Anderson 1

David Anderson                                                                                                                                                             

Mr. Yasinskas

English I, 6

19 September 2008

Align center the title of your essay

The font for the body of your paper should be Times New Roman, and the size should be 12.  Do not justify the right margin; it should be left “ragged.” When you have used a core, underline it and place the core number after the period. (Core 12)  You should not underline the entire sentence.  Your heading should include the class and the period—English I, 3—and the date the assignment is due—19 September 2008.

Essay Format for Microsoft Word 97-03

For setting up your paper format, you need to do seven easy adjustments.

I:          Select Times New Roman for your font and 12 as your size print.

II:        Go to File and click on Page Set Up.  Adjust all of the margins (top, bottom, left, right) to 1 and click on OK and Save. 

III:       Go to View and click on Header and Footer. Type in your last name and add a space. Click on the number icon # and the right justification symbol to the immediate right of U.  Be sure to click save. 

IV and V: Go to Format and then Paragraph.

IV:       To adjust the spacing between lines, look for Line spacing and click to Double.  Click OK and Save. 

V:        Type your heading.  The heading is your name, the name of your teacher, your class:

English I, 1, English I, 3 or English I, 6 (whichever period you have English), and the date the assignment is due.

VI:       Next type your title and center it.  The center command is next to the align left command.

VII:     When you begin to type the first line of your first paragraph, return to Format and Paragraph.  To set the paragraph indentation, click on the Special box and adjust to First Line. If you do step VII out of sequence, your heading will be indented because the computer will treat each item as the beginning of a new paragraph.

The finished essay will have 5 or 6 paragraphs. 

The Introduction.  Paragraph 1 

Your introduction should present yours ideas about the essay topic. Introduce the necessary information and inform the reader which direction your essay will take with a well thought out Thesis Statement. Use your thesis statement to steer the thoughts and information you will present in your body paragraphs.

The Body of the Paper.  Paragraphs 2-4 or 2-5

The body of the paper will have three or four paragraphs.  Each paragraph centers around one idea and one idea only. Also think about the order the paragraphs are written, you may want to change the order later using cut and paste.

The Conclusion.  Paragraph 5 or 6        

The conclusion will present your final thoughts about the information discussed in the essay. Do not restate the thesis or present any new information.

A+

- sharp, distinct focus and thesis statement

- varied word form and tone apparent in sentence structure and word choice

-mastery of content and ideas

- MLA format properly used and followed, free of  any mistakes

- free of any errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation

A

- clear focus and thesis

-sufficient content

- variety in sentence structure and word choice

- MLA followed correctly, a few format errors may have occurred

- few mechanical and usage errors

A-

-adequate focus

-sufficient content

-some precision and variety in sentence structure and word choice

-Errors in MLA format

-few mechanical and usage errors

B+

-adequate focus

-content slightly lacking

-variety in sentence structure, some repetition may have occurred

-Errors in MLA format

-some errors in mechanics and usage

B

-apparent thesis, but lacking focus

-content is present, but not enough evidence is provided

- variety in sentence structure, parts repetitious

-Some errors in MLA format                            

-repeated errors in mechanics and usage

B-

- apparent thesis, but lacking focus

- not enough supporting content

-limited sentence variety

-errors in MLA format

- repeated errors in mechanics and usage

C+

-vague thesis and focus

--errors with content; not enough supporting content

-limited sentence variety and word choice

-frequent errors in MLA format

-frequent errors in mechanics and usage

C

-vague thesis and focus

-errors with content; lacking sufficient content

-lack of sentence variety and word choice

-several MLA format errors

-several mechanics and usage errors

D+

-confused focus and thesis

-confused and irrelevant content use

-repeated weaknesses in sentence structure and word choice

-MLA format is not followed

- repeated weaknesses in mechanics and usage

D

-confused focus and thesis

-confused and irrelevant content use

-no apparent control over sentence structure and word choice

-MLA format is not followed

-mechanics and usage errors take away from the quality of writing

F

-absence of focus and logical flow of ideas

-no relevant use or inclusion of content

-no apparent control over sentence structure and word choice

-does not demonstrate MLA format to any degree

-mechanical and usage errors are so severe that the writer’s ideas are difficult if not impossible to understand

For each day the essay is late, your maximum grade drops three increments

No identifiable writing cores used, highest possible grade is a B

Not meeting the necessary page length requirement, highest possible grade is a B-