Who here knows about essays/english?

I'm writing a narrative essay for class and it's been years since I've had to write a paper so I'm a bit nervous. We've got to pass the thing around the class so others can correct our mistakes. Does anyone here know formatting, punctuation, all that good stuff? I'd love to PM a copy just to get some input before I bring a paper to class and make a fool out of myself. As it is I'm a little unenthusiastic about having to write about a personal experience and then share it with a bunch of strangers.

Oh the one thing I hate the most is when you have to write about your own life or something like that..
It is completely useless too, no one in the real world would want to read an essay about an event in your life unless you want to be a novelist. At least writing papers about a piece of literature can prepare you for graduate school..
The only advice I have is do the essay 2 days early, proof read it a day after you've written it and make corrections as necessary and repeat the step on the day before it's due...That usually helps. I don't typically have issues with grammar when I write papers, unlike when I write my posts on TCS , when I write my posts here I just type whatever I'm thinking with no consideration about grammar or whether what I'm writing is a proper sentence, or even a word. I think anyone who reads even the trashiest paperback novels for fun, or a magazine or newspaper, can kinda get the hang of grammar and spelling just from experience without even knowing any rules....Just follow your instincts if it sounds good it's probably right that's what I do and it works...

Awww, the joy of writing.

I write/edit for a local newspaper, so would be happy take a look if you'd like.

You guys are the best

If you still need someone to look over it i would be happy to! My bachelor's degree is in Journalism and I used to proof read all my friends and siblings papers.

I don't know how the others proof read but I have to hold a hard copy of what I have written in my hands. I have trouble catching even the slightest of errors when I tried to read essays on the monitor. I write my corrections on the hard copy then go back and make the changes.

Make sure you're looking closely at any suggestions that are given back to you. Also, take a few hours away from your writing and then go back. You'd be surprised. I've gone back to articles I've written for work hours later and say to myself, "*I* wrote that?? Wow, it's good!" lol

....wished to help..... but my tiny english do not help.....


In other occation....

I would be more than happy to read it over for you...I have a BS in English, but it's been over 15 years so probably someone using that part of their brain at the moment would be a better choice.

For spelling, one thing I definitely suggest is read the paper from end to beginning. Spell check doesn't pick up every mistake, especially typos (was and saw are both words) and if you know what the sentence is going to say your brain will rearrange the letters for you. Spelling is my BIG weakness (in case you can't tell from my posts).

For punctuation, see if you can pick up a used copy of "The Little Red Handbook" (I think that's what it's called). We used it in high school and it got me through college and beyond. I have a habit of throwing in commas where they aren't needed so it has been a good send. In fact, see if you can do a search online..it may be a website now.

Thanks! I tend to add commas instead of semi colons, argh! I did have to buy a little handbook for the class, I havent actually read much of it yet but I think it has sections on all the punctuation. But it doesnt have to be perfect, I just didnt want to show up with something that was horrible

I would always think of what I would write in my head for days before I wrote, but, first of all I would think of a theme. I guess I am assuming that you are writing an essay on a book.

I would worry less about punctuation than I would about grammar. For instance, do you know when to use I and when to use me? Not trying to put you on the spot, but profs seem to care more about that than punctuation.

The first paragraph should catch the reader's interest.

I would be happy to review it.

The funny thing about this hilarious comic is that it's actually grammatically correct!

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Everything you've always wanted to know about the semicolon! Just be careful with the rest of the site as some of the comics have cussing in them.

I used this site a lot during college: http://www.easybib.com/

and this one:

http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php