I. Title
a. Always title your paper
b. Be creative!
II. Prepositions
a. “Brian was very resourceful by making his own survival tools and weapons.”
b. Brian was very resourceful. He made all of his own tools and weapons.
III. Sentence fragments
a. “And of all the things that were going through his head it is hard to remember that stuff.”
b. “As opposed to most people who wouldn’t use that information.”
IV. Run-ons
a. “On his second try, he since it was to dark on the first try he started hitting the plane with his hatchet to make a hole he dropped the hatchet.”
b. Since it was too dark on the first try, on his second attempt he started hitting the plane with his hatchet, trying to make a hole. He dropped the hatchet.
c. “He was determined to get the survival pack which took multiple tries, but he did it.”
d. He was determined to get the survival pack. It took multiple tries, but he did it.
V. Talking to the reader
a. “The topic I chose was, what I liked about Brian.”
b. Brian, from the book Hatchet, had many admirable qualities.
c. “Here are some things I liked about Brian in The Book Hatchet.”
VI. Double-spacing
a. Always double space!
b. Do not have extra space between paragraphs
VII. Verb tense
a. Stay consistent throughout sentences and paragraphs…choose past or present and stick to it!
b. “If he did something wrong, he would learn from his mistakes and if he didn’t he would die.”
c. “He remembered not to drink contaminated water. This prevents him from getting sick.”
VIII. Repetition
a. Try not to repeat words or phrases ad nauseam
b. Do not always use “he” or “him”
A. Every other sentence, use the character’s name
c. “I also found him resourceful…I also found him smart…I also found him determined.”
IX. Introductory and concluding sentences
a. Always include introductions and conclusions
b. Commendable example: “I like Brian because he reacted to all the challenges in the story in brave, creative, and smart ways.”