1. Apostrophes Apostrophes indicate a missing letter in a contraction.
The apostrophe goes where the missing letter would go.
Incorrect: I cant' do this assignment without help. (WRONG. What letters is the apostrophe replacing? Where should it go?)
Correct: I can't do this assignment without help. (RIGHT. The apostrophe goes between the n and the t.)
Watch out for "cant" and "wont" on spell check. These are words all on their own, but they don't mean the same thing as “can’t” and “won’t.”
Also, remember the contraction it's means IT IS.
Example: I can't open the door because it's locked.

2. Apostrophes Show Possession
With most singular nouns, simply place an apostrophe and an "s" on the end to show possession.
Examples:  
I rubbed the dog's stomach.
I went to Maria's house.
If the noun ends in s already, add an additional "s" anyway.
Example: This is my boss's car.
It is in the bosses’ parking lot.

3. Showing Possession with Plural Nouns
If a plural noun already ends in "s," place an apostrophe at the end. (DO NOT add another "s.")
Examples:
I collected the students' textbooks.
The textbooks belonged to ALL of the students.
I filled the cats' water bowl.
The bowl belonged to MORE THAN ONE cat.
If a plural noun is irregular and doesn't end in "s," place the apostrophe after the noun and add an "s."
The teacher collected the children's permission slips.
"children" is already plural
She went to a women's conference.
"women" is already plural

4. Apostrophes DO NOT Make Nouns Plural
NEVER use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.
I have three sister's.
(This not INCORRECT. The apostrophe is not being used to show that the sisters own anything. It's being used to make a plural.)
 I have three sisters.
(This is CORRECT.)
 Example of correct apostrophe use:
My three sisters' children came to visit this weekend.
(The apostrophe is correct because something belongs to the sisters as a group – the children.)
My sister’s three children came to visit this weekend.

5. Apostrophes and Other Punctuation Exercises
page

6. FINDING SOURCES

7. Finding Sources: Keywords
Keyword searches are very important.
If you aren’t sure what keywords to use, try freewriting or building a thought web at Wordle at

8. Evaluating Sources Know if your source is trustworthy or not.
This is very important! If you are getting your information from a bad source, it can throw off your whole essay.
First thing to look for when determining if a source it legit:
Does the article have an author?
Does the article have a date of publication?
Does the website match the article?
If the article is about a political issue and the website is something like “freecallingcards.com” this is NOT a reliable source

9. General Internet Research:
You can also get more accurate research on Google if you learn to use Google’s filters on the side bar. (“News” is a useful filter)
Do not ever cite Wikipeida as a source. It is NOT considered a reliable or academic source.
If you absolutely cannot find the information anywhere else, you may look at a Wikipedia entry for ONE PURPOSE ONLY: To use their citation system to find the ORIGINAL SOURCE of the information. When you see a number link in a wiki article, click and it will take you to a citation at the bottom of the page. You may use this to go to the original source.
If the claim or information is not cited, it cannot be fully trusted. Do not use it, or search for it elsewhere.

10. Library Research
One of the best places to do research is at the library
You can ask the librarians to help you with research!
You can find books on your topic! (yes, even recent topics!)
You can access e-books through the library
And probably most useful of all, you can find articles through the Library Databases.
Databases on the Library Website that will probably be useful are:
CQ Researcher (limited number of topics, but excellent in- depth coverage)
Opposing Viewpoints (again, limited topics, but good information)

11. So what are Reputable Web Sources?
Reputable websites: reliable news sources, websites run by trustworthy organizations
Treat websites with caution. The internet contains a wealth of information, but unless you know the credentials of the person posting the opinions/interpretations of a work, tread carefully. Come see me if you have any questions.
Material from any of our Library Databases

12. There are Three Steps to Using Sources:
Find sources and choose the best ones for your purpose.
Read the sources carefully, keeping track of your own reactions to the author’s ideas and using your sources as a springboard for your own contribution to the discussion.
Use the sources in your essay, giving proper credit in the body of the essay and at the end, using MLA format.

13. More Advice on Sources
Just because you find a source and read it doesn’t mean you have to use it. If you read a source and don’t like it, keep looking.
Keep researching throughout the writing process. If you find a wonderful source with all kinds of good ideas you want to respond to after you wrote a draft, that’s fine. Include that source and your response when you revise.
Keep track of every source you use ideas or quotes from in your paper.
You will need to be able to find the source again when you give it credit. Keep track of your sources as you go.

14. Cite your sources and avoid plagiarism
MLA CITATION
Cite your sources and avoid plagiarism

15. Using Sources and Giving Credit
You’ve found your sources, read them, took notes, and you’re ready to use your sources in your essay.
So… which quotes should you use?
Quotes that show something you are making a point about.
Quotes where the original source’s wording is especially good or important to your response.
Quotes that contain ideas that would make most people want proof.

16. How to Avoid Drop-in Quotes:
One of the risk factors for heart disease is alcohol consumption. The American Heart Association website states, “drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, cause heart failure and lead to stroke” (“Risk Factors”).
Notice that the quote is a part of a sentence written by the author of the paper.
Adding “(Insert source name here) states” to the beginning of a quotation is a quick, easy way to fix drop-in quotes.
This is called a “signal phrase.”
You are encouraged to embed your quote into your own sentence:
Example: People worried about heart disease should seriously limit how much they drink because “drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure” or even cause death or stroke (“Risk Factors”).

17. The “Quote Sandwich”
This is a way to integrate quotes into your paper smoothly and avoid drop-in quotes.
The first piece of “bread”
Introduce quote, possibly mention author, connect quote to what you were saying before.
The “Meat”
Your quote, correctly cited with in-text citation.
The second piece of “bread”
Interpretation/explanation of quote (NOT simply rewording the quote), connect quote to what you will say next.

18. Online Examples of Quote Sandwiches
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Notice that both of these examples make the quote a part of a sentence the essay author wrote, and notice that both examples give credit to the source’s author.

19. What Is MLA Format? MLA Stands for “Modern Language Association”
The MLA makes rules for the writers of research papers in English and the Humanities so that everyone who is doing research is following the same set of rules

20. What kinds of things do I need to do to have correct MLA Format?
Part of MLA style is format.
Margins
Heading
Font, etc.
Please see the formatting example that is on Moodle for my expectations on formatting.
Part of MLA style is citation.
This means giving credit to your sources and avoiding plagiarism.
Citation is also meant to make is easy for your reader find your sources if he or she wishes to read them.

21. MLA Citation has two main parts:
Parenthetical citations, aka In-Text Citation
Ex: (Anderson 3)
Are in the body (main text) of your essay.
Come after each paraphrase or quote that you did not write or think of yourself, you must indicate which source you are using in order to avoid plagiarism. Consult your textbook, a handbook, or the handout on Moodle for more detail.
A Works Cited page:
On its own page at the end of your essay
Lists every source you used in alphabetical order by the last name of the author.
Each works cited entry must contain specific information in a specific order. Consult a handbook or the handout on moodle for more details.

22. MLA In-Text Citation
An in-text citation is the place where you give credit to a source in the body of your paper.
All direct quotations are enclosed in quote marks
Author’s last name and page number where quote is found included in parentheses after the quote
Your in-text citation should both give credit to your source and send your reader to your Works Cited page to find your entry for the source you have just quoted.

23. Works Cited Page
This is where you have all of your sources listed in alphabetical order.
Specific information about your sources must be listed in a specific order. This is where MLA citation can get tricky,
However, a good MLA Guide will tell you exactly what information you have to list in what order.

24. Book Citation

27. Citing an Article from a Website

30. Four Basic Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism
Make sure all word-for-word quotes have quote marks showing where they begin and end.
Make sure to make the difference between your ideas and your sources’ ideas clear when paraphrasing.
Identify where each quote OR paraphrased idea came from in the body of your paper using in- text citations.
Make sure that each source you quote OR paraphrase in your paper is correctly listed on your Works Cited page.
Pass out the Incorporating Sources Handout

31. To Cite, or Not to Cite
You do not have to cite facts that are undisputed common knowledge.
Ex: The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863.
Ex: Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Ex: Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland.
However, once you start needing to use ideas about these common, everyday facts that you found in your sources, you must cite the source of the idea.
When in doubt, cite! And if you have time, ask!

32. Some Myths about Plagiarism
Myth 1: As long as I have a source on my works cited page, I don’t have to mention it in the body of my paper.
WRONG! Any time you use ideas or words from a source, you must include an in-text citation.
Myth 2: As long as I change one or two words in a quote, I don’t have to put quote marks around it or do a citation.
WRONG! Changing one or two words in a quote and replacing them with synonyms is STILL PLAGIARISM if you keep the original ideas and/or sentence structure.
Myth 3: As long as I paraphrase correctly, using my own words and sentence structure to express an idea, I don’t need an in-text citation.
WRONG! Even if you use your own words, if the idea originally came from somewhere else, you must cite it.

33. Myths about Plagiarism
Myth 4: I don’t need to cite exact words, ideas or information I find on the internet.
WRONG! Treat your internet sources with the same respect you have for your print or online database sources.
Myth 5: It is appropriate to use an old essay from a friend, buy an essay, or have someone help me write an essay using his or her wording instead of mine.
WRONG! All of these are called collusion, and they are all plagiarism.
Myth 6: I won’t get caught if I plagiarize.
WRONG! Plagiarism is quite obvious to most professors, and many of them use plagiarism detecting software.

34. Avoiding Common Problems In Essays
Problem 1: The Topic is Too Broad
How to Identify the Problem:
You feel overwhelmed: If you feel like the topic is too difficult or you have too much to say and you don’t know what to say next, you probably have a topic that is too broad. Another possibility is that you have chosen a topic you do not know enough about.
You are writing general statements and not explaining them fully: If your topic is too broad and you have too much to cover, you will be forced to make broad, sweeping, generalized statement that you cannot fully explain or give specific examples of.
How to Fix the Problem:
Narrow down your topic! Check out the topic-narrowing techniques in Chapter 11, p. 295.
Another way to narrow down a topic is to ask question that will limit what you are really discussing. Check out these question on page 464

35. Problem 2: The Topic is Too Narrow
Identify the Problem:
After a paragraph or two, you have nothing left to say: If you have explained what you are discussing AND given specific examples, and you still run out of ideas and keep repeating yourself, your topic might be too narrow.
Your topic does not seem important or interesting: If it isn’t interesting to you, it won’t be interesting to your reader. You probably need to change topics.
Your essay is focusing on small facts and details: You can widen your essays focus by connecting your narrow topic to another, related topic and asking yourself what they have in common.
Check out tips on broadening a too-narrow topic on page 466
For example: I am writing an informative essay about lighting a campfire. After one or two paragraphs of facts and tips, I’m done! I can widen my topic to looking at how to light a campfire AND how to cook easy campfire-friendly meals. What do both of these have in common? Going “rough” camping successfully! Maybe I should write my paper about that.
NOTICE however, I am not widening my paper to write about ALL forms of camping—trailer camping, RV camping, cabin camping, day camping, etc. THAT would be too broad.

36. Problem 3: Thesis Needs Revision
Identify the Problem:
The essay does not explain or support the thesis (focusing idea).
The thesis does not “cover” all the topics in the essay (umbrella).
The thesis is vague and unclear
The thesis makes a direct announcement or asks a question
Fix the Problem:
Answer the Thesis Revision Questions on page 467
Rewrite your Thesis several different ways. What works best?

37. Problem 4: The Essay is Underdeveloped
Identify the Problem:
The essay rambles and seems unfocused.
The essay repeats information too often and just says the same thing over and over in different ways.
The essay makes general statement but does not support them with examples and specifics.
The essay lacks facts, examples, comparisons, or reasons.
Fix the Problem - more on p. 468
Make sure your topic is not too broad or too narrow.
Delete sentences that don’t add anything new to the essay.
Highlight sentences and ideas where you could further develop, explain, or give specific examples.
Add the needed development through explanation, examples, and specifics.
Make sure each paragraph has a clear point and that all the sentences and details support that point.

38. Problem 5: The Essay is Disorganized
Identify the Problem:
Does every paragraph support or explain something about the thesis (focusing topic)?
Are all the paragraphs on-topic?
Do you make it clear how each idea relates to another idea by explaining thoroughly and using transitions?
Fix the Problem - page 469
“Label” what each your paragraphs is about in an outline
Make sure all the sentences in that paragraph have something to do with that topic label
Use the Revision Map on page

39. Homework: Write Your Outline and Rough Draft
Pass out the outline handout.
Don’t forget! Our last peer review is on Monday!