A good paper should be both expository and critical. Exposition means not simply quotation or paraphrase but interpretation, clarification, and explanation. This is to say, the writer of the papers wants to show how s/he things a position, claim, or argument is best understood. The paper should be critical. That does not mean the paper must necessarily find fault with the position, claim, or argument being examined. Rather, it means the writer of the paper will assess the position, claim, or argument for its truth, soundness, or plausibility through the most rigorous reasoning the writer can muster. The writer will adduce arguments, consider objections both to the position being supported and to the writer's own views, and seeks to come to a very specific and well-supported conclusion. In this last regard, notice that it is a good idea to state briefly and clearly, in an introduction paragraph, what the writer hopes to accomplish; that is, the writer states very specifically what conclusion is aimed at and how the paper will be organized so as to finally arrive at the conclusion. Do be specific; it will help you to keep control of your work.

Short Marginal Notes

a.     Argument. You don't have an argument here and you should have.

ea.     Explain Argument. The argument is unclear and needs explaining.

ca.     Complete Argument. The argument is incomplete and should be developed more fully. You may need to establish further premises or you may want to state your conclusion more explicitly.

i.     Explain Inference. Show exactly how the conclusion you draw follows from the premises you employ.

non. seq.     Non Sequitur. You state or imply that something follows something else, but it doesn't.

rq.     Rhetorical Question. This indicates that you are using a rhetorical question when you really should be arguing out your case more effectively. Rhetorical questioning is one of the weakest forms of argumentation. Too often, rhetorical questioning is an expression of failure to see an issue, or a way of avoiding the argumentative work which should be getting done. On the whole you're better off avoiding rhetorical questioning.

qb.     Question Begging. Here something which is at issue, which is to be argued for, is being assumed. Question-begging commonly occurs when 1) a writer mistakenly thinks that just repeating a claim constitutes an argument for the claim; 2) a writer mistakenly thinks a position is refuted and an alternate position established simply by asserting the latter in response to the former.

auth.     Authority. A proposition is not true because someone conceived to be an authority has said it.

emot.     Emotional Appeal. To feel strongly about what you are saying is not bad. It is bad to substitute expressions of emotion for sound argument and facts.

tbs.     True by Stipulation. Here one so defines terms that a controversial issue is settled by definition rather than by argument. But that is to evade taking the issue seriously, and probably, involves a definition which is itself controversial.

nob.     Not Obvious. You let on that something is obvious, but it isn't.

assum.     Assumption. Embedded in the claim made or argument constructed is an assumption which needs explanation and/or defense.

cons?     Consistency? Do you have a contradiction here? Without the "?" the "cons" is stronger; it tells you flat out that you've just created an inconsistency.

x.     "X" marks a spot, a spot which will be referred to elsewhere.

devel.     Develop. You mention a claim, argument, or line of thought of significance sufficient to warrant further work on it.

care.     Careful. Here something is said loosely and read properly it is acceptable, but if taken strictly is questionable or even wrong. Be careful how you put your point.

contr?     Contrast? What is written suggests that one proposition is antithetical, in some way, opposed, to another, but in fact the antithesis is very unclear or even non-existent. Be careful, when using words like "but", "although", etc.

naq.     Not Answering the Question. The essay is intended to answer a given question, but it doesn't do so.

t.     Transition unclear; explain. The transition needs to be made clear. Show what role is played in the overall project of your essay by what you are about to do, or explain how what you have just done now leads you to do what you are about to do.

wi.     Weak Introduction. The commonest error here is a failure to state sufficiently precisely what question you will propose to answer, and what your specific thesis or conclusion will be.

wc.     Weak Conclusion. State in summary form what you have done in the essay. Too often a writer will summarize the last point of the essay instead of the main body of the essay and mistakenly offer it as a conclusion.

rep.     Repetition. You're repeating yourself unnecessarily.

wt.     Why is just this brought up here?

irrel.     Irrelevant. You're drifting from your topic. This problem may be one of organization due to a poorly formed thesis statement.

v.     Vague. Be more specific, or be more concrete.

amb.     Ambiguous. Here a term or phrase is confusing as to how it should be read.

ref?     Here a noun or noun phrase to which a pronoun refers is insufficiently clear.

ww.     Wrong Word. Look for a more precise word.

def.     Definition. Either give a definition, or explain the one you have.

explicit.     Be more explicit. Clearly state the point you are making.

sig?     Significance? What is the importance of what is said here? Or, so what?

dis?     Distinction. Either you need to make a distinction in what is being written or the explanation of the distinction is unclear.

ex.     Provide example.

exex.     Explain example.

bad an.     Bad Analogy.

e.     Explain.

awk.     Awkward. The writing fails succinctly to express what is supposed to be expressed.

ms.     Muddled Syntax. The sentence is so ungrammatical that the sense is lost or obscure.

g.     Grammar. You've made a grammatical mistake.

p.     Punctuation. Your punctuation is incorrect.

sp.     Spelling error.

?     Illegible, and for the life of me I can't make it out.

f.     Format. All papers should be typed, should be double spaced, should have decent margins, and should include page numbers.

ct.     Cite Text. Here you should cite the text or work in order to provide a basis for your interpretation of someone's work.

eq.     Explain Quotation.

interp?     Interpretation? Explain and/or argue for this interpretation of a position or argument.

oq.     Over Quoting. Quotation is not a substitute for interpretation or argumentation.

misq.     Misquote. Always copy accurately quotations. Remember, if you omit some words or phrases when quoting a passage, the omission should be marked with three dots. Any insertions into a quoted passage should be enclosed in square brackets.

source.     Source. When quoting, or near quoting, the source from which the material is taken must be cited explicitly and specifically.

qm.     Quotation marks. Use quotation marks when quoting. Plagiarism is unethical and will get you in trouble.

bib.     Bibliography. Give a bibliography of all sources used in preparing a paper. The bibliography is to appear at the end of the text of the paper.