COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID DURING THE ESSAY

FORMAT:
I didn’t dock points this time but will at the essay. Don’t worry, though, because I will
be doing it with you at the essay, and if you listen, you will be fine.

COMMA INSIDE QUOTATION MARKS IN ENGLISH

French: Dans <<La Parure>>, nous …
English: In “The Necklace,” we …

The example was provided in the sample you were given on “Story of an Hour.” It’s
important not to take those samples lightly and study them carefully. This is your
responsibility.

VAGUE TITLE:
The Importance of Social Classes in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”
Social Classes in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

The title should reflect YOUR thesis, not the topic assigned.

Good: The Rigidity of Social Classes in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

The Downward Spiral of Mme Loisel in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

MISSPELLING THE NAMES OF AUTHOR OR CHARACTERS, OR THE TITLE OF

THE LITERARY WORK:
Mme Loiselle
Mme Louiselle
Mme Louise
Matilde
Mathilda
Louise Mallard
De Mauppasant
“The Neckless”

No excuse: the correct spelling is in your course manual; all you have to do is copy it
over.
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DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH “GUY”? If not, it’s “Guy de Maupassant” the first
time you mention him, and then “de Maupassant” or “Maupassant” thereafter.

WEAK THESIS:
A strong thesis is 1) the answer to the question (or topic) you have been given and 2) a
theory you have, that you have come up with after serious thought, and that can be
proven clearly through three arguments.

It is not a restatement of the topic: “Social classes are really important in ‘The
Necklace.’”

It is not too vague for the reader to get what you’re intending to discuss: “‘The
Necklace’ explains the differences between social classes.” [What differences?]

Correct: “Through the character of Mme Loisel, de Maupassant shows that social
classes in the Paris of that time were rigidly and strictly differentiated.”

INTERNET CRUTCHES:
“Mme Loisel is greedy…”

This is what most high schoolish Internet sites say, but you’re in Cegep now, and we
expect better and more intelligent responses from you… So why even try relying on
Internet crutches with which I’m more than familiar? We discuss the stories at length
in class and you have all the information necessary to write a fine essay. Why would
you risk your academic record and future by plagiarizing?

POOR USE OF COMMA IN COMPOUND SENTENCES:

“She loses the necklace, she looks for it.”

Go back to your grammar lesson: Compound sentences require some compound word
and/or punctuation to link both simple sentences, so:

“She loses the necklace, so she looks for it”

“She loses the necklace; consequently, she looks for it”
“She loses the necklace; as a result, she looks for it”
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THE UNFINISHED LAST SENTENCE IN THE INTRODUCTION:

“More precisely, the irony resulting from the valueless necklace, the imagery of Mme
Loisel’s perceptions of wealth and poverty, and her lack of epiphany.”

This is a Fragment (FRAG). The verb and object are missing, and all you have given us
is a series of subjects.

It’s as if you wrote: “More precisely, A, B, and C.” In fact, you need to write: “More
precisely, [subjects] A, B, and C [verb] show that [object] Mme Loisel fails to
understand the social rules of her time.”

SOME SUCCEED, SOME TRY TO:

“The author is trying to say that Mme Loisel is deluded.”

1) Wrong tense.

2) The author has been published, which means that his or her work has been vetted
by editors and publishers, and centuries of readers. In other words, the author has
done his or her job and succeeded, or we wouldn’t be reading him or her.

We, on the other hand, are studying him or her and are trying to understand…

Correct: “The author suggests that Mme Loisel is deluded.”

“Mme Loisel is, in fact, deluded.”

YOU AND I:
Please never use “you” or “I” in an essay. You is normally used to address a person,
not to replace the character herself, “we, the readers,” or “one,” more generally.

Wrong: “You can see that Mme Loisel is in a panic”

Right: “Mme Loisel is in a panic”

Wrong: “You would not act like Mme Loisel unless you were proud”
Right: “Only a proud person would act like Mme Loisel”

Wrong: “You understand that Mme Loisel never reaches an epiphany”

Right: “Mme Loisel never reaches an epiphany” OR
“The readers understand that Mme Loisel never reaches an epiphany”
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MOST COMMON MISTAKE:

“Mme Loisel is a women who…”

A WomAn (singular)
SEvEral WomEn (plural)

LESS COMMON…
“The antagonist pays off her debt for ten years”

This is a smart mistake. Yes, Mme Loisel is the protagonist of the story, and when she
messes up she is “her own antagonist.” But in order not to confuse the reader, call her
the protagonist throughout your essay, and then explain that at times “she can be her
own antagonist.”

NO CONTRACTIONS IN AN ESSAY:
Not “doesn’t” or “won’t,” etc., but does not, will not, etc.

A GOOD SAMPLE INTRODUCTION:

See next page…

Notice how short the summary is. One sentence.

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John Doe

Writing English 101

Marie Thérèse Blanc

20 September 2016

Upward and Downward Mobility in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

In Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” [Summary] Mathilde Loisel, a

middle-class woman, borrows what she believes to be a diamond necklace to appear

wealthier at a ball, loses it, and wastes ten years paying for a real diamond necklace,

only to realize the lost one was fake. [Thesis] Through this tale, de Maupassant

shows that sometimes downward mobility is much easier to attain than a

higher class. [Claims w/ literary devices] Indeed, the story’s imagery reveals that

Mathilde’s ungrateful dissatisfaction with her own class leads to her downfall; her

husband, a secondary character, shows that going along blindly with foolish dreams

of upward mobility can result in a catastrophic outcome; and Mathilde’s inability to

reach an epiphany about her ambition, pride, and dishonesty exposes the errors of

those who think they can attain a higher class by deceit alone.