COMPOSITION ABBREVIATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

I Correction symbols (English/"French"):

link/"lien" (Make a better logical link between the central ideas expressed  two sequential sentences within the same paragraph)
transition (Make a better logical transition between the ideas in two paragraphs, sometimes in the last sentence of the previous
    paragraph, more importantly in the topic sentence of the following paragraph).
topic sentence (a sentence near the beginning of the paragraph should announce the new topic of the entire paragraph.  See below for details).
word/"mot" (Find a more appropriate word to say what you want to say. Use a dictionary and a thesaurus)
check  (just means that what you have written is correct, accurate, plausible, OK)
ellipsis/"ellipse" (missing words)
dict. (dictionary)
run-on (Run-on sentence)
syntax/"syntaxe" (grammatical links are incorrect)
awk/"mal." (awkward word choice and/or word order, "maladroit")
antecedent/"antécédent" (preceding word or words that a word (like "it," "this," "their") refers to are unclear.  Often you
    need only replace the unclear word with the noun or nouns to which it refers in order to create clarity.
sing./pl. (singular/plural)

II Composition Suggestions:

1. Write about a novel or film in the present tense, even when the novel is written in the past tense.

2. Don’t add on a final moral assertion like "they don’t realize that x is true..." unless your paper has made a rational argument for this value.

3.  Leave your own values out of the paper if they are not support by your argument.

4. Make each paragraph into a single organized argument with:
a.  a topic sentence (stating issue or thesis of paragraph);
b. reasons and evidence that support the conclusion.
c. conclusion on how reasons and evidence (b.) develop the issue or support the thesis (a.)

5.  A topic sentence should:
a. announce what is new in the paragraph in relation to the previous paragraph and the preceding argument as a whole. 
b. In general, it should make clear the link between the ideas in the previous paragraph and the present paragraph.
c. suggest how the paragraph will advance the overall argument.

5. Use quotes (and sometimes plot summary) to supply evidence that your assertions about the text are accurate.

7. Put a colon before a quote. Put the last name of the author and page number(s) in parentheses after quote: "....." (Perec 34).

8. Use a good dictionary and thesaurus in order to ensure that the words you use mean what you think they do in a particular context and in order to use the right preposition after or before certain words.

9. Your conclusion should not add new ideas and definitely not add your personal opinion. We want to know only what conclusions are justified by your argument.