Thursday

Okay - so I've gone over all the essays that have been turned in so far.  Here are some common things that are happening:

1) Periods come after the citation - example: "A great mead-hall/meant to be a wonder of the world forever" (lines 70-71).

2) Evidence.  Many of you are throwing in random evidence.  If you are discussing Beowulf's pride and you use a line like Hrothgar build "a great mead-hall/meant to be a wonder of the world forever" (70-71), you really need to do some work explaining how this line reinforces Beowulf's pride because the line seems more likely to reinforce something about Hrothgar.  Make sure you use evidence that corresponds to your thesis.  This is what you should have been doing with your dialectical journals.

3) Thesis.  Make sure you evaluate how the text defines something like Pride.  Beowulf has a lot of pride is not a thesis.  What does the text say about pride?  Excessive pride brings about monsters?  Make a statement that you can argue.

4) Pride is a feeling about one's accomplishments.  It is not something a person seeks.  "I'm going to kill a monster so I can get pride" is incorrect.  Make sure you know what you are talking about.

5) Grammar errors and clunky sentences can be easily fixed if you have someone read your essay. 

6) Don't end a paragraph with evidence.  Make sure you analysis your evidence after you present ti.