ENGL1301 Course Guidelines and Essay Foundations Flashcards

Grammatical Point of View and Pronoun Conventions

• Three Primary Points of View in English:

  • First Person: Refers to the person speaking (e.g., $\text{I}$, $\text{me}$, $\text{my}$, $\text{mine}$, $\text{we}$, $\text{us}$, $\text{our}$, $\text{ours}$).
  • Second Person: Refers to the person being directly addressed (e.g., $\text{you}$, $\text{your}$, $\text{yours}$).
  • Third Person: Refers to the person, item, or topic being spoken about (e.g., $\text{he}$, $\text{she}$, $\text{it}$, $\text{him}$, $\text{her}$, $\text{his}$, $\text{hers}$, $\text{its}$, $\text{they}$, $\text{them}$, $\text{their}$, $\text{theirs}$).

• Comprehensive Pronoun Matrix:

  • Singular Pronouns:
    • First Person Subjective: $\text{I}$
    • First Person Objective: $\text{me}$
    • First Person Possessive: $\text{my}$, $\text{mine}$
    • Second Person Subjective / Objective: $\text{you}$
    • Second Person Possessive: $\text{your}$, $\text{yours}$
    • Third Person Subjective: $\text{he}$, $\text{she}$, $\text{it}$
    • Third Person Objective: $\text{him}$, $\text{her}$, $\text{it}$
    • Third Person Possessive: $\text{his}$, $\text{her}$, $\text{hers}$, $\text{its}$
  • Plural Pronouns:
    • First Person Subjective: $\text{we}$
    • First Person Objective: $\text{us}$
    • First Person Possessive: $\text{our}$, $\text{ours}$
    • Second Person Subjective / Objective: $\text{you}$
    • Second Person Possessive: $\text{your}$, $\text{yours}$
    • Third Person Subjective: $\text{they}$
    • Third Person Objective: $\text{them}$
    • Third Person Possessive: $\text{their}$, $\text{theirs}$

• Strict Second-Person Prohibition Rule:

  • Second-person pronouns ($\text{you}$, $\text{your}$, $\text{yours}$) are strictly forbidden in formal academic essay writing for this course.
  • Exception: Second person is permitted exclusively within direct dialogue. However, only $\text{1}$ essay during the semester is allowed to contain dialogue.
  • Rationale: Second-person phrasing stands out inappropriately in academic prose. It reads as though the writer is chastising or accusatorily pointing fingers at the reader (e.g., writing phrases like "you should," "you this," or "you that").

Required Page Setup and Outline Guidelines

• Formatting Standards for Course Submissions:

  • Font: Must strictly be Times New Roman.
  • Font Size: Must strictly be $\text{12}$ point font ($\text{12}$ pt).
  • Line Spacing: The entire document must be double-spaced from the top of the first page (outline) to the very end.
  • Penalties: Deviating from Times New Roman or $\text{12}$ pt font, or using unauthorized decorative fonts, will result in severe failure grade penalties.

• Header Setup (Page Numbering):

  • The outline is page $\text{1}$ of the primary document; it is not to be submitted as a separate file.
  • Double-click in the top header region of the first page.
  • Navigate to the toolbar: select Insert $\rightarrow$ Page Number $\rightarrow$ place on the top right-hand corner of the page.
  • The header must display the student's last name immediately preceding the automatic page number (e.g., Lastname 1). Do not type the name "Murphy"; use your own official last name.
  • When set up correctly, the header page counter will automatically increment on subsequent pages (Lastname 2, Lastname 3, etc.).
  • Note: Clicking out of the header may cause the text to appear faded or greyed out depending on the word processor, but it remains active.

• First Page Top Left-Hand Corner Heading:

  • Line $\text{1}$: Student's First Name and Last Name.
  • Line $\text{2}$: Instructor Title and Name: Must use either Professor or Mrs. Murphy. (Do not use "Doctor" or "Dr." as she is not a doctor yet).
  • Line $\text{3}$: Course Code: ENGL1301.
  • Line $\text{4}$: Date: Must be fully spelled out in month-day-year format (e.g., August 24, 2026). The date must be updated for every submission and cannot remain as an earlier date.

• First Page Outline Mechanics:

  • Title: Center the word Outline below the top-left heading.
  • Thesis Statement Line: Left-aligned beneath Outline, write Thesis Statement: followed by a colon.
  • Sentence Constraint: The thesis statement line on the outline page is the only place on the outline where a full, complete sentence is permitted.
  • Outline Structure:
    • I. Introduction: Contains $\text{3}$ bullet points. The third bullet point must explicitly say thesis statement as a reminder to place it as the final sentence of the introductory paragraph.
    • II. Body Paragraphs: Contains $\text{3}$ sub-points corresponding to the $\text{3}$ body paragraphs (Body 1, Body 2, Body 3).
    • III. Conclusion: Contains bullet points for summary, restatement, and reflective synthesis.
  • Phrasing Rule: Apart from the thesis statement line, all outline entries must consist only of short keywords or brief cluing phrases. Do not put complete sentences into the outline sections.
  • Length Requirement: The outline must never exceed $\text{1}$ page in length. It occupies page $\text{1}$ of the submission document.

• Page $\text{2}$ Setup (Essay Start):

  • Page $\text{2}$ automatically retains the running header (Lastname 2).
  • Center a creative, original title at the top of page $\text{2}$. Generic titles such as "Descriptive Essay" or "Narrative Essay" are forbidden.

Structural Guidelines, Essay Rules, and Stylistic Restrictions

• Thesis Statement Requirements:

  • Placement: Must strictly be placed as the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
  • Length: Must consist of exactly $\text{1}$ complete sentence.
  • Mirroring Requirement: The thesis statement provided on the outline must match/mirror the thesis statement in the essay verbatim. Discrepancies between the outline thesis and essay thesis will result in highlighted callouts and point losses.

• Prohibited Writing Elements (Pet Peeves & Style Rules):

  • No Questions: Do not begin or end an essay with a question.
    • Beginning with a question sounds like a sales pitch.
    • Ending with a question leaves the reader on an unresolved cliffhanger.
  • No Opening or Closing Quotes: Do not begin or end an essay with a quotation. Avoid dropping irrelevant quotes in the middle of essays out of context.
  • No "In Conclusion": The transitional phrase "In conclusion" is strictly prohibited in the conclusion paragraph due to excessive overuse.
  • No Informal Quantity Phrases: The phrase "a lot of" is considered informal writing. It must be replaced with formal phrasing in formal academic essays (such as Cause and Effect / CNE papers).

• Standard Essay Architecture:

  • Paragraph Count: Students will write $\text{5}$-paragraph essays for most of the semester ($\text{1}$ Introduction paragraph, $\text{3}$ Body paragraphs, $\text{1}$ Conclusion paragraph).
  • Paragraph Sentence Limits: Standard paragraphs must contain between $\text{5}$ and $\text{7}$ sentences ($\text{5} \text{ to } \text{7}$ sentences).
  • Sentence Length Constraints: A single sentence must not span $\text{3}$ or more full lines of text ($\ge \text{3}$ lines).
  • Page Density Rules: Writing a single continuous paragraph that spans an entire page is forbidden.

• Conclusion Paragraph Components:

  • Summarize the major points developed in the body.
  • Restate the thesis statement in a revised, reflective manner.
  • Provide meaningful reflection addressing why the topic was explored over the course of $\text{500}$ words.

Course Schedule, Key Dates, and Submission Policies

• Deadlines and Time Standards:

  • All digital submissions are dictated by Blackboard server time ($\text{11:59}\,\text{PM}$ Blackboard time), not the student's personal computer clock.
  • Play for a Film Quiz: Due by Sunday at $\text{11:59}\,\text{PM}$ Blackboard time.
  • Descriptive Essay In-Class Activity: Scheduled for September 9 during class. Requires bringing a laptop, tablet, or smartphone to complete a Blackboard lesson module. Completing the exercise in under $\text{8}$ minutes indicates insufficient reading. Answers must be detailed; single-word answers are forbidden.
  • Descriptive Essay Peer Review: Conducted in class on September 14 and September 16.
  • Descriptive Essay Final Draft Due Date: September 20 by $\text{11:59}\,\text{PM}$ Blackboard time.

• Peer Review Policies and Attendance Deductions:

  • Submitting a final essay without participating in mandatory peer review results in an automatic deduction of $\text{10}$ points ($\text{10}$ point penalty).
  • Students must bring a draft that is $\text{95}\%$ complete ($\text{95}\%$ completed draft) to peer review sessions.
  • If a student's draft is only $\text{50}\%$ complete, they should still attend class: missing class entirely results in losing $\text{5}$ points, whereas attending with an incomplete draft results in losing only $\text{2}$ points.

• Grading and Highlight Feedback Rules:

  • Yellow highlights or feedback marks on returned papers do not automatically denote point deductions; highlights are often instructional notes to prevent repeating mistakes on subsequent papers.
  • The descriptive essay is notoriously the lowest-scoring assignment of the semester because students tend to write narrative stories rather than pure descriptive prose.

Descriptive Essay Assignment Specifications

• Word Count Standards:

  • Required Length: $\text{500}$ to $\text{750}$ words ($\text{500} \text{ to } \text{750}$ words).
  • Exclusions: The first-page outline, essay title, and Works Cited page do not count toward the word count total.
  • Allowed Margin: A maximum grace allowance of $\text{25}$ words over the limit ($\text{775}$ words maximum) is permitted.
  • Word Count Deduction Penalty: Exceeding the $\text{25}$ word grace buffer results in a penalty of $\text{5}$ points off for every individual word over the limit (e.g., submitting a $\text{900}$-word draft results in an automatic failing mark of $\text{0}$).

• Sensory Details Requirements:

  • The essay must incorporate at least $\text{3}$ of the $\text{5}$ human senses ($\text{3}$ out of $\text{5}$ senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).
  • Sensory details must be distributed evenly across all $\text{3}$ body paragraphs. Grouping all sensory details into a single paragraph is forbidden.
  • Note: Highly potent olfactory (smell) descriptions can overlap with gustatory (taste) sensory details.

• Content Restrictions:

  • No Outside Sources: External research or citations are strictly prohibited.
  • No Dialogue: External speech and internal mental monologues are strictly prohibited.

• Point of View (POV) Rules:

  • Permissible perspectives: First Person ($\text{I}$, $\text{we}$) or Third Person ($\text{he}$, $\text{she}$, $\text{it}$, $\text{they}$).
  • Second person ($\text{you}$) is prohibited.
  • Consistency: The chosen point of view must remain uniform throughout the essay. Switching between first and third person constitutes an improper "shift in person."

• Descriptive Writing Methodology:

  • Descriptive writing must focus exclusively on vivid detailing rather than plot progression or narrative storytelling.
  • Hypothetical Metaphor: Imagine describing a kidnapped mother to a police sketch artist. Vague descriptions (e.g., "she is yay high, hair yay long, might have freckles") are ineffective. A thorough description covers details systematically from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet, specifying exact physical traits and distinct scents (e.g., smelling like strawberries).
  • Text Reference Exercise: Analysis of "Flavio's Home" requires extracting fully fleshed-out sensory details (such as subtle tactile details of touch) to present on the board during class participation sessions.

The Writing Process and Paragraph Mechanics

• The $\text{7}$ Stages of the Writing Process:

  • The full writing process comprises $\text{7}$ distinct steps ($\text{7}$ stages).

• Stage $\text{1}$: Prewriting (Brainstorming):

  • Analogy: Prewriting functions like stretching before a workout; jumping into rigorous exercise without stretching causes physical injury, and writing without prewriting produces poor prose.
  • Topic Selection: Topics are not assigned by the instructor. Students must select their own topics, though the instructor will assist in narrowing them down.
  • Audience Identification: Academic writing requires identifying the target audience. In this course, the primary audience consists of the course instructor and student peers.
  • Tone Evaluation: Essay tone must remain strictly professional.
    • All-capital lettering signifies shouting or anger and is unacceptable.
    • Slang, colloquialisms, and expletives/profanity are strictly prohibited in academic prose.

• Stage $\text{2}$: Outlining:

  • Structuring thoughts, establishing thesis positioning, and arranging main points and supporting sub-points prior to drafting.