Research Skills “You have no say in MLA”

Why Cite? * To give credit where credit is due: Avoid Plagiarism due: Avoid Plagiarism * To establish your credibility as an author an author * To give readers access to the sources you cite * Provides consistent format within a discipline

MLA Format * Times New Roman – 12 pt. font * Double Spaced * 1” Margins * MLA Heading on first page only * Not a header! * Top Right Header * Last Name Page # * Jones 2 * Centered Title * Creative Title * Not in quotation marks, underlined, bolded, bigger or different font

Heading MLA Heading NameTeacherCourseDate Joe Joe Smith Ms. Guzdziol Junior I November 2008 * Align Left * Double Space

Sample Title Page Dwyer 1 Barb Dwyer Pierceall / Benedetti Advanced Freshman English 4 April 2011 Building a Dream: Emily and Homer What would it be like to be with your beloved through eternity? How would it feel to have the person with you, no matter how long you live? In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the protagonist, Emily Grierson could probably tell you several ways to explore the answers to those questions....

Presenting Information 3 Different Ways to Present Information or Facts in your Paper:  Direct Quote (DQ)  Summary (Summ.)  Paraphrase (Para.)

Type 1: Direct Quotes * Quoting any words (word for word) that are not your own * Any part of a text can be directly quoted – not just a spoken quotation * Use Parenthetical Citation * Direct quotes can NEVER stand alone

Quote Weaves * Signal Phrase * Your own words setting up the quotation * 3 types of signal phrases (Complete thought, Speaker’s Tag, Incomplete thought) * Quote * Someone else’s words set off by quotation marks * Parenthetical Citation * Source information

Signal Phrase – Complete Thought * Punctuation is a colon * Examples: * He knew he was grounded when the cop knocked on the front door: “the tapping was a commanding rap signaling the death of fun” (Jones 18). * The snow fell earlier than last year: “August is too soon to sled” (Miller 33). * Holden knew what he did had consequences and ready to face the music: “looking through the window seeing all the boys fence left the feeling of abandonment” (“Catcher loses”).

Signal Phrase – Speaker’s Tag * * Punctuation is a comma * * Use when separating the speaker from what is being said * * Introducing the speaker of the quote Example: * * When awakening from a nightmare, Carol screamed, “Leave me alone” (Phillips 6). * * According to Stephanie Bower, “kids like to read” (Phillips 8).

Signal Phrase – Incomplete Thought * When blending your thoughts directly into the quotation no punctuation is needed Example: Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).

Summarizing * Taking ideas from a large passage of another source and condense them using your own words * Use Parenthetical Citation Example: Wheaton North High School is ranked 39th out of 670 schools within Illinois. Students have the opportunity to take AP course work and exams. The AP participation rate at Wheaton North High School is 41 percent. – ISBE.net Summarized Example: Wheaton North High School is ranked 39/670 best school within the state because of the multiple AP opportunities and high participation rate (ISBE.net).

Paraphrasing * Using the ideas from another source but changing the phrasing into your own words * How To: Keep the source out of sight as you paraphrase, so you will not be tempted to use any of the sentence patterns or phrases of the original Keep the source out of sight as you paraphrase, so you will not be tempted to use any of the sentence patterns or phrases of the original Do not substitute synonyms for some or most of the words in an author’s passage. This practice will result in plagiarism Do not substitute synonyms for some or most of the words in an author’s passage. This practice will result in plagiarism Use your own sentence structure as well as your own words. Your writing will be regarded as plagiarized if it resembles the original too closely in sentence structure as well as in wording Use your own sentence structure as well as your own words. Your writing will be regarded as plagiarized if it resembles the original too closely in sentence structure as well as in wording Check your text against the original source to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. Check your text against the original source to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. Use parenthetical citation Use parenthetical citation

Paraphrasing Example Wheaton North High School is ranked 39th out of 670 schools within Illinois. Students have the opportunity to take AP course work and exams. The AP participation rate at Wheaton North High School is 41 percent. – ISBE.net Paraphrasing Example: Wheaton North High School, home of the Falcons, is one of the best high schools in the state of Illinois. This honor is greatly contributed to its successful AP program which 1/3 rd of the student body participates in because it has a wide variety of classes offered (ISBE.net).

Blocked Quotations * * 4 or more typed lines of text –Not sentences * * End the signal phrase with a colon * * Double indent the entire quote 1 inch (1 inch = Double Tab or 10 spaces) * * Do NOT use quotation marks * * Continue Double Spacing * * Cite the source after the end punctuation of the quote

Blocked Quotations At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Golding has Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions: The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding186)

Ellipses * Indicates the original passage has material that has been omitted. * Ellipses are not necessary at the beginning or end of a quotation when taken from a large passage * If you use ellipses at the end of your sentence you use a 4 th dot to illustrate you have finished your sentence * Example: During English class I learned “Shakespeare was born in He died 1616” (Jones 46).

Brackets * Use brackets when you are inserting material into sentences that are not originally in the sentence--in other words, not done by the original author Example: While reading the newspaper “he [unexpectedly] died of shock” (Kade 83). * Add brackets in sentences where you need to clarify information Example: While reading the newspaper “he [Brian] died of shock” (Kade 83).

Quote within a Quote  To indicate that you are quoting a person or a fact that your source quoted use “qtd. in” and then your source.  Make sure you provide significant information in the signal phase. Female abductees, especially, report being taken to nurseries to see these children. Barbara Archers, for example, claims “[The babies] sacred me… because they looked odd” (qtd. in Jacobs 116).

Fact Card Topic – Sub TopicSource # Quote Weave (Sum., Para., DQ) Source Type Type of Fact

Example Notecard Colleges – University of Iowa4 The number one school for school spirit in the Big Ten (Smith 31). Magazine Summ.

Source Card Source TypeSource Number MLA citation. “Exactly How it Will Appear in Your Works Cited and Bibliography” 2014.

Example Source Card Magazine (Print)4 Smith, John. “Bleeding Black and Gold.” Entertainment Weekly. 10 April 2007: Print.

Works Cited * A complete list of every source that you make reference to in your essay * Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your essay * Each entry includes this basic information: Author’s name Author’s name Title of work Title of work Publication information: Source of work, date published, volume and issue numbers, and page numbers Publication information: Source of work, date published, volume and issue numbers, and page numbers

Works Cited * * Center the words Works Cited at the top – no quotes, italics, or underline * * Pagination continues from your previous paper * * Arrange sources alphabetically with the first letter of the entry – Do NOT number your sources * * If the entry goes onto a 2 nd lines you must use a hanging indent. Go to the end of the 1 st line and press tab twice. * * Each Individual Entry Is Double Spaced * * Within the entry * * Between entries * * Do not put extra spaces in-between each entries

Bibliography  A bibliography is a list of the sources you used to get information for your report. It is included at the end of your report, on the last page after the Works Cited.  What’s the difference? All sources looked at/read while researching should be included in the Bibliography. All sources cited/used within the paper should be included in the Works Cited. This mean all sources on the Works Cited will also be listed in the Bibliography.

Sample Works Cited Page Smith 12 Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Bleak House New York: Penguin, Print. Miller, J. Hillis. Charles Dickens: The World and His Novels. Bloomington: U of Indiana P, Print. “Squeezing the Poor for Votes.” New York Times on the Web. 18 February Web. 20 March Zwerdling, Alex. “Esther Summerson Rehabilitated.” PMLA 88 (May 1973): Print.

Additional Help * Purdue Writing Center Purdue Writing Center Purdue Writing Center * Modern Language Association Modern Language Association Modern Language Association * Noodle Tools Noodle Tools Noodle Tools * Easybib.com