effective writing
Remember that the best way to illustrate points is to use relevant examples (quotes) from the text. Examples help you stay grounded and avoid deviating from your central idea. Comparative perspectives also help. Comparing, say, the motives of one character with those of another. Or, perhaps, the intentions of the character with those of the author.
Then please mind all the following which are not optional, but rather rules for writing a successful paper. All of them are discussed and explained in Effective Reading, Readable Writing and Plain Style, as well as in some links provided below:
-Have a title that best captures your topic and the spirit of your paper
-Have a clear thesis and personal perspective on the topic
-Remember to put main titles in italicshttps://www.wikihow.com/Use-Italics
-Insert page numbers
-Do not jump from tense to tense, stick with one tense
-Make sure your third-person verb forms are correct
-Have transitions (paragraphs)
-Do not ever address the reader as YOU -instead use ONE or WE: “As one/we may argue…”
-Be aware of rules of punctuation
-Check your PREPOSITIONS:
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions
-Check the rules and lists of irregular verbs:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/regular-and-irregular-verbs
-Know not only the forms of figurative language, but also how to read them and use them.
-Passive Vs. Active voice
-Introduce quotes properly: “according to…”, or “as the author states/claims/argues/maintains/declares/ponders…” (See link BELOW:)
EFFECTIVE VERBS FOR INTRODUCING QUOTES:
http://www.jccc.edu/student-resources/tutors-accessibility/writing-center/files/quotation-verbs-2.pdf
-Use specific examples in the form of quotes from the texts to illustrate your points
-DRAW AN OUTLINE before you write the paper
-Do not oversimplify or generalize. Be specific and think small
-Use synonyms; never repeat the same word more than twice in a short paper
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
Familiarize yourself with all types of figurative language and literary devices as explained in Effective Reading, Readable Writing and Plain Style.
You have already received the topic for your first paper. To respond properly to it you must have finished reading and demonstrate knowledge of all the following:
-The Epic of Gilgamesh (AN ENGLISH VERSION WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY N. K. Sabdars) (poem and introduction)
-All my essays posted on Gilgamesh (2 files I attached)
-The article “How to read Gilgamesh” from New Yorker magazine https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/how-to-read-gilgamesh
In addition you must have watched the documentary posted on BB three weeks ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOCaDpQ-IaM
Remember to be specific with the ideas for this paper. Your topic is to describe the Sumerians according to the information provided about them in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the essays/articles and documentary, NOT in Wikipedia or any general online sources. Some of their following characteristics and trends of the Sumerians (among many others) appear in the poem and could be part of a meaningful analysis:
-Their values
-Dress code
-Political system
-Lifestyle
-Food
-Attitudes towards each other and towards power
-Traditions
-Concepts of religion and the universe
-Superstitions
-Oneiromancy (interpretation of dreams)
-Gender relations
THE THREE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PAPER
As we discussed in class, these are the THREE main elements a successful paper needs to demonstrate:
1/CORRECT GRAMMAR
2/EFFECTIVE SYNTAX
3/COHERENT STRUCTURE
Syntax, as any grammar book and site will tell you is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in any language. In other words, it is about the grammatical structure of a sentence. Syntax is about order, coherence and logic. In a way syntax is about design. It’s the way you put furniture together in an inner space, so it becomes functional, hospitable and beautiful. Likewise, it is the way you put words together in a text, so it makes sense. If you place a living room sofa in the bedroom and your bed in the kitchen, for example, the house won’t make any sense and you will hardly want to live in it. Likewise, if you put the pronoun after the verb, or the article after the noun, or you skip a preposition that links the two parts of the sentence or you miss a punctuation point, or you have run-ons and fragments that interfere with the sentence structure, or mixing plural with singular forms, the result will be incoherent and chaotic.
Structure, on the other hand, is more of an architectural term. In order to stand a building needs a foundation, main body (floors) and ceiling. Likewise, a paper needs a solid introduction, a well laid out main body (delivered in coherent paragraphs the way a building is made of consistent levels) and a persuasive conclusion that completes the edifice.
I am not native English speaker, please keep the language sample. Thank you!
