The final draft, written in first person (I/me/my/we/us/our), should meet the following guidelines to the best of your abilities. (All criteria for the paper rest on the concepts discussed in the assigned readings and lectures.)
Structure
The paper should have …
a creative, interesting title.
an introduction that contains an attention-grabbing lead/hook; possibly an overview of the story; and a clear thesis statement (the message or moral or lesson that the reader might learn from reading your chosen story).
body paragraphs that each discuss one part of the story–each body paragraph containing a clear topic sentence, lots of sensory details and examples, and a clear concluding sentence.
Development
Each body paragraph should …
lead readers through the story clearly.
make use of description, including sensory details and figurative language.
contain effective word choices, a clear dominant impression, and action-oriented verbs.
Language
The writing style should …
be clear and direct (no needless wordiness).
be comprised of sentences of various length.
be mostly if nit entirely in first person.
have minimal grammar errors.
MLA Formatting
The paper should be formatted in MLA (see Lecture 2.4!), including …
one-inch margins all around.
double-spacing (with no extra spaces between paragraphs; set Before and After Paragraph Spacing to zero).
a 12-point Times New Roman font.
a heading with your name, the instructor’s name, the course, and the date, in day-month-year format (i.e., January 4, 2023, would be written 4 January 2023) one page one.
a header ½ inch from the top of the page with your last name and the page number on every page.
a centered title (on page one only).
paragraphs indented one tab (or ten spaces).
a justified left margin–not the right side.
a conclusion that reinforces the deeper point of the paper without just repeating the thesis or the overview of the story.
