The College Essay Beth Ritter-Guth DeSales University

Modern Language Association Purchase the MLA Purdue OWL (Free Guide) 557/01/

General Formatting Tips Always use 12 point Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier fonts Use a ONE inch margin on all four sides Use in-text parenthetical citations Double space the entire document, but DO NOT add an extra space between paragraphs DO NOT underline, bold, italicize, or capitalize your title; do not change its size The first page should include the proper MLA heading; a page number is optional Every remaining page should have your last name and page number in the top right corner (in the HEADER)

The First Page… Sam Student Professor Ritter-Guth English 104 Hy 14 November 2007 The New Media Craze The first para should then start here. I did not bold or highlight my title. I just type it…no extra spaces…no underline…no bold…

Kinds of Sources Primary –Interviews –Surveys –Experiments Secondary –Peer Reviewed Journals –Magazines –Websites –Newspapers

Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing When possible, paraphrase Only quote when necessary Summarize lengthy texts ALWAYS CITE QUOTES, PARAPHRASES, and SUMMARIES!!! ALWAYS!

Using Quotations Quotations can not stand alone! Watch punctuation! All sentences must be GRAMMATICALLY correct! BAD: “This important statement really helps support the thesis. (Jones, 7) CORRECT: In an effort to demonstrate this concept, one person claims that “this important statement really helps the thesis” (Jones 7).

A Closer Look… BAD: “This important statement really helps support the thesis. (Jones, 7) –The quotation is standing alone –The period is before the parenthesis –There is a comma after Jones –There is no period after the parenthetical citation CORRECT: In an effort to demonstrate this concept, one person claims that “this important statement really helps the thesis” (Jones 7). –The writer introduces the quote –The comma is deleted –The period is in the correct position

Defending a Thesis Statement Proof Matters! BAD: In our society, people use a lot of technology at work. Why? 1.Which society? American? Center Valley? The US? The world? 2.Has a study of all these societies been conducted? 3.Do statistics exist to PROVE that ALL people use technology at work?

Fixing the Sweepers The Fix: In corporate America, the use of technology to cut costs and expand productivity is a rising trend. In a 2004 study by the US Department of Labor and Statistics, more than 65% of Fortune 500 companies are encouraging the use of social software, portable computers, and cell phones (76). ENTIRELY FICTIONAL CITATION!

A Closer Look… In corporate America, the use of technology to cut costs and expand productivity is a rising trend. In a 2004 study by the US Department of Labor and Statistics, more than 65% of Fortune 500 companies are encouraging the use of social software, portable computers, and cell phones (76).