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Plot structure

Stories follow a shape: exposition → rising action → climax → falling action → resolution.
  • Exposition sets characters, setting, and the status quo the story will disturb
  • Rising action piles on complications — each conflict raises stakes
  • Climax = the turning point where the protagonist's fate tips; highest tension, not necessarily loudest scene
  • Falling action releases tension; resolution ties loose ends (denouement)
  • Not every story follows this line linearly — in medias res starts mid-action, flashbacks loop back

Point of view

Who tells the story controls what readers know and trust.
  • First person: I narrator — intimate but limited; everything filtered through one mind
  • Second person: you — rare, immersive (choose-your-own-adventure effect)
  • Third limited: outside narrator locked to ONE character's thoughts
  • Third omniscient: narrator knows everyone's inner life
  • Unreliable narrator: first-person voice whose account we suspect — irony engine

Characterization methods

Characters emerge through what they do, say, think, look like — and what others say.
  • Direct characterization: author states traits outright ('She was stubborn')
  • Indirect (STEAL): Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, Looks
  • Protagonist drives the plot; antagonist opposes — not always a villain, sometimes nature or self
  • Flat vs round: flat = one trait; round = complex, capable of surprise
  • Static vs dynamic: dynamic characters CHANGE by the end — arc is the point

Conflict types

Every plot runs on conflict; four classic engines.
  • Person vs person: the visible duel (rival, villain, sibling)
  • Person vs self: internal war — fear, guilt, addiction; often the deepest arc
  • Person vs society: laws, norms, institutions press on an individual
  • Person vs nature/fate: survival against storm, disease, destiny
Climax ≠ ending — resolutions come AFTER the climax
Antagonist isn't automatically evil; it's whatever blocks the protagonist
First-person narrators can lie or misread — don't equate narrator with author

Comparison devices

Simile, metaphor, and personification trade literal language for imaginative force.
  • Simile compares WITH like/as: 'Brave as a lion'
  • Metaphor compares WITHOUT: 'Time is a thief' — asserts identity
  • Extended metaphor runs across a whole passage/poem (allegory lives here)
  • Personification gives human traits to non-human: 'The wind whispered'
  • Implied metaphor skips naming one side: 'She sailed through exams'

Sound & repetition devices

Poets and prose stylists pattern sound to make language memorable.
  • Alliteration: repeated initial consonants ('Peter Piper')
  • Assonance: repeated vowel sounds inside words ('the light of the fire')
  • Consonance: repeated consonant sounds ('pitter-patter')
  • Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sound (buzz, crash)
  • Hyperbole = deliberate exaggeration ('I've told you a million times')

Irony family

Irony lives in the gap between expectation and reality.
  • Verbal irony: saying the opposite of meaning ('Lovely weather' in a storm)
  • Situational irony: outcome contradicts expectation (fire station burns down)
  • Dramatic irony: AUDIENCE knows what character doesn't — horror and tragedy fuel it
  • Sarcasm = bitter verbal irony aimed at someone

Allusion & symbol vs motif

References and recurring images deepen theme.
  • Allusion: brief reference to myth, Bible, history ('He's a real Romeo')
  • Symbol: object standing for bigger idea (dove → peace); concrete carrying abstract
  • Motif: recurring image/idea that gains meaning through repetition
  • A symbol appears once possible; a motif MUST recur
'The rain cried' is personification, NOT pathetic fallacy confusion — keep terms precise
Hyperbole isn't meant literally — flagging it as a 'lie' misses the point
Verbal irony ≠ coincidence: situational irony needs expectation violated

Finding theme

Theme is the argument a story makes about life — a full idea, not one word.
  • Theme ≠ topic: topic = 'love'; theme = 'Love demands sacrifice'
  • State themes as complete sentences about how the world works
  • Themes are debatable — evidence must support your reading
  • Multiple themes coexist; major + minor threads weave together

Theme evidence method

Claims about theme stand on three-legged evidence: pattern, pivot, payoff.
  • Pattern: what recurs (images, phrases, situations) — motifs point at theme
  • Pivot: the moment characters realize/choose — thematic thesis lives in choices
  • Payoff: ending's consequence — what the story rewards or punishes
  • Formula to avoid plot summary: 'By doing X, the author argues Y'

Symbol deep-reads

Common literary symbols and how context bends their meaning.
  • Water: baptism/rebirth — or drowning/danger; direction depends on treatment
  • Seasons: spring birth, winter death; autumn harvest or decline
  • Light/dark: knowledge vs ignorance, safety vs threat
  • A symbol means what THIS text earns — no symbol dictionary beats context

Title & framing devices

Titles, frame stories, and endings encode theme deliberately.
  • Titles often name the central symbol or ironic phrase ('The Gift of the Magi')
  • Frame narrative (story inside story) contrasts values across tellings
  • Circular endings repeat an image changed by experience
  • Last lines reward rereading — authors plant theme in final sentences
'Love' is a TOPIC not a theme — theme must assert something about love
Don't hunt symbols first and force theme later; patterns emerge FROM reading
Motif ≠ symbol strictly: motif recurs; a symbol can fire once

Form & structure

Lines, stanzas, and fixed forms shape a poem before a single word lands.
  • Stanza names: couplet (2), tercet (3), quatrain (4), sestet (6), octave (8)
  • Sonnet = 14 lines: Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) vs Petrarchan (octave+sestet)
  • Free verse abandons meter/rhyme — but still makes deliberate line breaks
  • Enjambment runs syntax past line end; caesura = pause mid-line

Meter & rhythm

Feet are stress-pattern bricks; iambic is English's native beat.
  • Iamb = unstressed-STRESSED (da-DUM): 'Shall I comPARE thee…'
  • Trochee reversed (DUM-da); anapest (da-da-DUM); dactyl (DUM-da-da)
  • Measure by count: pentameter = five feet per line — iambic pentameter = 10 syllables
  • Spondee (STRESS-STRESS) slows lines for weight

Rhyme & sound scheme

Rhyme maps a poem's skeleton with letters.
  • Mark rhyme ABAB by end-sounds; slant rhyme is near-rhyme ('worm/form')
  • Internal rhyme sits INSIDE lines; rhyme scheme reveals stanza logic
  • Couplets snap conclusions — Shakespeare's sonnets argue then flip in the final couplet
  • Refrain returns whole lines like choruses — villanelles live on repetition

Speaker & tone

Every poem has a constructed voice, distinct from the poet.
  • Speaker ≠ author always — dramatized voices, personas, monologues
  • Tone = speaker's attitude; diction and imagery carry it
  • Shifts (volta!) mark turns: sonnet volta arrives at line 9 or the couplet
  • Ask: who speaks, to whom, under what circumstances, wanting what?
Free verse isn't formless — line breaks and stanzas still make meaning
Rhyme SCHEME letters track END sounds only, not internal rhymes
The volta is a TURN in thought, not just another line

Epic conventions

Epic poems share a toolkit: invocation, epithets, vast scope, divine machinery.
  • Invocation: poet calls on a Muse to tell the story (Sing through me…)
  • In medias res: action starts mid-journey; backstory arrives via flashback
  • Epithet: recurring tag phrases — 'rosy-fingered Dawn,' 'Odysseus of many wiles'
  • Epic simile: extended comparisons running several lines, elevating the moment

The hero's journey template

Odysseus's route maps the classic monomyth arc.
  • Call & refusal/launch → trials at sea (Lotus, Cyclops, Circe, Sirens, Scylla)
  • Underworld visit = descent and knowledge gained (Tiresias's prophecy)
  • Homecoming disguise/test phase — Odysseus returns as beggar to test loyalty
  • Return/restoration: reclaiming home, restoring order, reunions earned

Key episodes & what they prove

Each trial tests a different virtue or flaw.
  • Cyclops Polyphemus: wit over strength ('Nobody' trick) but hubris in shouting his name — curse follows
  • Sirens: temptation of knowledge/past; binding to mast = discipline beats desire
  • Scylla & Charybdis: impossible choices — sacrifice some crew to save the ship
  • Suitors & the bow test: identity proven through competence only he possesses

Xenia & Greek values

Hospitality is the epic's moral operating system.
  • Xenia = guest-host law: hosts feed/gift guests BEFORE asking names
  • Violations of xenia draw punishment: suitors' doom is moral, not just plot
  • Kleos (glory/fame) motivates heroes — reputation outlives life
  • Nostos = homecoming song — the Odyssey IS the great nostos poem
The Odyssey doesn't begin with Odysseus — it opens on Telemachus (the Telemachy)
Hubris means overreaching pride against gods' order, not just 'confidence'
Aeolus's wind bag fails because the CREW opens it — distrust, not Odysseus's sleep alone

Ethos, pathos, logos

Aristotle's three appeals still structure every argument you'll read.
  • Ethos: credibility — credentials, experience, fair tone, shared values
  • Pathos: emotion — stories, vivid images, fear/hope/pride activation
  • Logos: logic — facts, statistics, syllogisms, cause-effect chains
  • Strong arguments braid all three; pure logos can feel cold, pure pathos manipulative

Claim, reasons, evidence

Arguments build from a debatable claim down through support.
  • Claim must be ARGUABLE — reasonable people could disagree
  • Reasons = mini-claims explaining why the claim holds
  • Evidence types: facts/stats, expert testimony, examples/anecdotes, analogies
  • Warrant: the unstated link between evidence and claim — make it explicit

Counterargument & rebuttal

Strong writers invite the opposition in — then answer it.
  • Address the strongest counterargument, not a strawman
  • Concede where true ('It's true that costs rise…'), then pivot ('…but the long-term…')
  • Rebuttal structure: they say → but → because (evidence) → so
  • Refuting weak versions of opponents' views backfires with informed readers

Persuasive techniques in the wild

Ads, speeches, and op-eds deploy repeatable moves worth naming.
  • Rhetorical question: plants your conclusion as the audience's own thought
  • Anaphora: repeated openers build momentum ('We shall fight… we shall fight')
  • Tricolon: three-part lists feel complete ('life, liberty, and the pursuit…')
  • Loaded language: word choice smuggling judgment ('reform' vs 'gut')
A counterargument isn't weakness — omitting it is
Pathos isn't automatically bad; unearned pathos is the problem
Correlation in 'evidence' isn't causation — watch for leap-in-logic logos

Clauses & sentence types

Independent clauses can stand alone; dependents cannot — that's the whole architecture.
  • Independent clause = complete thought: 'The bell rang'
  • Dependent clause starts with subordinator (because, although, when): 'Because it rained…'
  • Simple = 1 IC · Compound = IC + IC (fanboys) · Complex = IC + DC · Compound-complex = 2+ IC + 1+ DC
  • Avoid comma splices (IC,IC) and run-ons — fix with period, semicolon, or fanboy

Comma rules that matter

Six comma jobs cover 95% of real writing.
  • Items in a series (with Oxford comma for clarity): red, white, and blue
  • After intro elements: 'After the game, we ate'
  • Around nonessential appositives: 'My brother, a chef, cooks' — essential ones take no commas
  • Before fanboys joining two ICs; NEVER between verb and its object
  • With quotes splitting dialogue tags: 'I'm here,' she said.

Apostrophes & pronoun cases

Possession vs contraction; subject vs object pronouns.
  • Singular possessive 's; plural ending in s takes just an apostrophe (the dogs' bowls)
  • Its = possessive; it's = it is — the classic trap
  • Pronoun case: I/he/she/they as subjects; me/him/her/them as objects
  • Compare formally: 'She's taller than I (am)' — the missing verb reveals case

Agreement & common errors

Subjects agree with verbs; pronouns agree with antecedents.
  • Intervening phrases don't change agreement: 'The box of nails IS heavy'
  • Indefinite pronouns: each/everyone/either = singular
  • They/them now standard for singular unknown gender reference
  • Shift avoidance: keep person and number consistent within sentences
'Between you and me' — prepositions take OBJECT case; 'between you and I' is the hypercorrection error
Nonessential appositive commas change meaning: my sister Ann (essential) vs my sister, Ann (one sister only)
Fewer for countables, less for amounts: fewer calories, less sugar

Thesis construction

A thesis is a specific, arguable roadmap — not a fact or announcement.
  • Weak: 'This essay is about social media.' Strong: 'Social media erodes teen attention by rewarding speed over depth.'
  • Formula starter: [Subject] + [your arguable assertion] + [because/reason frame]
  • Place at end of intro in timed essays; complexity can split across two sentences
  • Test: could a smart person argue the opposite? If not, it's a fact, not a thesis

Paragraph anatomy (PEEL)

Body paragraphs are self-contained argument units.
  • Point: topic sentence stating THIS paragraph's mini-claim (links to thesis)
  • Evidence: quote/data/fact — introduced with context, never dropped naked
  • Explanation: YOUR analysis of how evidence proves the point — longest part
  • Link: closing sentence ties back to thesis / bridges to next paragraph

Embedding quotations

Quotes serve your syntax; they never stand alone.
  • Integrate grammar-wise: She calls the sea 'a breaker of hearts,' framing…
  • Signal verbs vary: argues, suggests, admits, observes — avoid 'says' repetition
  • Cite properly per class style (page/line); ellipses trim middles honestly
  • Quote only what you'll analyze — paraphrase background, quote language worth weighing

Openings & conclusions

Intros hook then commit; conclusions land the significance.
  • Hook options: surprising stat, vivid scene image, provocative question (then ANSWER it)
  • Funnel shape: broad-but-relevant → narrower → thesis
  • Conclusions restate thesis in NEW words + zoom out to significance ('why this matters')
  • No new evidence in conclusions — synthesis, not surprise
Plot summary ≠ analysis — every body paragraph must ARGUE something
'In conclusion…' announcements weaken endings; just conclude
Announcing a topic ('I will write about courage') isn't a thesis
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Unit 1: Elements of Story

Climax
The turning point where the protagonist's fate tips — not the ending.
Third-person limited
Narrator locked to ONE character's inner life.
STEAL
Speech, Thoughts, Effects, Actions, Looks — indirect characterization checklist.
Dynamic character
One who changes fundamentally by the end.
Exposition
Opening status quo: characters, setting, the world about to break.
Unreliable narrator
First-person voice whose account readers distrust — irony engine.
Antagonist
Whatever blocks the protagonist — person, society, nature, or self.
Flat vs round
One-trait vs complex characters capable of surprising us.
Conflict engines
Person vs person / self / society / nature-fate.
Review card 1
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 9
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 17
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 2: Figurative Language & Literary Devices

Metaphor vs simile
Metaphor asserts identity (Time is a thief); simile uses like/as.
Dramatic irony
Audience knows what the character doesn't.
Assonance
Repeated vowel sounds inside nearby words.
Personification
Human traits given to non-human things: the wind whispered.
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for effect, not literal claim.
Allusion
Brief reference to myth, scripture, history, or other literature.
Situational vs verbal irony
Outcome contradicts expectation / speaker means opposite of words.
Extended metaphor
Comparison sustained across lines or an entire work.
Consonance
Repeated consonant sounds nearby: pitter-patter.
Review card 2
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 10
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 18
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 3: Symbolism, Theme & Motif

Theme
A complete-sentence argument about life — not a one-word topic.
Motif
Recurring image/idea whose repetition builds meaning.
Pattern → pivot → payoff
Evidence trio: recurrence, turning choice, ending consequence.
Symbol
Concrete object carrying abstract meaning within THIS text's context.
Circular ending
Final image repeats an earlier one, changed by experience.
Seasonal code
Spring birth · summer peak · autumn decline · winter death.
Review card 3
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 11
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 19
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 4: Poetry Essentials

Iambic pentameter
Five unstressed-STRESSED feet per line: da-DUM × 5.
Shakespearean sonnet
14 lines, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG; volta often in final couplet.
Volta
The poem's turn in thought or argument.
Slant rhyme
Near-rhyme pairing close but imperfect sounds (worm/form).
Caesura
Deliberate pause inside a line, often marked by punctuation.
Refrain
Repeated line(s) like a chorus; villanelles are built on it.
Review card 4
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 12
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 20
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 5: The Epic & The Odyssey

In medias res
Beginning in the middle of the action.
Xenia
Sacred guest-host hospitality law in Greek epic.
Kleos / Nostos
Glory-fame through deeds / the homecoming song.
Epic simile
Extended comparison running several elevated lines.
'Nobody' trick
Odysseus blinds Polyphemus via name-riddle — then hubris undoes it.
Telemachy
The Odyssey's opening four books following Telemachus, not Odysseus.
Review card 5
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 13
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 21
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 6: Rhetoric & Persuasion

Ethos · Pathos · Logos
Credibility · emotion · logic — Aristotle's three appeals.
Anaphora
Repeated phrase openings building rhetorical momentum.
Warrant
The unstated link connecting evidence to claim.
Rhetorical question
Plants your conclusion as the audience's own thought.
Tricolon
Three-part list with rhythmic completeness.
Loaded language
Diction smuggling judgment: reform vs gut, freedom fighter vs insurgent.
Review card 6
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 14
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 22
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 7: Grammar & Mechanics Essentials

Comma splice fix
Period, semicolon, or comma+fanboy between two independents.
its vs it's
Possessive has no apostrophe; it's always means 'it is.'
Agreement with intervening phrases
Verb agrees with head noun: The box of nails IS heavy.
Fanboys
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So — compound-sentence joiners after a comma.
Fewer vs less
Fewer for countables (calories), less for amounts (sugar).
Review card 7
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 15
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 23
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.

Unit 8: Writing: Thesis, Evidence & Paragraph Craft

Thesis test
If nobody could disagree, it's a fact — not a thesis.
PEEL
Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link — explanation runs longest.
Embedding quotes
Context + signal verb + integration + analysis; never naked quotes.
Funnel intro
Broad-but-relevant hook narrowing to the thesis.
Signal verbs
argues, suggests, admits, observes — varied quote introducers.
Review card 8
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 16
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
Review card 24
Spaced repetition strengthens memory.
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Unit 1: Elements of Story

Plot structure
Stories follow a shape: exposition → rising action → climax → falling action → resolution.
Point of view
Who tells the story controls what readers know and trust.
Characterization methods
Characters emerge through what they do, say, think, look like — and what others say.
Conflict types
Every plot runs on conflict; four classic engines.
Key fact
Climax = turning point, not 'most exciting moment' by volume
Key fact
Third limited = one head; omniscient = all heads
Key fact
Dynamic characters change; static ones reveal the world around them

Unit 2: Figurative Language & Literary Devices

Comparison devices
Simile, metaphor, and personification trade literal language for imaginative force.
Sound & repetition devices
Poets and prose stylists pattern sound to make language memorable.
Irony family
Irony lives in the gap between expectation and reality.
Allusion & symbol vs motif
References and recurring images deepen theme.
Key fact
Simile uses like/as; metaphor doesn't — that's the whole test
Key fact
Dramatic irony = reader knows, character doesn't
Key fact
Symbol once vs motif repeats — recurrence defines motif

Unit 3: Symbolism, Theme & Motif

Finding theme
Theme is the argument a story makes about life — a full idea, not one word.
Theme evidence method
Claims about theme stand on three-legged evidence: pattern, pivot, payoff.
Symbol deep-reads
Common literary symbols and how context bends their meaning.
Title & framing devices
Titles, frame stories, and endings encode theme deliberately.
Key fact
Theme = full sentence argument; topic = single word
Key fact
Evidence trio for theme essays: pattern → pivot → payoff
Key fact
Symbols earn meaning from context, not from symbol dictionaries

Unit 4: Poetry Essentials

Form & structure
Lines, stanzas, and fixed forms shape a poem before a single word lands.
Meter & rhythm
Feet are stress-pattern bricks; iambic is English's native beat.
Rhyme & sound scheme
Rhyme maps a poem's skeleton with letters.
Speaker & tone
Every poem has a constructed voice, distinct from the poet.
Key fact
Iambic pentameter = 5 iambs = 10 syllables, da-DUM × 5
Key fact
Shakespearean sonnet: 14 lines, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, volta often in couplet
Key fact
Speaker ≠ poet — analyze the constructed voice

Unit 5: The Epic & The Odyssey

Epic conventions
Epic poems share a toolkit: invocation, epithets, vast scope, divine machinery.
The hero's journey template
Odysseus's route maps the classic monomyth arc.
Key episodes & what they prove
Each trial tests a different virtue or flaw.
Xenia & Greek values
Hospitality is the epic's moral operating system.
Key fact
In medias res + invocation + epithets = instant epic markers
Key fact
Xenia violations drive the plot's justice: the suitors die for breaking hospitality
Key fact
Epithets aid oral memory: 'wine-dark sea,' 'clever Odysseus'

Unit 6: Rhetoric & Persuasion

Ethos, pathos, logos
Aristotle's three appeals still structure every argument you'll read.
Claim, reasons, evidence
Arguments build from a debatable claim down through support.
Counterargument & rebuttal
Strong writers invite the opposition in — then answer it.
Persuasive techniques in the wild
Ads, speeches, and op-eds deploy repeatable moves worth naming.
Key fact
Ethos = credibility · pathos = emotion · logos = logic
Key fact
Claim → reasons → evidence → warrant: make the unstated link explicit
Key fact
Best rebuttals concede what's true, then outweigh it

Unit 7: Grammar & Mechanics Essentials

Clauses & sentence types
Independent clauses can stand alone; dependents cannot — that's the whole architecture.
Comma rules that matter
Six comma jobs cover 95% of real writing.
Apostrophes & pronoun cases
Possession vs contraction; subject vs object pronouns.
Agreement & common errors
Subjects agree with verbs; pronouns agree with antecedents.
Key fact
Compound needs a comma + fanboy before the second IC
Key fact
its = possessive / it's = it is
Key fact
Subject-verb agreement ignores interrupting prepositional phrases

Unit 8: Writing: Thesis, Evidence & Paragraph Craft

Thesis construction
A thesis is a specific, arguable roadmap — not a fact or announcement.
Paragraph anatomy (PEEL)
Body paragraphs are self-contained argument units.
Embedding quotations
Quotes serve your syntax; they never stand alone.
Openings & conclusions
Intros hook then commit; conclusions land the significance.
Key fact
Thesis test: could someone reasonably disagree?
Key fact
PEEL = Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link — explanation is the longest block
Key fact
Never drop a quote without introducing and analyzing it
Common mistakes for each unit — read the mistake, then make sure you know why it's wrong.

Unit 1: Elements of Story

Watch out
Climax ≠ ending — resolutions come AFTER the climax
Watch out
Antagonist isn't automatically evil; it's whatever blocks the protagonist
Watch out
First-person narrators can lie or misread — don't equate narrator with author

Unit 2: Figurative Language & Literary Devices

Watch out
'The rain cried' is personification, NOT pathetic fallacy confusion — keep terms precise
Watch out
Hyperbole isn't meant literally — flagging it as a 'lie' misses the point
Watch out
Verbal irony ≠ coincidence: situational irony needs expectation violated

Unit 3: Symbolism, Theme & Motif

Watch out
'Love' is a TOPIC not a theme — theme must assert something about love
Watch out
Don't hunt symbols first and force theme later; patterns emerge FROM reading
Watch out
Motif ≠ symbol strictly: motif recurs; a symbol can fire once

Unit 4: Poetry Essentials

Watch out
Free verse isn't formless — line breaks and stanzas still make meaning
Watch out
Rhyme SCHEME letters track END sounds only, not internal rhymes
Watch out
The volta is a TURN in thought, not just another line

Unit 5: The Epic & The Odyssey

Watch out
The Odyssey doesn't begin with Odysseus — it opens on Telemachus (the Telemachy)
Watch out
Hubris means overreaching pride against gods' order, not just 'confidence'
Watch out
Aeolus's wind bag fails because the CREW opens it — distrust, not Odysseus's sleep alone

Unit 6: Rhetoric & Persuasion

Watch out
A counterargument isn't weakness — omitting it is
Watch out
Pathos isn't automatically bad; unearned pathos is the problem
Watch out
Correlation in 'evidence' isn't causation — watch for leap-in-logic logos

Unit 7: Grammar & Mechanics Essentials

Watch out
'Between you and me' — prepositions take OBJECT case; 'between you and I' is the hypercorrection error
Watch out
Nonessential appositive commas change meaning: my sister Ann (essential) vs my sister, Ann (one sister only)
Watch out
Fewer for countables, less for amounts: fewer calories, less sugar

Unit 8: Writing: Thesis, Evidence & Paragraph Craft

Watch out
Plot summary ≠ analysis — every body paragraph must ARGUE something
Watch out
'In conclusion…' announcements weaken endings; just conclude
Watch out
Announcing a topic ('I will write about courage') isn't a thesis