the poor.

Correct: The Monk is a wealthy man, but he selfishly keeps his money to himself.

Incorrect: The Monk is a wealthy man, he selfishly keeps his money to himself.

A run-on sentenceis like a comma splice without the comma:Incorrect: The Monk is a wealthy man he selfishly keeps his money to himself.

2.2 A sentence fragmentis a phrase which does not make grammatical sense when it stands alone, but which is

punctuated as if it were a complete sentence: that is, it begins with a capital and ends with a period, OR it islinked to a complete sentence by a semicolon or a colon. Be especially careful with sentences that start with a

word ending in ing or that begin with although.

Correct: Having his own hunting dogs and a fine horse, the Monk is obviously a wealthy man.Incorrect: The Monk is obviously a wealthy man. Having his own hunting dogs and a fine horse.


23/26

23

Correct: The Monk is a wealthy man, although he has taken a vow of poverty.

Incorrect: The Monk is a wealthy man. Although he has taken a vow of poverty.

Correct: The Monk is a wealthy man who owns his own hunting dogs and a fine horse.Incorrect: The Monk is a wealthy man; who owns his own hunting dogs and a fine horse.

2.3 Misplaced Modifiers are not quite as heinous as sentence fragments or comma splices, but bad nonetheless.A modifier is a phrase that describes something or someone in a sentence. A misplaced modifier is a phrase,

often attached to the beginning or end of a sentence, that appears to describe the wrong thing or the wrongperson. I recently saw a sign at a sidewalk cafe that announced please do not eat food at a table you have

bought elsewhere. Unless the management is plagued by customers who insist on bringing their own tables,that is a misplaced modifier.

Incorrect: Examining the first scene ofCymbeline, the two gentlemen reveal everything we need to know

about events prior to the start of the play. (Who is examining the scene? According to the structure of thesentence, the gentlemen are examining the scene, which is absurd.The sentence can be reworded in a number

of ways to correct the error. The simplest way is to make sure that if a sentence begins with a descriptivephrase, the person or thing being described is the first word after the phrase, as in the first example below.)

Correct: Examining the first scene ofCymbeline, we can see that the two gentlemen reveal everything weneed to know about events prior to the start of the play. To make the sentence less wordy, its better simply to

rephrase it as something like The two gentlemen in the first scene ofCymbeline reveal everything we need toknow about events prior to the start of the play.

2.4 Contrasts with: There is a common error concerning the verb to contrast that drives me insane. It is NOT

correct to say x contrasts y; rather, it is x contrasts with y.

Incorrect: The Parson contrasts the Friar OR The Parson and the Friar contrast each other.

Correct: The Parson contrasts with the Friar OR The Parson and the Friar contrast with each other OR

The Parson provides a contrast to the Friar.

2.5 Its and its: its is a contraction of it is; its means belonging to it. Do NOT use its to mean

belonging to it. The best way to remember this is to think of its as being like his: you would not writehis coat, so you dont write its plot either.

Correct: Its true that every dog has its day. Incorrect: Its true that every dog has its day.

2.6Noun/pronoun or subject/verb agreement. The most common instance of a noun/pronoun error is the use ofthey as a singular pronoun. In modern written English, they is always plural. And remember that words like

one, nobody, no-one, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, and so forth are allsingular. Youwould not write or say everyone are ready, so neither can you write everyone says they are ready (they is

a plural pronoun in the same way that are is the plural form of to be). Be ESPECIALLY careful with use ofthe impersonal one

Incorrect noun/pronoun: The speaker makes their opinion clear. (speaker is singular, while their is

plural).Correct: The speaker makes his opinion clear or The speaker makes her opinion clear. If gender is

inclusive or unknown, use his or her or rephrase the sentence to avoid a gendered pronoun: The speakersopinion is clear.


24/26

24

Incorrect noun/pronoun: An increase in ones power leads to a decrease in their moral sensibility.Correct: An increase in ones power leads to a decrease in ones moral sensibility. Or rephrase: An

increase in power leads to a decrease in moral sensibility.

Subject/verb errors tend to happen when the subject occurs far from the verb in the sentence. The writer forgetswhat the true subject of the sentence is and uses a verb which accords in number with the noun closest to it.

Incorrectsubject/verb: The lines about the Friars willingness to hear confession needs to be examined forsubtext.Correct: The lines about the Friars willingness to hear confession need to be examined for subtext. (The

subject of need is lines, not confession or willingness)

2.7 Vague this: When you use this to refer to something in an earlier statement, be careful that it isabsolutely clear to your reader what this refers to. Most of the time, its best to follow this with a noun,

answering the question this what?, or to rephrase the sentence altogether.Incorrect (vague): At the start of the play, Lear is an arrogant old man who hath ever but slenderly known

himself(1.1.294-295), a fact Goneril and Regan use to their advantage. This changes, however, over the courseof the play. (what is this? Lears arrogance? His lack of self-knowledge? Goneril and Regan taking

advantage?)Correct: At the start of the play, Lear is an arrogant old man who hath ever but slenderly known

himself(1.1.294-295), a fact Goneril and Regan use to their advantage. Lear gains self-knowledge, however,over the course of the play.

2.8 Plurals and apostrophes: its disgraceful that I have to include this on a handout for university students,

but some people have acquired the illiterate habit of using apostrophes to form simple plurals. I dont care ifyou see advertisements for pizzas or (as I did recently on a professional signboard) for a team of electrical

engineers. You do not ever, ever form a simple plural with an apostrophe. Nor do you ever form a verb tensewith an apostrophe: believe it or not, I have encountered phrases like he sees the problem in student essays.

You use an apostrophe to form the possessive, with the apostrophe before the s if the word is singular, and

after the s if its plural. For the one exception to this ruleits does NOT mean belonging to itsee 2.5above.Incorrect: Lear has three daughters. Correct: Lear has three daughters.

Incorrect: Only one of his daughters loves him. Correct: Only one of his daughters loves him.

Incorrect: His youngest daughters name is Cordelia. Correct: His youngest daughters name is Cordelia.

Incorrect: His other daughters names are Goneril and Regan. Correct: His other daughters names are Goneriland Regan.

2.9Redundant prepositions: personally, I dont care if you end a sentence with a preposition (in, on, to, at,

etc.). If you want to write This is the scene he first appears in instead of This is the scene in which he firstappears or The king is the only person she can turn to instead of The king is the only person to whom she

can turn, thats fine by me. But pay a bit of attention to which one youre using and do NOT write idiotic stufflike This is the scene in which he first appears in.

2.10Associated with: for some unknown reason, I am seeing more and more errors with the use of the simple

word associate. The correct usage is x is associated with y: Iago is associated with hell and the devil;The number three is repeatedly associated with the witches inMacbeth. Its not fertility is being associated

in monetary terms; its fertility is associated with money. And its not men were arguably associated assuperior; its men were arguably seen as superior.

2.11Substitute: theres a common error with the word substitute which completely reverses what you mean

to say. If I substitute margarine for butter in a recipe, I am using margarine insteadof butter. So substitute for


25/26

25

means the opposite of replace with. It is incorrect to say substitute with, but the meaning is the same assubstitute for.

Correct: Angelo thinks he is sleeping with Isabella; in the dark, he cant tell that the Duke has substitutedMariana for Isabella.

Correct: Angelo thinks he is sleeping with Isabella; in the dark, he cant tell that Mariana has replaced Isabella.Incorrect: Angelo thinks he is sleeping with Isabella; in the dark, he cant tell that the Duke has substituted

Isabella with (or for) Mariana.

2.12Homonyms and other commonly confused words: as it seems that some elementary school teachers arefailing to do their jobs when it comes to words that sound the same, you may wish to note the following

errors:

A king sits on a throne. He does not sit on a thrown, nor can he.

When a person has complete control over something, he or she has free rein. The phrase is not, as studentswrite it more often than not, free reign. Kings have reigns; horses have reins. This is a reasonably

understandable mistake, given that most of us deal more with government than with horses in our daily lives,but the expression dates back to when everyone diddeal regularly with horses and their reins, and its still free

rein.

A phrase in a text that recalls another text is an allusion. It is not an illusion. An illusion is a false perception.Nor can a text elude to anything. To elude is to evade: Shakespeare alludes to Genesis but the thief

eludes the police.

That part of your mind that torments you when you do something wrong is yourconscience. It is not yourconscious, which despite the Freudian use of unconscious and subconscious as nouns, is NOT a noun. I

was conscious of having done wrong, and my conscience pricked me until I apologized.

A text may elicit a response from the reader. It does not illicit anything. Illicit means forbidden, as in

illicit pleasures are sweeter.

Do not use loose where you mean lose. Lose is a verb: Claudio fears to lose his life. Loose is almost

always an adjective: Lucio has loose morals. Loose is used very rarely as a verb, where it means torelease or to let loose: Get out of here, or I will loose my beagle on you.

Affect is almost always a verb: Meeting Juliet affects Romeos feelings about Rosaline. It is very rarely used

as a noun, unless you are a psychologist, in which case it means something like emotional state, as in thepatients affect was flat. Effect, on the other hand, is usually a noun: Meeting Juliet has a profound effect on

Romeo. It is more rarely used as a verb, when it means cause: Juliet effects Romeos maturation.Note the significant difference in meaning between Juliet effects Romeos maturation and Juliet affects

Romeos maturationthe former means that she causes him to mature; the latter means that she has someunspecified effect on his process of maturation.

The past tense oflead is led, NOT lead. As in, yesterday I led him by the nose, and today I will lead

him by the nose again. I realize that this is complicated by the past tense of read being spelt read butpronounced red, and by the fact that the lead in a lead pipe is pronounced led. Nobody ever said English

spelling was logical. But as I have yet to see anyone spell the past tense of read as red, I dont think its toomuch to expect you to spell led correctly.

When Leontes finds out in Act Five ofThe Winters Tale that Hermione is still alive, or Lucio takes off the

Friars hood to reveal the Duke in Act Five ofMeasure for Measure, its a revelation. It is NOT a reveal. I


26/26

26

first noticed the use of reveal as a noun creeping into papers in 2007; depressingly enough, it seems to be aside effect of watching too much reality TV. Please leave the big reveal for the makeover shows where it

belongs, and keep it out of your academic papers!

One human adult female is a woman. Two or more human adult females are women. Do not write about awomen. I have no idea where this error comes from or why so many people make it. Nobody writes men

instead of man, so Ive decided its not a typing slip. It bugs me. Stop it.

And this one isnt anything like a homonym, but I had to add it anyway because it annoys me even more than awomen: you can relish your success (or a good plot, or a good beer) or you can revel in any of the above, but

you cannot and must not relish in anything. Except perhaps a hotdog bun, provided that you also mustard in itand ketchup in it.

Finally, if something is unique, it is the only one of its kind. There can be, therefore, no degrees of unique:

Shakespeare cannot be a very unique playwright. Either something is unique or it isnt.

Two last words: SPELLCHECK and PROOFREAD. Spellcheckers mean theres no excuse for spelling

mistakes in take-home work. But spellcheckers cant catch misspelled homonyms (there when you meantheir or thrown when you mean throne) and they cant catch the kind of nonsensical garbling that can

happen when you cut and paste, delete, or add text in your essay and forget to reword the lines around it. It cantcatch pages mysteriously deleted by your printer or paragraphs you cut and forgot to paste elsewhere. So read

the entire essay over after it comes off the printer, before you hand it in. Ideally, you should do this in time to beable to print a new, revised copy if you need to, but even an essay hastily corrected in pencil is better than one

not corrected at all. The only thing I can base your mark on is what I see on the page, not what you meant to saybut didnt.

the english essay

Documents