Can someone read an essay and tell me what to add or take away? basically edit it. Its for my AP English class

Question

Can someone read an essay and tell me what to add or take away? basically edit it. Its for my AP English class

Answer 1

I teach Medieval Literature part time at a University.  So I can't do that for you.  But I can give you a couple of hints.

Establish a theme.  The teacher has established a couple of themes in class.  Use one or two of those in your first paragraph.  (We like to know that at least one person was paying attention).

These are usually survey essays, so your teacher is going to want to see a little something from every novel on your reading list.  But depending on the size of the essay, concentrate on just three or four of the novels.  Even for the longest paper keep the number down to five.  To cover the other novels, just say this is echoed in "xxxxx" and "yyyyyy" when.......

If push comes to shove instead of covering every novel and have an essay that is hard to understand, it's better to concentrate on two or three novels and say that you have picked these novels because they best illustrate your theme.

Then go by novel by novel, author by author and tell how the author explores that particular theme.

End by giving your own opinion, you should always end every paper in English Lit  with some of your own insights.  Even if it's as simple as which author in which book does the best job and why.  It's important to add some criticism or insight of your own.  That's what we usually look for.  We have already read the books a zillion times and we like to be surprised by some original observation by the student.

A couple of hints:  Read it aloud and see where it sounds off.  Reading it aloud also helps you to keeping it simple.

Keep like with like in your paragraphs.

A rule of thumb for editing and composition is to write at least two drafts.  On the second draft start again completely from scratch.  By doing so you become your own editor.  This doesn't mean you have to erase everything you have done, but start on a new document on a blank page and use material from the previous material where you think it fits.

I'm a professional writer and every piece I've ever turned in has been rewritten from scratch twice.  The second draft usually takes a quarter of the time, but you'll find you will be able to say things clearer and better the second time around.  For real important stories, where I was the lead writer, I would rewrite my piece three times.

Lastly never make your reader work.  I find many students have an unbreakable habit using abbreviations.   If you use abreviations don't write, "The Red Badge of Courage (RBC)" and then just use RBC alone throughout the piece.  Rewrite the whole name of the novel from time to time, at the very least write it out in full twice.

Write important points twice.  If something is central to your essay repeat it a couple of times, worded slightly differently.  It's important in case your most important point didn't click with your reader the first time.

Having someone else edit your original work is always a good idea.  Don't be afraid to ask.  Some say it's unethical for school work, but it's not.  I'm also a professional editor and a professional English grammar guru and I know when I write, I always need an editor for my work.  A second set of eyballs always helps you to improve your writing skills.  Because I am a teacher I can't do it for you, but I hope the above helps you some.  Good luck.

Answer 2

Yeah wheres the essay? i took AP english last year