Check out your verb tenses. Don't feel you have to completely avoid
the "passive" tense (e.g., "the ball was caught") but definitely try
to have MORE subject-verb "active" sentences; they add power
and agency to your writing (e.g., "Billy caught the ball"). Purdue's
Active/Passive Handout
should help you here.
Also make sure your verbs are in the right tense. If you're
talking about literature, keep the tense in what is called "the literary
present." So a sentence in your essay to set up an example would read
"When Hana tells Caravaggio about the English patient..." If
you're writing a historical paper though, past tense is more suitable.
Check for non-sexist language, especially in pronoun situations
(e.g., "What does an artist look for in his (er, her...er, their...ARRRGHHH)
imagery?"). The best way is to talk to your professors. You'll find
some that say they don't mind the awkward "him/her" (or "him or her")
split, others who prefer one over the other, and still others who want
you to avoid the sticky scenario altogether. Figure out preferences.
Otherwise, read up on other strategies in Purdue's Non-Sexist
Language Handout
Read your essay out loud to listen for either awkward or long
sentences that could be clarified or broken up to read better.
Check your punctuation. If you have problems with quotation
marks, commas, semicolons, colons, or dashes, visit Paradigm Online
Writing Assistant's Basic
Punctuation Guide as well as Purdue's Catalogue
of Punctuation Handouts.
Look for glaring grammatical flaws. Strunk's
Elements of Style and Purdue's catalogues for Parts
of Speech and Sentence
Construction are great resources, as are any handbooks you use in
your English courses. Be especially on the alert for mistakes you make
often.
Check your diction (word choice). If you're looking for a better
word, look up some possibilities in Roget's
online Thesaurus or if you're having usage problems (affect vs.
effect for example), then check out But
I didn't Mean to Say That! by editor Pat Robidoux of the Writer's
Depot.
Prepare a Works Cited or References list. Set up footnotes or
endnotes if you need them too. A
Guide to Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers from the Writer's
Web gives you great advice on preparing all these pages. The University
of Calgary even offers a Sample
Works Cited page.
Now you can check your spelling both with a computer spell-checker
and with your own eyes to catch those words that are spelled right but
used in the wrong context (like there vs. their vs. they're). For common
problems, visit Purdue's Spelling
Handouts . Someone else's eyes are great at this point because you're
probably too close to your own writing. You can also check words out
the old-fashioned way--with a dictionary. Dictionary.com
or the Merriam-Webster WWWebster
Dictionary are both good choices.
Work on the presentation of your paper: use a laser-printer
if you can (or else your best ink-jet) on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, double
space your lines, maintain 1 inch margins, start numbering pages on
the second page of actual text, and prepare a title page with an original
title somewhere in the centre and your vital student info in the bottom
right hand corner. No duotangs needed; just a staple will do. Also make
sure your font is very readable (Times New Roman is the most common)
and in 12 point. For more on the subject, visit UVic's Essay
Presentation page and The
Format of the Manuscript guidelines from the University of Calgary.
