Paragraph Formation and MLA Parenthetical Citation

You’ve already been given an outline of the paragraphs needed in your research paper: English Literature Research Paper: The World and Works of _______________ The Poet The Poet’s Life (1 paragraph) Biographical Information The Poet’s World Historical Period – What important historical events occurred in England during the poet’s life? (1 paragraph) Literary Period – In what literary period did the poet write? What are the general characteristics of literature during that period? (1 paragraph) The Poems The Poet’s Words Themes/Subjects/Types of Poems (1 paragraph) Word Choice, Syntax, Tone, and Mood (1 paragraph) Meter, rhythm, rhyme scheme, stanza length (1 paragraph) Figurative language – comparative literary devices (metaphor, simile, symbolism, imagery, personification, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy) (1 paragraph) Figurative language – poetic sound devices (repetition, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, parallelism) (1 paragraph) Rhetorical language – irony, hyperbole, allusion, paradox, oxymoron (1 paragraph) The Poet’s Voice Paraphrase one of your poet’s poems (include a coy of the poem – remember … minimum 20 lines; however, the completed poem is required (1 paragraph)

Now it’s time to write the paragraphs themselves…

Paragraph Setup A topic sentence Sentences of your own Quotations and/or paraphrases from your sources that support the ideas in your own sentences A concluding or transitional sentence When writing a paragraph for a research paper, it is important to have the following:

How do you set up a paragraph?

Here is a basic paragraph plan: Topic Sentence: Sentence #1: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) Quotation #1 : Sentence #2: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) Quotation #2: Sentence #3: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) Quotation #3: Ending/Transitional Sentence: (can be more than one sentence of your own!)

Let’s say you’re writing your research paper on Geoffrey Chaucer. According to your outline, your first paragraph is on the poet’s life. Start your paragraph with a topic sentence. Topic Sentence: Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the most important writer of the Medieval Period.

Next, write a sentence of your own about an idea that relates directly to the topic sentence. (You can use more than one sentence.) Sentence #1: Chaucer was born in 1340.

Now you need to insert a quotation or a paraphrase that supports Sentence #1 or adds information to your paragraph. Quotation #1 : He was the son of a merchant “whose apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the family’s standing” (“Geoffrey Chaucer” Encyclopedia of World Biography 68). What is the information in the parentheses at the end of the sentence?

It’s PARENTHETICAL CITATION! Parenthetical citation contains selected details from your bibliography cards. In order to use the information that you have taken from your sources, you have to acknowledge where you obtained that information. Parenthetical citation gives the reader enough information so that he/she can look at your Works Cited page (your bibliographic listing of sources used) and figure out where the quotation or paraphrase came from.

Here is the notecard where your quotation was originally written: Poet’s Life A son of a merchant “whose apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the family’s standing” 68

Here is the bibliography card for the quotation: “Geoffrey Chaucer.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research, A

To cite the quotation in your paper, take the first entry from your bibliography card and the page number from your notecard and put it in parentheses. (Note: If two or more sources have the same first entry, add the second entry as well.)

Poet’s Life A son of a merchant “whose apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the family’s standing” 68 A “Geoffrey Chaucer.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research, (“Geoffrey Chaucer,” Encyclopedia of World Biography 68)

After your first quotation, write your second original sentence. Sentence #2: Chaucer fought in France and was captured there.

Add your next quotation or paraphrase. Quotation #2: Poet’s LifeB King Edward of England paid his ransom 76 Whitford, Sam. The Big Book of Chaucer. New York: Random House, B King Edward of England paid his ransom (Whitford 76).

Fill in the rest of the plan and you have a paragraph! Sentence #3: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) He later worked for King Edward as a messenger. Chaucer later worked in import and export. Quotation #3: Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but asked for a new job when his position took him to places where he kept being robbed and beaten up (English Literature 83). Ending/Transitional Sentence: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) His last years were spent in Kent. Chaucer died in 1400.

Now, let’s type it up! Check to make sure your margins are 1” all around! Use only Times New Roman, 12 point. Start with your heading in MLA format. Be sure to center your title. Don’t forget to indent at the beginning of your paragraph!

Type Your Heading: John Jones Ms. Dale English Literature/Composition 27 March 2007

Type your title. Don’t forget to center it! John Jones Ms. Dale British Literature and Composition 3 December 2007 The World and Works of Geoffrey Chaucer

Then type your paragraph! John Jones Ms. Dale English Literature and Composition 3 December 2007 The World and Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the most important writer of the Medieval Period. Chaucer was born in He was the son of a merchant “whose apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the family’s standing” (“Geoffrey Chaucer,” Encyclopedia of World Biography 68). Chaucer fought in France and was captured there. King Edward of England paid his ransom (Whitford 76). He later worked for King Edward as a messenger. Chaucer later worked in import and export. Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but asked for a new job when his position took him to places where he kept being robbed and beaten up (English Literature 83). His last years were spent in Kent. Chaucer died in 1400.

Paragraph Checklist! Be sure your topic sentence is general enough to cover all the ideas you’ll be including in your paragraph. Make sure quotations/paraphrases are separated by sentences of your own. Have some type of conclusion or transition at the end of each paragraph.

John Jones Ms. Dale English Literature and Composition 27 March 2007 The World and Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the most important writer of the Medieval Period. Chaucer was born in He was the son of a merchant “whose apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the family’s standing” (“Geoffrey Chaucer” Encyclopedia of World Biography 68). Chaucer fought in France and was captured there. King Edward of England paid his ransom (Whitford 76). He later worked for King Edward as a messenger. Chaucer later worked in import and export. Robert C. Carlsen, editor of English Literature – A Chronological Approach, writes that Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but asked for a new job when his position took him to places where he kept being robbed and beaten up (83). His last years were spent in Kent. Chaucer died in 1400.

After you type your paper, include a Works Cited Page. Works Cited Carlsen, Robert C., and Ruth Christoffer Carlsen eds. English Literature – A Chronological Approach. Treasury Edition. NY: McGraw-Hill, Print. “Geoffrey Chaucer.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research, Print. “Geoffrey Chaucer.” The Medieval Page. 20 October Web. 6 February Whitford, Sam. The Big Book of Chaucer. New York: Random House, Print.

Congratulations! You’ve written and typed your senior research paper!