English 102 Writing Assignment Instructions

do I really have to read all of this stuff? I know this!

So, yes, I know this is dry stuff; I also know many of you already know this material, but don't just pass it by. Consider this:

Not all English classes are alike. What you did in 101, 28, high school, whaterver may not be what is expected here or at CSUDH or UCLA.
Not all English teachers are alike. What Professors Carrillo or Stoddart or ??? expected may not be what is expected here or at CSUDH or UCLA.

If your paper is the wrong format; if the file format is unreadable by me; if you turn an essay in without documented (meaning parenthetically-cited) quotations, you won't get your papers read, and your grade will plummet. So, yes, read this stuff; it's not that long.

general information about essays

Save a copy

always keep copies of all of your assignments. If there is a problem with either e-mail or snail-mail, you will need that copy to re-send for credit. Give it a name that is easy to recognize and save it on your computer where you can easily locate it.

Formatting in Word

to change the left and right margins to 1" go to PAGE LAYOUT and select the "Normal" template with 1" margins all around (in earlier versions of WORD select the FILE tab then PAGE SETUP; there is a space where you can change the 1.25" margins to 1" quite easily)
double spacing your paper is done by selecting PARAGRAPH (found under the FORMAT tab in older versions); in the LINE SPACNG box select "Double"; also make sure that BEFORE and AFTER are both set to 0, or you will get extra spacing each time you hit "Enter" while typing
the header (your last name and the page number 1/2" from the top right of each page) is handled using the HEADER/FOOTER feature found under INSERT (or VIEW in older versions)

The first essay (100 points) will require you to develop papers of 3-5 full typed pages in standard MLA format (see below) to adequately cover the topic. Papers less than three full pages will not be accepted, and if you are trying for a higher score (a "B" or "A"), you will need a minimum of four full pages. You'll want to read closely and use specific examples whenever possible to support your thesis (yes, you always need a thesis). There should be sufficient direct quotations from your sources, and these should be parenthetically cited. Yes, this is all information you should have gotten from English 101, and it is still in play. In fact, this is true for any analysis of someone's writing and any research paper you do in any class ever! Well, the format may not be MLA in a psych or sociology class or at a school that uses Chicago Style manuals, but still....

Content is most important with these essays, but I will look closely at the form of the essays as well, so you'll need to edit and proofread to eliminate as many of the spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax errors as possible to earn a high score.

NOTE: these are not just personal opinion papers.

In fact, there is no reason to reference yourself in any of them.

Get rid of, "I think that what Edgar Allen Poe means is..."

Replace that with, "In Poe's story he shows the psychological effects of guilt when he writes, 'Blah, blah, blah' (221)."

Be sure to reveiw the entire reading-to-writing process in the lectures.

mla essay format

All essays must be in standard MLA (Modern Language Association) format; this is the format you should have learned in English 101. College and university academic standards require that papers written in the humanities (there is a different format for scientific papers) be submitted in this format.

For complete information on what this format looks like, refer to and college writer's handbook, such as Rules for Writers. I have also included a copy of a sample MLA paper with some instructions that you can look at here:

Sample MLA Essay (.pdf) Format

READ THE SAMPLE. It explains how to set up the paper.

You can also find information on the MLA format and more general information on academic writing at the following web site:

Purdue OWL site (be sure to click on "MLA Guide").

You can also visit the school's Writing Lab in the Learning Assistance Center for more help.

Please look over the format of your essay before you submit it. You will lose points for incorrectly-formatted papers; in some cases, essays will not be accepted if the format is too far from the MLA standards.

how to submit your essays

Your essays will be submitted to me as attachments to e-mail. Write the paper in standard MLA format in Word, save your paper on your hard drive or on a thumb drive, and attach the file to an e-mail addressed to me. When sending assignments, YOUR E-MAIL MESSAGE should include your name, the class, and the name of the assignment which is attached (this is in addition to the heading information that you'll have on the attached essay itself). Send your e-mail to me at jrcorbally@gmail.com.

NOTE: you must save your file as a Word (.doc or .docx) file or as a rich-text-format (.rtf) file, or as a .pdf before attaching it. If you send a .odt or .wps file, I cannot open it; if you copy/paste the text directly into your e-mail; it will lose the MLA formatting, and I will not read it; if you send me a link to GoogleDocs or OneDrive, I will not click the link (I do not have or want accounts, and the file format gets messed up in those programs).

submitting the Station Eleven final project

The Station Eleven Project (which is worth 200 points total), will be turned in in stages. It requires that you turn in a Proposal first. Once that has been approved (and it may take a few revisions to get it fully approved), you can move on to the Research Paper portion of the project (worth 100 points) will be turned in the same way you submited your first paper, though it will also have a Works Cited page and probably some pictures. This is explained in the assignment instructions.

The final project (worth 100 points), will be a longer "work," and it may be turned in in paper format (as the other papers), or it may be submitted in other formats. See the assignment instructions for more on this.

Note: I will not grade any Research paper unless I have already approved the Porposal, and I will not grade any Final unless I have already gotten the Research paper. Be sure you turn them in when they are due.

There are actually reasons for this; it's not just me being fussy:

the Research Paper and Final Project are both based on a proposal; if that proposal is not approved (if the topic is unacceptable), then you will waste time doing a Research Paper and a Final Project that are not going to be accepted; this is not going to happen to you
The Final Project is going to make use of some of the information in the Research Paper, so that Research Paper has to be done before the Final Project, or there is no information for that Final Project

This should make more sense once you preview the assignment :)

don't have word?

You must still save your file as a .doc, .docx, .pdf or .rtf file (most software will allow you to do this). If you send me a .odt or .wps or even a file on GoogleDocs or OneDrive, they will be returned. Also, do not send me any zipped files, please.

NOTE: Microsoft Office 365 is FREE for students enrolled in LACCD classes. Visit the LAHC Website, go to the Student Portal, and follow the instructions to download the software.

Late Essays

Try to get all work in on time. Late essays will always (unless there's some problem with my server on the day the work is due) be penalized. A late essay will lose 10% of the total score. NOTE: Any essay that is more than one week late will receive no credit! To avoid a late penalty (or a zero), it's a very good idea to submit work early. Always keep a copy of your work in case it gets lost in transmission.

Another Tip: keep copies of the e-mails you send with your attached essays. More than once an essay was sent on time, but my e-mail address was misspelled (it happens). If you can re-send the original dated e-mail showing that it was sent on time, I will not count it late.

Links to Individual Essay Assignments

Links to all of the assignments, including the essays are on our Class Schedule page.

Writing Assignments