8. How Do You Prepare the Final Copy?

Let's go back a bit to the point where you have com­pleted the last re-reading and revision of your rough draft. You are now ready to write the copy that you will hand in. Will its outward appearance affect the grade you get?

Technically, it shouldn't and, if teachers were machines, it wouldn't. But teachers, like other human beings, react to com­positions the way they, and we, react to people the first time we meet them. The smooth dressers attract us, and the sloppy ones repel. Certainly Shakespeare understood our nature when he said, "Apparel oft proclaims the man."

Keep this in mind, then. The person who rates your paper tries to be completely objective and yet cannot help being more favorably impressed with neatness and good form than with carelessness and disorder. The estimate of your composi­tion actually begins the moment your teacher sets eyes on it. If it looks outwardly good, you have stimulated a positive feeling; if it is a mess, you have handicapped your material and it will have to be very superior to overcome the bad first impression. The truth is that a beautifully prepared piece of work will often get a higher rating than it deserves just be­cause of its attractive appearance. I therefore cannot over-stress the importance of handing in a "well-dressed" final copy. The suggestions that follow will help you achieve this aim.

Your school may require a particular size and quality of paper for compositions. If it does, use it. This is no place to show your independence of spirit. If you aren't given special instructions, the 8" x 10" or 82" x 11" size is expected, lined for longhand and a good bond for typewriting. Avoid legal cap (82" x14") unless requested to use it, and never use odd pieces of paper that are either too small or outlandishly large. Your composition should stand out by virtue of its words and ideas, not by its peculiar physical shape. Moreover, the pa­pers for each class must be kept in sets by the teacher, and the irregular sizes are sources of irritation because they make filing difficult or may slip out of the packs.

Ink

First of all, use it. Leave your pencil behind with the rough draft. Either black or blue ink is satisfactory, but stay away from the fancy colors. Your teacher will probably want to use red or green for marking so that it stands out against the color you use. If you use a ball-point pen, and it would be better if you didn't, try not to make heavy impressions on the paper because it may turn out to look as if someone had walked on it with hob-nailed boots.

Now I want to let you in on a secret. A teacher subcon­sciously gives a typewritten piece of work that extra edge I mentioned before. Somehow the printed word influences people more strongly than the handwritten one. Of course, on examinations you can't help yourself. But on other occasions, use a typewriter if possible. However, watch out for typo­graphical errors, which will not be accepted as alibis for poor mechanics. Do the job neatly. Disorganized typing is much worse than careful longhand.

Headings and Spacing

Here again many schools have standard types, and you should use what is expected. Failure to do so shows an indifference that will be reflected in your mark. If you have a choice about headings, something like this will supply the necessary information:

Name of Student, Section         Teacher's Name

English Class                 Date

(Skip a line.)

Title

(Skip a line.)

¶ Indent for the first paragraph . . . (Do not skip spaces between lines in the text for longhand.)

(Use double spacing for typewriting.) (Do not skip extra spaces between paragraphs.)

¶ Indent for the second paragraph . . . Etc., Etc.

Margins

Leave margins on all four sides of your paper—top, bot­tom, left, and right. About an inch to an inch and a half is ample for each. Teachers appreciate margins because it gives them room for corrections and comments. Besides, the paper looks as if it had been framed and is accordingly more attractive.

Miscellaneous

In the title, unless otherwise instructed, use capital letters always for the first word and for all others except articles, short prepositions and conjunctions, and words in direct quo­tations used as titles. The only punctuation used is a ques­tion or exclamation mark, but no period.

If you have been asked to supply references for your com­position, list them at the end, preferably on a separate page. For books, give the title, author, publisher, copyright date, and pages or chapters read. For a magazine, give its name, the edition (year and month or volume and number), the title of the article, the author, and pages read. Remember: if you quote anybody else's words, you must use quotation marks.

Even an innocent oversight can be legitimately regarded as plagiarism.

You may have to make last minute corrections. Do so with­out ruining your paper. Your teacher will prefer a paper slightly marred by a correction to one that has clean errors. Draw a single line through the unwanted word or phrase and write the new material directly above it. Should you have to revise more than a few words, it would be best to rewrite the page.

Get your work in on time. Even if you are sick, send it along with a friend. Whether your teacher penalizes you for tardiness or not is beside the point. You cannot expect your late paper to be marked with the same sympathy and interest given the ones that came in when they were due.

Don't handicap yourself by submitting a slovenly written final copy. Take pride in the appearance of your compositions and you will find that you are increasingly less guilty of care­less errors. Neatness breeds correctness.

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