1. LITERARY RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION Using MLA Formatting Melissa Goodner, ENGL Dept., ASH

2. Where to Begin  Consider literary pieces you’ve read  Choose topic: For a comparative literature paper, identify a common theme.  Choose literary pieces: these are your primary sources that express the common theme

3. Locating Sources  Primary Sources  Novels  Plays  Short Stories  Poems  Essays  Autobiographies  Biographies  Secondary Sources  Biographies  Histories  Reference Books  Literary Criticism Journal articles Magazine articles Online databases Websites  Any source of info ABOUT the primary source

4. Using Secondary Sources  Choose criticisms (critical essays) that concern the primary source.  Choose criticisms that support the common theme.

5. Bibliography Cards 1) EASY TO MANIPULATE ALPHA ORDER WORKS CITED PAGE 2) EASY TO SORT FOR ALPHA ORDER ON WORKS CITED PAGE

6. Bibliography Card Format Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1994. M. Goodner Author of work cited Title of work cited Year of publishing City of publishing Publishing Company Student’s name if required to submit

7. Book with One Author Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1994. M. Goodner Author of work cited Title of work cited Year of publishing City of publishing Publishing Company

8. Edited Anthology Chopin, Kate. “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” Elements of Literature: 5 th course. Ed. Richard Sime. Austin: HRW, Inc., 2000. 437-43. M. Goodner Author of work cited Title of work cited within the larger book Year of publishing City of publishing Publishing Company Title of book Name of editor Page #’s of work cited

9. Information from Lecture Lowell, James Russell. “The First Snowfall.” English III. Melissa Goodner. Alexandria Senior High School. October 2007. M. Goodner Author of handout Title of handout Location of lecture or speech Date of lecture or speech Format in which lecture was given Lector or Speaker

10. Gale Group References Yoder, Jon A. “Upton Sinclair.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale Group, 1980. 501-03. M. Goodner Author of article Title of article Year of publishing City of publishing Publishing Company Title of reference book Volume # of reference book Page #’s of work cited

11. Online Database References Deneau, Daniel P. “Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour.’” Explicator 61.4 (Summer2003): 210-13 (4p). EBSCOhost. 28 April 2007..http://ebscohost.com M. Goodner Author of article Title of article Date of your access URL address Original print source information Title of online database

12. Article within a Website Howard, Ann B. “A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time.” English Web. 1997. Virginia Commonwealth University. 6 May 2007..http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/chopin.htm M. Goodner Author of article Title of article URL address Sponsor of site Date of access Title of Web site Website copyright date

13. Note Cards 1) EASY TO SORT INTO PARAGRAPHS BY QUOTATION TOPIC 2) EASY TO KEEP TRACK OF SOURCE INFO FOR PARENTHETICALS 3) EASY TO KEEP TRACK OF COMMENTARY

14. Note Card Format Of Mice and Men Steinbeck 15 character “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” [ This shows how George and Lennie, because of who they are, feel that they don’t fit in the way society expects MG them to fit in.] Last name of author quoted & page # of quotation Quotation, Paraphrase, or Concrete Detail Title of the work in which quotation is found Commentary concerning quotation or concrete detail Topic of quotation Student initials

15. Organizing Note Cards  Review note cards: Examine topics of the quotation on each note card.  Categorize: Separate note cards according to the topic of quotation  Analyze: Which topics yield the most note cards?  Choose: The three topics with the most note cards are the ones you should use.

16. Writing the Thesis  Review: Reflect on the common theme focused on when choosing sources.  Analyze: Survey the top three topics (elements of fiction) chosen that relate to the common theme.  Synthesize: Write your thesis statement answering this question—

17. Thesis Question  What is the one theme, message, lesson, that the three pieces of literature have in common, and what three elements of fiction are used to convey this common theme?

18. Outlining the Paper  Intro Paragraph: includes thesis  Body paragraphs: each includes two primary source CD’s and one secondary source CD.  BP1 Topic: 1 st element of fiction  BP2 Topic: 2 nd element of fiction  BP3 Topic: 3 rd element of fiction  BP4 Topic: biographical influence  BP5 Topic: historical influence  Concluding Paragraph: Sums up entire paper without repeating key words or phrases.

19. MLA Format: First Page ½” Header 1” Double Spacing ½” Indent 1”

20. MLA Format: Quoted Material  Can be single word or entire paragraph  Choose carefully  Keep as brief as possible  Be careful NOT to MISQUOTE  Check cap., punc., sp.  Clearly mark changes for your readers  Changes within quotation enclosed in brackets [like this]  Source info enclosed in parentheses at end of quot. before closing punc. (like this).

21. MLA Format: Short Quotations  If a quotation is four typed lines or fewer, work it into the body of your paper and put quotation marks around it. Paraphrase less than three lines Source info in parentheses Direct quotation worked into sentence Author not included in parenthetical—already mentioned in sentence

22. MLA Format: Long Quotations  More than four typed lines  Indent 10 spaces  Do NOT use quotation marks Set off quotation more than four typed lines Parentheticals placed AFTER closing punc. Do NOT use quotation marks Indent 10 spaces (2 tabs) Debussey: Use colon to introduce quotation

23. MLA Format: Quoting Poetry  Three or less lines of poetry—work into body of paper  Use diagonal (/) to show where each line of the poem ends  Place line numbers in parentheticals instead of page numbers  For four or more lines of poetry, follow rules for LONG quotations

24. MLA Format: Quoting Poetry Line #’s in parentheses after closing punctuation Three or less lines— work into sentence Four or more lines— indent 10 spaces Line #’s in parentheses before closing punctuation Diagonal to separate lines of poetry

25. MLA: Works Cited Page  Lists all sources cited in paper  Begin on new page (the next page after text of paper)  Page # continues from last page of text  Center title: Works Cited one inch from top  Begin each entry at left margin  Subsequent lines of each entry indented five spaces  All uniformly double-spaced  Each entry listed alphabetically (excluding A, An, The)

26. ½” Header Page # con’t. 1” Title centered Double spaced All Double spaced 1” ½” Alpha- order Another work by same author Alpha- order

27. Additional Resources  www.easybib.com www.easybib.com This website is most useful in helping you to correctly format your paper according to MLA standards

28. Works Consulted Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4 th. ed. New York: MLA of America, 1995. Meyer, Michael. “The Literary Research Paper.” The Bedford Intorduction to Literature. 6 th. ed. Boston: St. Martin’s P, 2002. 2165-84. Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. “MLA Documentation Style.” Writers INC. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 259-83.