Formatting Notes:

Here are a few reminders for your essay formatting. I would like to see these
revisions by next Wednesday’s full draft:

1. Do not use second person pronouns in any part of the essay. Second
person pronouns convey the wrong audience for this assignment. You may
use first and third person pronouns, but no forms of second person (“you,”
“your,” “yourself”).

a. 3rd Person: He, She, They, We, Us*

2. Avoid unclear words such as “things,” “stuff,” “something,” “everything,”

and vague descriptions “which makes me who I am”

3. Your Google document needs to be in MLA/manuscript form, and you

need to have a heading and a creative title. Please do not use bold, use
quotation marks, or use italics for your title. The title should be in the
same format as the rest of the essay: Times New Roman and size 12 font.

4. Your essay needs to be in the proper order! It should be presented as:

a. Introduction (your thesis is the last sentence)

b. Body Paragraph 1

c. Body Paragraph 2

d. Body Paragraph 3

e. Conclusion

5. Do not label the sections. If you have “Introduction” or “Body paragraph 1”

please delete those labels.

6. Delete any of Ms. Zerante’s previous comments (after you have made the
revisions). The draft that you have on Wednesday should be a “clean
copy.”

7. Remember, you have been writing body paragraphs all year. Body
paragraphs have topic sentences (which contain ONE main idea/focus),
concrete details (evidence), and commentary (explanation and analysis of
the concrete details and the way in which they support the topic
sentence/thesis statement). Each body paragraph you write must contain
these parts.
 Writing a Conclusion

A conclusion follows the opposite structure of an introduction. It moves from

specific information to more general insight, meaning the conclusion begins with
a creative restatement of your assertion and thesis, moves on to the implications
of your assertion and thesis (answering the “so what?” of your essay), and ends
with a powerful thought that leaves your reader thinking.

Important rules to remember:

1. Do not just rewrite your assertion and thesis verbatim. Restate them in a
creative way.
2. Make sure that, before you write your conclusion, you are able to answer
the “so what?” of your essay. Why is what you had to say important? What
should your reader take away? You may decide to echo back to the idea
you started the essay with in this part of the conclusion. For example, the
quotation you brought up, the story you told, the definition you offered,
etc.
3. Decide on an insightful statement or idea that your reader should be left
with. What would you want a reader to remember after reading your
essay? That’s the sentence your essay should end with!