I. You may use whatever secondary works you think appropriate, as long as they are properly cited. Your essays, however, should reflect your own thoughts on the works we have read.
II. Pay particular attention to structure.
a. Make sure that each of your essays has an argument which is clear and easy to follow, an introduction, and a summarizing conclusion.
b. Also make sure that your individual arguments are thorough and comprehensive. Avoid listing arguments without sufficient elaboration.
c. While it is very important that you defend your arguments with examples cited from the relevant works, do not spend too much time merely repeating what you find in those works.
III. Here are a few things to be careful of as you think about style.
a. Clarity is the most important thing: convoluted sentences and paragraphs which are hard to follow will get you into trouble.
b. Nevertheless, be careful that your prose is not too boring: vary the length and structure of your sentences.
c. Try not to repeat a word or phrase within a short space, unless you are doing so for a specific effect.
IV. Pay attention to the following grammatical rules.
a. Every sentence needs a subject and a verb.b. Watch out for "run-on" sentences.
c. Independent clauses (i.e., those which could stand by themselves as sentences) should be separated by a comma. Dependent clauses (i.e., those which could not each stand alone as a sentence) are not separated by a comma. Examples: Hesiod wrote poetry, and he won a conteste. Hesiod wrote poetry and won a contest.
d. Make sure it is clear to whom all of your pronouns (it, this, he, his, who, etc.) refer.
e. Titles of literary works (except short poems) should be underlined.
f. Be careful not to leave out apostrophes, and remember that they go after the "s" of plurals. Examples: Hesiod's techniques; authors' techniques; Sophocles' techniques or Sophocles's techniques.
g. Try not to split infinitives. Example: "to go boldly where no one has gone before," not (pace Captain Kirk) "to boldly go where no one has gone before."
h. Be careful not to mix numbers or tenses.
i. Watch out for so-called "dangling" participles. If you use a participle, be sure it is clear to whom the participle refers.
j. Avoid constructions in which one noun describes another.
V. Proofread carefully, and use your spell checker.
VI. Come to me if I can offer help or advice. Also, two institutions on campus provide invaluable help with writing: the Learning Skills Center (Jester A332A, 471-3614) and the Undergraduate Writing Center (Flawn Academic Center 211, 471-6222).