A student asked a good question in class the other day. She wanted to know how she should format her independent essay, specifically if she should indent. Indent means to move the first line of each paragraph in from the margin, as in the essay below.
Remember: Indenting is paper-based essay formatting. Also, note there is no space between body paragraphs. This is also paper-based essay formatting.
What are the qualities of a good boss? Personally, I believe a good boss should be understanding and a role model.
A good boss should be understanding. For example, when I started working at McDonalds, I didn't understand how to make French fries. That was my first job. Nobody trained me so I thought, "How hard can it be?" I turned the fryer on and pretty soon I was making fries, no problem. But then customers start complaining. There was no salt on the fries. I'd forgotten the salt! I thought I was dead, but my boss Betty said, "Chill, Fred. It's your first day. Everybody makes mistakes. Just add salt next time, okay?" As you can see, Betty was really understanding. That's why she was a such good boss. She never freaked out.
A good boss should also be a role model. After I made fries for a year, Betty promoted me to Big Macs. Pretty soon I was the best Big Mac maker in Mackinaw. Then one day Betty said, "Fred, this is Bob. Train him to make Big Macs, okay?" So I did. It was going great when the customers started complaining. There was no special sauce on the Big Macs. Bob had forgotten it! Did I yell at Bob? No. I did what Betty did when I messed up. I said, "Chill, Bob. It's your first day. Everybody makes mistakes. Just add it next time, okay?" Betty was such a good role model, I think of her every day now that I am president of Fred's Fine Shoes.
In sum, a good boss should be understanding and a role model. Understanding means a boss realizes people make mistakes and being a role model means being a good example. Remember that when you're the boss one day.
Look at the next example of formatting. Note there are no indents and there is a space between each paragraph. This internet-based essay formatting.
What are the qualities of a good boss? Personally, I believe a good boss should be understanding and a role model.
A good boss should be understanding. For example, when I started working at McDonalds, I didn't understand how to make French fries. That was my first job. Nobody trained me so I thought, "How hard can it be?" I turned the fryer on and pretty soon I was making fries, no problem. But then customers start complaining. There was no salt on the fries. I'd forgotten the salt! I thought I was dead, but my boss Betty said, "Chill, Fred. It's your first day. Everybody makes mistakes. Just add salt next time, okay?" As you can see, Betty was really understanding. That's why she was a such good boss. She never freaked out.
A good boss should also be a role model. After I made fries for a year, Betty promoted me to Big Macs. Pretty soon I was the best Big Mac maker in Mackinaw. Then one day Betty said, "Fred, this is Bob. Train him to make Big Macs, okay?" So I did. It was going great when the customers started complaining. There was no special sauce on the Big Macs. Bob had forgotten it! Did I yell at Bob? No. I did what Betty did when I messed up. I said, "Chill, Bob. It's your first day. Everybody makes mistakes. Just add it next time, okay?" Betty was such a good role model, I think of her every day now that I am president of Fred's Fine Shoes.
In sum, a good boss should be understanding and a role model. Understanding means a boss realizes people make mistakes and being a role model means being a good example. Remember that when you're the boss one day.
Which style should you use on test day? Internet block-style, definitely. Why? Because it is faster and easier, and it is easy to scan. That is what the raters like - an essay that is easy to scan. Don't waste time indenting or with any kind of fancy formatting.
Remember: The writing raters don't care about formatting or your opinion. They just want to know if you can write a proficient independent essay and a proficient integrated essay, both of which demonstrate OPDUL=C.
Want to know about formatting and OPDUL=C? It's all in the book.
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