Dr. William C.

Kurlinkus
"
!"#$% #% '%(()*) +$,#,"*- !"##"$ &''"'( )
"#$ %&'()& *&+ ,&-./: Especially odd, interesting, and new ones. Or if you are talking
about a specific type of thing. No dictionary definitions! You should define the term
yourself using your own language and your own examples.
Bad: In this essay Im going to be talking about how memorial interactivity
affects the users of everyday objects.
Good: In this essay Im going to be talking about how memorial interactivity
(a type of technological design that plans for memorable experiences) affects
the users of everyday objects.
"0$ 1)2-3 4)5 362-3 +36- 7632&/: Every quote needs to have some kind of
introduction, generally explaining whom the author is and why she should be trusted.
Every quote also needs to have an outro, a sentence that follows the quote explaining
why the quote supports/disagrees with/relates to your main argument or part of that
argument.
See templates for how to intro quotes at:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/930/10/
"8$ 9(.(2 +36- 5&'()(2(3)/ 4)5 4-:6.&)2/ 23 .4)4:&4;<& &=>&?242(3)/:
Especially in this essay but also, really, in all writing you do in and outside of college
courses you should always limit the topic/problem you are addressing to some
manageable size. Youre not just talking about global warming; youre talking about
specific steps to help solve global warming that OU students can perform.
"@$ A36-?& B&'&-&)?&/: Movie, newspaper, magazine, and book titles are italicized;
articles, songs, and chapters are put in quotation marks.
"C$ B&'&- D4?E: Dont forget your main argument/criteria/research question/exigence
and always return to it. The best way to check for conciseness and clarity is to ask:
how does this sentence support my main argument?
"F$ G2H3/: Why should I listen to you?
"I$ J4>(24<(K42(3): Common capitalization errors.
Do capitalize: peoples names, peoples titles (Dr. Kurlinkus, Aunt Trudy),
political, racial, social, national, civic, and athletic groups (Republicans,
Asian-American lawyers, the Detroit Tigers).
Dont capitalize: the names of seasons (fall, spring, etc.), the names of
majors/jobs unless that major is a language (engineering vs. Spanish)
"L$ ,H&) M/$ 2H4): Then refers to time (I wasnt ready then. I went home then I went to
school.) Than refers to comparison (Tom is smarter than Ricardo. This toenail is
grosser than that one.)
"N$ J3..4OP)5: Use a comma + a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so,
and yet) to separate two complete clauses.
Incorrect: Will was a happy professor but Wills students never got the hang
of commas.
Correct: Will was a happy professor, but Wills students never got the hang of
commas.
Dr. William C. Kurlinkus
#
#"$ Q>>3/(): /(5&: Make sure you predict and rebut your opposing sides. Think about
what holes people opposing you might poke in your argument and use those hypothetical
holes to 1. limit your argument more, 2. prove your opposing side wrong with more
information, 3. Incorporate your opposing sideadmit they are right and say youll work
together in the future. Remember if theres an opposing side, Ill find it and use it to poke
holes in your argument. Its your job to mind the gaps.
##$R-33'-&45! From now on Ill be taking a point off for every obvious error, for
instance, writing band instead of and.
#0$ P)4<+/(/: Explain how your examples illustrate your argument/main point.
Remember, everything should refer back to the main point.
#8$ A>&?('(? G=4.><&/: Be more specific with your examples; use specific examples
not general instance.
Bad: Many of the leading scientists think the gluten free diet is an inaccurate
fad.
Good: In a 2014 article, Harvard educated nutritionist Dr. Babyhands McGee
argued that, the gluten free diet is an inaacurate fad. No peer reviewed
studies have proved its efficacy for weightloss among the general population.
#@$ S6<'(<< P//(:).&)2 T34</: Some of you werent evaluating. You were simply
analyzing culture. For the next paper make sure you are actually writing a proposalyou
are illustrating a problem in the world and proposing a specific solution. Similarly, make
sure you are meeting all the listed criteria of the assignment.
#C$ JH33/& 4 />&?('(? 465(&)?&: Remember, for this assignment you are writing to a
deadly specific audience. You are writing to someone who can help change your
problem. Not just all citizens of Norman, not just all students, not just someone at the
university who decides where money goes, not just vague state representatives.