Synthesis & MLA Format Presented by Doris L. W. Chang 2009/05/13

Presentation Outline I. Purposes of This Assignment II. Effective Documentation III. Works Cited IV. Sample Format (MLA ) V. Work Cited

Purposes of This Assignment 1 1. Report writing is an important part of learning in college 2. Application in your future career --market research reports --journalistic reports --academic reports --research papers for various courses

Purpose of This Assignment 2 3.Other benefits for you as an English major: academic report writing skills & documentation help you to 1)avoid plagiarism 2)use sources honestly and effectively 3)establish your credibility as a writer 4)prepare for junior research paper writing

Effective Documentation Document the sources for summarized ideas -retain key ideas for long passages paraphrased ideas -substitute key words or sentence structures, but keep the ideas direct quotes direct quotes -for figures, statistics, key passages.

Document Summarized Ideas In studying the influence of Latin American, African music on modern American composers, music historians tend to discuss such figures as Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, …, and John Cage (Brindle; Griffiths ; Hitchcock ). (Gilbaldi 320) Cite the authors ’ last names as listed in the works cited and relevant page numbers. Put them in parenthesis.

Document Short, Direct Quotes They usually overlook Duke Ellington, whom Gunther Schuler rightly calls “ one of America ’ s great composers ” (318). Quote keywords from the original source, put these words in quotation marks, and then add the page number where you cite the source from. Introduce the author ’ s name (and his specialty) in the text before the quote to establish credibility. Use present tense. (Gibladi 320)

Document Long Quote (over 4 lines) Raymond Horricks compared him with Ravel, Delius, and Debussy: The continually enquiring mind of Ellington … has sought to extend steadily the imaginative boundaries of the musical form on which it subsists ….Ellington since the mid-1930s has been engaged upon extending both the imagery and the formal construction of written jazz. (122-23) Indent 1 ” for a quote over 4 lines Use : for a long quote Put page numbers in () after the period of the last sentence

Works Cited—Basic Format Author ’ s last name, first name. “ Article title. ” Book Title and publication information-- Place: publisher, year. page no. Sample: Brindle, Reginald Smith. “ The Search Outward: The Orient, Jazz, Archaisms. ”. New York: Oxford UP, Brindle, Reginald Smith. “ The Search Outward: The Orient, Jazz, Archaisms. ” The New Music: The Avant-Garde since New York: Oxford UP, (Gibaldi 321)

On-line Sources Basic Format Author ’ s name. “ Title of the document. ” Information about print publication. Info. about electronic publication. Access Information.

Works Cited—On-line Sources (Gibaldi 212, 321) Duke Ellington Estate of Mercer K. Ellington. 3 June 2002 Duke Ellington Estate of Mercer K. Ellington. 3 June 2002 Zeki, Semir. “ Artistic Creativity and the Brain. ” Science 6 July 2001: Science Magazine Amer. Assn. for the Advancement of Science. 24 Sept Title or author ’ s last name Website Title sponsoring organization latest update Access Date Url

An Anonymous Article (Gibaldi 214) “ Bollywood. ” Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia Wikimedia Foundation. 13 May 2009 “ Bollywood. ” Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia Wikimedia Foundation. 13 May 2009 “ City Profile: San Francisco. ” CNN.com Cable News Network. 14 May Works Cited—On-line Sources (Gibaldi )

On-line Articles An On-line News Article Achenbach, Joel. “ Chemical Cocktail ‘ Risk to Boys.' ” BBC News 13 May May 2009 Achenbach, Joel. “ Chemical Cocktail ‘ Risk to Boys.' ” BBC News 13 May May 2009 A work from a library subscription service “ Cooling Trend in Antarctica. ” Futurist May-June 2002:15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Hsinchuang, Fu Jen Catholic University Lib. 13 May Anonymous article title Original publication info: Journal title, issue no. date, page no. Database service provider info. Access Info.

On-line Gov. Publication On-line Government Publication (Gibaldi 221) United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime. By Howard N. Snyder. Dec June Government: place, dept. division. Book Title Author ’ s name, first name, last name Access information

An On-line Fact-sheet on an official website “ 10 Facts on Climate Change and Health. ” 7 April 2008 World Health Organization 2009 World Health Organization. 13 May 2009 < factfiles/climate_change/en/index.html> factfiles/climate_change/en/index.html>

Dos and Don’ts 1. Do follow the alphabetical order 2. Don ’ t number your sources 3. Cite all the sources you quote in the paper so that your readers can find further references.

Work Cited Gilbaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th Ed. New York: MLA, 2003.