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| Guide to the Commentaries on your papers: | |||||||||
| General comments on syntax:� Do not try to sound scholarly just because it sounds good to do so.� In other words, avoid terms and phrases with which you are not thoroughly familiar, and do not write informally:� avoid contradictions, colloquialisms, and slang.� Do not be too conversational either.� Avoid autobiographical asides.� We are interested in what you have to say about your subject--your interpretation--not your personal opinions or your personal history. | |||||||||
| TELE--Telegraphic Prose:�� When every sentence is the same length and structure, a paper tends to read more like a telegram than an essay. You can avoid telegraphic prose by varying the length and structure of sentences | |||||||||
| TR--Transitions and AS--abrupt shifts:� Smooth transitions are crucial to maintaining the flow and coherence of the entire essay; shifting abruptly between ideas can destroy the continuity of the argument.� Hence, make sure that your paragraphs contain coherently connected and appropriately sequential sentences:� Each idea should flow logically and easily into the next one (even if it contradicts it). | |||||||||
| TB--The verb to be:� Forms of this verb (is, am, are, were, was) tend to simply provide a mechanical statement of fact, rather than an active commentary.� Using active, more transitive, verbs whenever possible,� will facilitate the flowing quality of your prose. | |||||||||
| Example: Sophocles was a Greek who believed that meaning and order were important for human life.� He was convinced that it was possible to achieve them.� This made him a tragedian. | |||||||||
| Better:� The Greek tragedian Sophocles understood human life as an irreconcilable conflict between the need for meaning and order and the impossibility of satisfying that need. | |||||||||
| (By combining the two sentences, the writer avoided both the TELE and the TB errors that appear in the first example.) | |||||||||
| RR--Rhetorical Register:� Be sure to distinguish your position as the essay writer--your own interpretational claims--from the position of the author, of the character's voice in the story, and of universal truth claims. | |||||||||
| �Example: The meaning of tragedy is the irreconcilability of inward contradiction. | |||||||||
| Better:� By presenting Antigone's dilemma as an irreconcilable inward contradiction, Sophocles affirms the tragic worldview. | |||||||||
| PV--Passive voice:�� Passive constructions tend to make your prose stilted and awkward. | |||||||||
| Example:� A beautiful but sickly young boy named Tadzio was loved by Aschenbach. | |||||||||
| Better (more direct and lively):� Aschenbach fell in love with a beautiful but sickly young boy named Tadzio. | |||||||||
| PO--Prepositional Overkill:� Use prepositions (of, on, in, for, about, to, at, etc.) judiciously.� Overusing prepositional phrases can lead to monotonous, run-on sentences. | |||||||||
| DF--Denotative Facticity:� Denoting ideas by the use of this or that can reduce them to the status of mere facts, thereby robbing them of all vitality. | |||||||||
| AA--Ambiguous antecedents:� If you use the words it, this, or �that--particularly a the beginning of a sentence--make sure that the reader will understand to what you are referring. | |||||||||
| IQ--Introducing and integrating quotations:� A quotation must be well integrated into the context while remaining faithful to the original.� Always introduce each quotation and provide a smooth transition back into the paragraph--do not end paragraphs with quotations.� (Please refer to the MLA Handbook for proper quotation style.) | |||||||||
| REP--Repetition:� Try not to repeat yourself.� When you find that you want to use a particular word or phrase more than once, rephrase it or look for a synonym (if it is a proper name, use a pronoun). | |||||||||
| ST--Shifting Tenses:� Proofread you work to make sure you do not switch between past and present or future tenses unless the context specifically warrants this switch. | |||||||||
| CS--Comma Splice:� Always use a comma before a dependent clause or an independent clause with a conjunction (and, or but).� Using a comma to join two independent clauses without conjunction, however, creates a comma splice.� Instead, use more abrupt punctuation, such as� a semicolon, a dash, or a period.� (Please consult an English manual for more extensive help in this area.) | |||||||||
| SL--Sexist Language:� Avoid gender-specific nouns and pronouns unless you are referring to a specific person. Use "people" or "human beings" or "humanity" rather than "man&" or "mankind".� "She or he" and "his or her" are acceptable, but they can be awkward;� "they" and "their" are good, but be sure to use them only when the antecedent noun is also plural.� The best thing is to avoid gendered nouns and pronouns entirely. | |||||||||
| IS--Incomplete Sentence or NCS--not a complete sentence:� Make sure that each sentence contains (at least) the minimal requirements, a subject and verb in agreement with one another and the proper punctuation (a sentence written in the form of a question requires a question mark). | |||||||||
| P/S--Plural / Singular non-agreement:� If you use the plural form of a noun, you have to use the plural form of the verb (or a singular noun and a singular verb) | |||||||||
| AUTO--Autobiographical:� As stated in the introduction, a formal or academic paper is not the place for stories of your life or statements about your belief system.� | |||||||||
| WC--Word Choice:� Carefully select the most proper word to express your thoughts. | |||||||||
| CT--Contraction:� Never use contractions (don't, I'm, isn't...) in writing.� Be aware of the difference between its and it's. Its is the correct spelling for the possessive form of it, while it's represents the contraction of it is and therefore should not be used in formal writing. | |||||||||
| PREP--Preposition:�� Although placing prepositions at the end of sentences or independent clauses is now often practiced in speaking, it is not acceptable in writing.� | |||||||||
| Colloquial:� While colloquial language or slang may be appropriate for some forms of fiction writing, neither has a place in formal or academic prose. | |||||||||
| Mechanical:� Statements like the author says, I find, the text reads, etc.� do not add to your writing, rather they lead to a more telegraphic (see above) style. | |||||||||