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Format all papers and writing

assignments like this one- with the
Chrystyna Monaghan
header on EVERY page and the course
information ONLY on page 1. DOUBLE
Ms. Murphy
SPACE all pages. Title centred below.
ENG 3U1

12 September 2015
Everything you need to know about writing and publishing your work

MLA review and the three methods of incorporating quotations

Remember to always use present tense. Use … (called ellipsis) to leave out words. For novels, use the author’s last name
in the first citation and then the page number, subsequently just use the page number (Golding 25) and then (55). Put
the title into italics. For Shakespeare, put slashes between lines and cite the (Act. Scene. Lines). The period ALWAYS goes
after the round brackets.

1. Use a full colon and attach the quotation to your point. In the play Othello Cassio is worried because he lost his
job and if he is away from Othello for a while, his chances of regaining his job are slim: “I being absent and my
place supplied/ My general will forget my love and service” (3.3.17-18).

2. Use a dialogue word like says or states. Cassio is worried because he lost his job and if he is away from Othello
for a while, his chances of regaining his job are slim. He says, “I being absent … My general will forget my love
and service” (3.3.17-18).

3. Use [ ] to incorporate your quotation grammatically. You may need … to leave some words out so that it
makes sense: Cassio is worried because he wants his job back but “being absent and [his] place supplied/ [his]
general will forget [his] love and service” and most likely not rehire him (3.3.17-18).

REWRITE the following paragraph correctly using MLA- watch for verb tense and citations.

One reason to believe Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other is false is because every part of their relationship is
rushed. To start, their first kiss happened far too quickly. They shared a kiss and Romeo said “Thus from my lips, by
thine, my sin is purged”. (Act 4, 4,1) They have not yet talked for five minutes when they kissed. Likewise, their
engagement is also rushed. Juliet suggested they get married “Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow.”
(2.Scene 2.144) Romeo and Juliet agreed to marry the same night that they first meet! Furthermore, Capulet did not
approve of the marriage as he believed “[His] child is yet a stranger in the world…Let two more summers wither in their
pride/Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” [Act 1 Scene 2 line 54)].
Fused Sentences- Run-on and Comma Splice
Some writers may write sentences that contain two complete ideas, punctuated only with a comma or containing no
punctuation at all. Both are wrong in standard English- called run-ons.
Fused Sentence: A fused sentence is when two independent clauses are joined (fused) without any punctuation.
Comma Splice: A comma splice, on the other hand, occurs when two independent clauses are joined with a comma.
Example of a fused sentence:
My father installs wind turbines he travels all over as an energy consultant.
Notice that we have two ideas in two independent clauses:
My father installs wind turbines he travels all over as an energy consultant.
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Fixing a Fused Sentence: To fix a fused sentence, determine where one MAIN IDEA ends and another one begins.
1. Placing a period between the two main ideas. Revision: My father installs and designs wind turbines. He
travels all over Saudi Arabia as an energy consultant.
2. Placing a conjunction (subordinate or coordinate) to join the two clauses. Revision 1: My father installs and
designs wind turbines and he travels all over Saudi Arabia as an energy consultant.
Revision 2: Because my father installs and designs wind turbines, he travels all over Saudi Arabia as a consultant.

Exercises: Fix the fused sentences and comma splices by adding a conjunction or separating the clauses. Be aware that
some sentences are complex and require commas after the subordinate clause- these are NOT comma splices.

1. Janine’s uncle never graduated from high school he started his own landscaping company at sixteen.
2. I have had a Mac computer for a year, I have no regrets about buying it.
3. While the internet is down, we should play a game of Monopoly.
4. There are interesting videos we could watch, I especially enjoy TED talks.
5. My favourite TED talk is a mother who discusses her children leaving home I find it heart wrenching.
6. I also enjoy Jamie Oliver’s talk, for he is very passionate about eating well.
7. The Ellen DeGeneres show is so much fun to watch, although I still miss Oprah Winfrey.
8. Movies are the best form of entertainment TV shows are a close second.

Sentence Fragments
Definition: A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence, indicating the sentence is not whole or complete.
Example Sentence Fragment: The paper on the desk. What about the paper on the desk? We don’t know.
Fix the Fragment by writing it into a complete sentence. If you can, attach the fragment to the sentence before or after.

1. Mervin passed the exam. Although, he got the last five questions wrong.
2. Robert has met his long-lost daughter. Who had been searching for him over twenty years.
3. Because the cities on the west coast of Florida receive cool breezes
4. Jason Smith, who was the first man from Georgia to serve in the Army.
5. When I was given the opportunity to write a research paper on any topic of my choice.

Ambiguous Use of This or It- No antecedent

The word “it” OR “this” must not begin a sentence. If you use “it’ or “this” later in a sentence, ensure there is an
antecedent, the noun that it or this is replacing. Clarification- an antecedent is the noun for pronoun. You would never
say “Mike is helping Carmen with Carmen’s math”. You would replace the second Carmen with the word her- “Mike is
helping Carmen with her math”, thus, Carmen is the antecedent for her.
Example: This is how people end up losing many marks in language use. (This what? We don’t know!)
Correction: This sentence structure error is how people end up losing many marks in language use.

1. By using this, students will prevent spelling and grammar errors.

2. They need to learn to be critical of their own writing.
3. This would stop teacher’s frustrations with students who do not take time to correct foolish errors.
4. By taking it seriously, students can become stewards of their own learning.
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Parallel Sentences
A parallel sentence contains a main clause, with a list of ideas (single words or phrases) that should have equal value and
similar function. None of the items in the list should be longer or out of balance with the others.
Example Error: Performing in plays teaches young actors memory skills, vocal aptitude and how to prevent being
nervous while performing. (The third item in the list is too long)
Corrections: Performing in plays teaches young actors memory skills, vocal aptitude and self-confidence. (Now it
matches in terms of weight)

1. Topic sentences must be interesting, attention-grabbing, and have appealing sub-topics that are appropriate .
2. Teachers love essays that use strong language, have accurate support, and creating word pictures.
3. The classroom was filled with books, students and minds busy processing the ideas being taught.
4. When employed in a professional capacity, employees must act in a dignified manner, be sure that they are
speaking with formal tones, and dress appropriately.
5. I enjoy watching movies with my family, to take the dogs for walks on the Bruce Trail, and read good mystery
novels.
Pronoun- subject agreement
A pronoun must agree with the antecedent in the sentence. Pluralizing can be a good fix.
Error: Taking a picture of a person when they are not looking should not be legal.
Correction: Taking a picture of people when they are not looking should not be legal.

1. If an examination is mandatory for scholarship candidates, when and where will they be held?
2. While reading, a student may skip the words with which they are not familiar.
3. When someone is unsure of their grade in a class, they should go to the teacher and ask.
4. A student must keep track of their marks so they are not surprised when mid-terms are given out.
6. If somebody is unsure of how to apply for a job, they should ask for help from government agencies.
Misplaced Modifiers
Some groups of words do not make sense because of the order that the phrases or clauses appear.
Example: The students wanted to learn to write badly. (What? You don’t want to learn to write well?)
Correction: The students badly wanted to learn to write.
1. Princess Kate has first night out after the birth of Prince George in a sequined gold dress.
2. His goal was to finish quickly the speech before his audience got restless.
3. Alice served soda to her guests in plastic cups.
Commas, Semi-colons and colons
 Put commas after subordinate clauses or before, around extra information, after long independent clauses, and in
between items on a list.
 Put semi-colons before transitions in the middle of sentences, and follow the transition word with a comma.
Example: When studying grammar, students must learn to use the rules of language correctly; thus, forming well-
crafted sentences.
 Put colons between two independent clauses where the second clause further explains an idea in the first clause.

1. Because Iago twists Othello’s propensity for jealousy into a rage he places Desdemona in grave danger.
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2. Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies therefore he ends up committing a heinous crime.
3. A man tempted to murder may have experience in killing this bloody knowledge makes the act of murder
easier to commit.
4. While considering his own fate Banquo does not realize the danger he is in.
5. Othello who is an African man from Mauritania is an outsider in Venice.
6. Othello is a proud emotional and strong battle general whereas Iago is simply a servant.
7. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth into murder she is truly tempted by the power of the kingship.
8. When she describes her husband she makes him sound weak and emotional by the end of the play this
weakness has evaporated.
9. Macbeth for a few moments considers not killing Duncan.
10. Shakespeare exposes students to unique sentence patterns hence broadening knowledge of language.
Diction, Spelling and other Errors
Read the rule in bold and make the correction for the sentence following.
1. Write out all numbers under 100. There are 85 students in the atrium. _______________________________
2. Do not use contractions in essays. Don’t use contractions.__________________________________________
3. Use formal language. My mom and grandpa are out to lunch._____________________________
4. Watch out for phrases that are colloquial- used in speech too frequently, or known as slang.
Christmas is just around the corner. ________________________________
The noisy children were driving the adults around the bend._____________
5. Do not use transitions with an “ly” on the end. Secondly, these transitions are not effective._______________
6. Use “due to” with money or dates only- instead use “because of”: Due to the upcoming exams, extra-
curriculars are post-poned.________________________________________
7. Always place a comma after a transition word. To begin ensure your commas are properly placed.
8. Apostrophes indicate possession or contractions. Juliets love is Romeo who belongs to the family of
Montegues.

Language Use Errors - Pronoun reference problems-SPA-(subject - use of a “forbidden” word, for example:
Spelling pronoun agreement) “get” “a lot” “due to the fact” “ly
- misspelled words SP - incorrect verb tense -VT transitions” (except finally- no firstly,
- improper use of an apostrophe (circle- - no antecedent- NA secondly…) D
possessive not plural or plural not - unclear use of it or this -AMB - cliché’ or colloquial language -C
possessive ) - problems with parallelism -PARA Sentence Structure
- improper capitalization (circle) Diction - run-on sentence- RO
- use of abbreviations, symbols, (&, etc. …) - word choice D - improper punctuation P
(circle) - improper use of a word – wrong word - - comma splices- CS
Grammar WW - sentence fragments –SF
- improper verb agreement –VA; tense VT - use of a contraction in a formal piece NC - awkward sentences -AWK
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Practice your Knowledge: There are all of these errors, plus run-ons, fragments, and comma splices in the sentences
below. Label the error and make a correction. Some have more than one error per sentence. Numbers refer to the
sentence after them.

1.First suspense is used to engage students in the play. 2. Romeo and Juliet are on opposite sides of a family feud the

origin of the feud is never revealed. 3. Causing much strain and aggression in the town of Verona. 4. This makes their

relationship doomed from the start because their parents’ would never approve of their love. 5. Romeo sees Juliet at

the ball and is stunned by her beauty therefore making him forget all about Rosalind. 6. Once he sees Juliet he can’t

forget about her, Romeo is captivated and must learn who she is. 7. When Juliet learns her love is a Montegue she talks

to herself about him loudly so he hears her and knows she loves him as well. 8. It is imperative that they keep their love

a secret they could get in trouble if it is found out. 9. Unfortunately the murder of Mercutio ruined their marriage. 10.

Mercutio is a rude loud-mouthed hot tempered young man who tries to defend Romeos honour. 11. He is not a

Montegue by blood but his life is destroyed by their ridiculous feud. 12. A citizen of Verona must watch that they are

not drawn into the fight wrongly. 13. Finally these events make the play enticing because they show suspense through

illicit love affairs, exciting sword fights and dramatic unnecessary deaths by poison and dagger in gloomy crypts.

Passage 2:

When someone reads literature, they are often enlightened and inspired to change their ways of thinking and

their ways of acting. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. It’s message is it is a sin to kill a mockingbird

because a mockingbird does not do harm to anybody, they just give us joy and make our lives happy. In To Kill A

Mockingbird, three characters that represent important themes are Atticus Finch, Scout Finch and Boo Radley.

First Atticus Finch represents significant themes in this novel that help to support the author’s overall message

that it is necessary in life to fight for equality. One of the themes is leadership Atticus seems like he is always the person
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to attack the issues that arise in the town of Maycomb. When there was a sick dog wandering in the streets, he was the

one killed the dog in order to spare other people’s lives. In the novel it says: “With movements so swift they seemed

simultaneous, Atticus’ hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder.” (127). Killing the dog

when the town needs leadership. Atticus also represents equality, he seems to be the only one who does. In the novel,

Atticus is given Tom Robinson’s case. He says: “if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this

county in the legislature.” (100). In Maycomb, Atticus is the only man who fights to defend a black person, simply

because most people in the town believe that white people are superior. The third important theme that Atticus

represents is trust. He is the most trustworthy man in all of Maycomb. After Tom Robinson’s hearing in the court. Atticus

said: “There’ll be an appeal, you can count on that.” (213) To conclude Atticus is a great leader for Maycomb the only

man who is not racist.