MLA Essay Writing Unit

1. MLA Essay Writing Unit • Modern Language Association • Plagiarizing is a NO! NO!

2. Changing the words • People's writing styles and the words they use are very distinct. It is generally easy to tell when someone has copied directly from a text. • In order to make sure you do not plagiarize, you must paraphrase, or change the wording! • It is not enough to take a couple of words out of a sentence and call it your own!

3. Paraphrasing • Means condensing information—pulling out only the important pieces of information. • Paraphrases should be written in your own words.

4. 4 Hints for Paraphrasing: • 1. Read the text to be paraphrased a number of times. • Read the sentence / paragraph you want to paraphrase a number of times to get the meaning of the text. Once you understand it, write out the key points (in your own words as much as possible.) • If you do not fully understand the text, do not attempt to paraphrase it, as you will just copy it.

5. 2. Circle the specialized words. • Circle the specialized words, ie. the words that the text is actually about. These will need to be included in your paraphrase, as without these words, the meaning of the paraphrase will change completely.

6. 3. Underline keywords that can be changed.

7. 4. Find alternative words for the keywords. • Find other words (synonyms) and phrases that have similar meanings that can be used to replace the keywords in the text. • Use a thesaurus and/or dictionary to help.

8. Rewrite it! • Rewrite the article in a succinct and logical fashion. Remember, it must be 1/3 the original length.

9. Be careful…even though you’ve changed the words…you still could be plagiarizing!!! • Even though you have changed the words of the text, you still could be breaking the law! • Whenever you “borrow” information and/or an idea, you must state where you got this information from. These are called IN TEXT CITATIONS. • In text citationsare written in parentheses (author’s name & page).

10. What is the difference between paraphrasing and quoting directly? • Paraphrasing is when you take another person’s ideas, change their words around, and write it down. • Direct Quotes are taken word-for-word from the text. • They do not have to be words that are spoken to someone else.

11. Direct short quotations are 3 lines or less. • You need to use quotation marks at the beginning and end of your “borrowed” words to let the reader know you’ve used these words on purpose. • They are written within the body of your essay. • His penalty, however, was commuted to a small fine and private penance. "It has been speculated that this scandal may have hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after changing his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quiney" (Boyce 529).

12. Just like with paraphrased in-text citations, you still have to tell whose words you have used. And the format stays the same: (author’s last name & page number) • His penalty, however, was commuted to a small fine and private penance. "It has been speculated that this scandal may have hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after changing his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quiney" (Boyce 529).

13. Some IN-TEXT CITATIONS Tricks/Tips (MLA Style) • To recap: • Direct short quotations are 3 lines or less. You need to use quotation marks at the beginning and end of your “borrowed” words. • Author’s name and page number follow. “Even from where I was standing, I could see the fear in Hassan’s eyes” (Hosseini 268).

14. If you mention the author’s name within your sentence, you do not need to cite it at the end of the sentence. You’ll only have to add the page number. • Ex: Hosseinistates that “Even from where I was standing, I could see the fear in Hassan’s eyes” (268). • Please note that the period for the end of the sentence goes AFTER the closing parentheses of the citation!

15. Direct Short Quotes • Can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of your paragraphs. • Ex: The car came flying up over the blind hill on the wrong side of the road. “This happens all the time here, there must be better police watch in this area” (Simpson 3). • As you are writing your paper you may want, in the middle of a sentence, to “directly cite something that is very important” (author & page) to the meaning of your paper.

16. What about articles/texts with no author? How do you cite these? • If you have a source with no author, then you will cite it the way it is first listed on your Works Cited page. (This would traditionally be with an abbreviated form of the title and then the page number.) • (Title & page). • For example, if the title of the article was “Shakepeare’s Children: Judith, Suzanna and Hamnet,” you would put (Shakespeare’s Children 7).

17. Block Quotes (long quotes) • Block quotations are 4 lines or more in length. You do not put quotation marks around the words, but you must double indent the whole quote (Tab it twice.) • Note: You must also tell whose words you have used. • Note: The period goes BEFORE the opening bracket.

18. Block quotation example: Throughout Canada and the United States, First Nations children were forced to do the following in residential schools: The children were forced to speak only in English and were taught that their way of life was bad. Caught between two worlds, the First Nations children lost their languages and heritage and became “the lost people.” Worse, many children are now known to have suffered terrible abuse at some residential schools. (Elk 3)

19. Quoting from a Shakespearean Play: • Block Quotes: • Indent block quotations twice, but note the manner of citing the source. Richard III tells his troops: Remember whom you are to cope withal: A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways, A scum of Britains and base lackey peasants, Whom their o'ercloyed country vomits forth To desperate adventures and assur'd destruction. (V.iii.315-9)

20. Short quotes are completed in linear form. • Indicate line breaks when Shakespeare is writing in verse with a slash mark (/): Othello recalls, "Upon this hint I spake: / She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd, / And I lov'd her that she did pity them" (I.iii.166-168).

21. Works Cited Page • The last page in your MLA essay is the “Works Cited”page. • This is the page where you list all of the sources (books, articles, etc.) you’ve used to write your essay. If you didn’t paraphrase or directly quote from a source, the source does not belong in your Works Cited page. • All sources are listed in alphabetical order. The second (and subsequent) lines of each citation is indented.

22. Ways to cite books: • Book with 1 author Lastname, Firstname. Title of the Book is Italicized. Place of Publication: Publisher,Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Ex: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

23. Book with 2 authors • Lastname, Firstname, and Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print. • Ex: • Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.

24. Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries) • You do not need to include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item. • "Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.

25. Ways to cite Internet sources: • Internet Site with author Editor, author, or compiler name.“Title of article in quotations.”Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site, Day Month Year of resource creation. Medium of publication. Day Month Year of access. <www.address until the first backslash>. Ex: Felluga, Dino. “Guide to Literary and Critical Theory.” Purdue University, 28 November 2003. Web. 10 May 2006. <www.guide.purdue>.

26. Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources • If publishing information is unavailable, such as publisher names and publishing dates, MLA requires the use of special abbreviations to indicate that this information is not available. • Use n.p. to indicate no publisher name has been provided. • Use n.d. when the Web page does not provide a publication date. • Use n.pag. when an entry has no paging.

27. Internet Site with no author • “Name of Site.” Name of institution or publisher, day month year of creation/revision. Web. Day Month Year of Access. • "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

28. MLA ESSAY Paper Format Guidelines • Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper, • Double-space the ENTIRE text of your paper, and use Times New Roman font. The font size should be 12 pt. • Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor). • Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of a paragraph five spaces (or press tab once) from the left margin. • Create a header that numbers EVERY page consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Ex: Smith 1

29. Formatting the First Page of Your Paper • Use either italics or underlining throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis. • Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. • In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. (Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. ) • Double space again and center the title. Don't underline your title or put it in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case, not in all capital letters. • Use quotation marks and underlining or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text, ex. The Theme of Masculinity in “Macbeth.” • Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

30. Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style:

31. Let’s take a look at essay writing… • Introduction = hook + thesis statement • Multiple Body Paragraphs = separate points you are trying to make + proof + quotes + analysis • Conclusion = restating your thesis + tying up any loose ends.