It is referenced throughout the course, but before submitting any written assignments, please review this resource on Proper Formatting. WARNING: When you submit your online assignments you are better off typing it in Google Docs or on your computer and then copying/pasting it into the submission. If for some reason you take more than a few minutes to make your submission, the site will sense inactivity and log you out. If this happens while you are typing you will lose your work (additionally, if you lose power or internet access you will also lose your work. Typing on Google Docs or on some computers will auto-save).

Paragraphs

Over the years, I have noticed an unsettling trend. It has to do with paragraphs (which I do appreciate); the idea behind a paragraph is to organize writing in a way that lets the reader know that a topic has transitioned. 

There are basically two methods of designating a paragraph...skipping a line and indenting. Not both!

Proper MLA style is to double space a paper and indent paragraphs (not skip an extra line between paragraphs). Double spacing your writing can be difficult to do when typing into a text box without some extra knowledge of HTML, which we do not have time to cover here, so here are your options...

  • Single space and indent paragraphs;
  • Single space and skip a line between paragraphs;
  • Type your paper in something like Office 365 or Google Docs and download/save as a PDF to upload your properly formatted paper to the assignment using double spacing and indenting. If you are doing this then go the extra mile and put in a header and page numbers as well.

That is it. Keep in mind that college professors will often use improper formatting as a way to mark up your papers and take off points without actually reading the content of what you write. Do not give them the opportunity to do this.

Because this course contains components written composition, we will be making a special effort to formalize most of your writing. That means a limitation on things like smilies/emojis/emoticons, slang, acronyms, proper capitalization, sentence fragments and things like that (I reserve the right to add to this list at any time). This is the kind of thing better suited to email, texting and Twitter. While there are discussion forums in this course, I will still expect a little more formality than you may be used to online. Standards in the forum will be somewhat relaxed, but proper grammar and spelling will still be expected.


Many of you are used to a very particular style of writing, one that has been drilled into you from the time you were in Middle School (perhaps earlier! Maybe you even still have teachers who tell you to do it. They are wrong!) It includes things like making sure your essays have five paragraphs; telling the reader what you are going to talk about later in your paper (Do not do this! Your introduction should provide some interesting ideas, conclusions or assertions which you will later explain, prove or defend in that section.); or that you end your essays by stating, "In conclusion..." Let me be the one to tell you before it is too late that college professors hate that (many of them anyway). They will say things like, "Do not tell me it is your conclusion, I can see it is the last paragraph, I know it is your conclusion!" They also tend to hate it when there are sentences that act as filler and do not add anything to the overall essay. On a related note, your conclusion should also not contain phrases like, "So as you can see, there are many similarities and differences between X and Y." That doesn't mean anything either. It adds nothing to your paper. Here is what you should write in your conclusions at this level:

  • End your essays with a summary of your assertions.
  • Come up with something you believe about why.

For example, do not ever say something like, "This essay is going to be about..." Just come out and say what you are going to say. If you think that you could take a sentence out of your paper and it would not change anything then by all means, do it!

Avoid using any general statements as well, they do not mean anything. If you want to write, there are many reasons for and against blah, blah, blah. Do not. It does not add anything to the discussion.

I happen to dislike those types of things as well, but I will not yell at you for doing it, I will just point it out and ask you to consider a better way. It is time for your writing to grow and I think this course will help you with that.

End of rant, you may now move on :-D