MLA POETRY RESEARCH PAPER TIPS
CIS BLOCK
GENERAL INFORMATION
 Pronouns
 Numbers
 Spelled in one or two words– spell out
 Seventy-six, five, sixteen
 More than one or two words– write numeral
 1,309, 273,
 Referring to poets by name
 The first time, use whole name
 Every other time, use last name
 If you are referring to multiple people with the
same last name, make sure readers can follow!
 “Their” indicates more than one
 A poet is influenced by their culture–
incorrect sentence
 A poet is influenced by his or her culture–
correct sentence
 Punctuating quotes from poetry
 If you are quoting multiple lines, use slash marks
between lines.
 In his poem, "Mending Wall," Robert Frost
writes: "Something there is that doesn't love a
wall,/ that send the frozen-ground-swell under
it" (42-44).
MLA INFORMATION
 Nice use of parenthetical citations!
 Good job including a Works Cited page!
 Make sure you have a header!
 Right aligned,Your last name and page number
RESEARCH IN GENERAL
 Avoid life story– focus should be CULTURE
 How did your poet think, live, believe, behave, etc.?
 Research information outside the poet’s life.
 i.e. If the poet grew up in the Victorian Age, research that period and explain what life was like for
the poet.
 Include a clear THESIS STATEMENT in your introduction
 Example: The culture that Thomas Hardy grew up in and experienced throughout his life shaped his
literary works.
 Example: It is clear that the culture of the mid-1900’s impacted Sylvia Plath’s poetry in a dramatic
way
 Overall, a LOT of good research and information was shared
 Make sure to process the information– should not read like a Wikipedia page 
INTRODUCTIONS
 Introduction– WRONG
 Edward Estlin Cummings, known as E. E. Cummings,
 Introductions have three parts

Hook

Thesis

Three or more topics covered in the paper
with the abbreviated form of his name often written
by others in lowercase letters as e e cummings, was
an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and
playwright. His body of work encompasses
approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical
novels, four plays and several essays, as well as
numerous drawings and paintings. He is remembered
as an eminent voice of 20th century English
literature.
INTRODUCTIONS
 Introduction– WRONG
 Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894, to
 Introductions have three parts

Hook

Thesis

Three or more topics covered in the paper
Edward Cummings and Rebecca Haswell Clarke who were
Unitarian. They were a well-known family in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. His father was a professor at Harvard University
and later the nationally known minister of Old South Church in
Boston, Massachusetts. His mother who loved to spend time
with her children, played games with Cummings and his sister,
Elizabeth. Cummings wrote poems and also drew as a child, and
he often played outdoors with the many other children who
lived in his neighborhood. He also grew up in the company of
such family friends as the philosophers William James and Josiah
Royce. He graduated from Harvard University in 1915 and then
received an advanced degree from Harvard in 1916.
INTRODUCTIONS
 Introduction– RIGHT
 The turn of the century.The coming of the modern age. The end
 Introductions have three parts

Hook

Thesis

Three or more topics covered in the paper
of Victorian customs. These events were all experienced by
Edward Estlin Cummings, better known by his pen name, e e
cummings. This famous poet challenged the rules of literature
and will always be remembered for the thought-provoking
words and ideas he put on paper. The culture that surrounded
him as he wrote greatly influenced his work. He lived through
the end of the 1800’s, seeing changes in behaviors and morals.
He survived the roaring 20’s and the depths of the Depression.
He continued on through the American Dream of the 1950’s. All
of these cultural eras had a heavy impact on his writing.
GENERAL EDITING
 Avoid use of “had”
 Impressive use of checklist and helping
each other improve!
 Example:
 Wrong-- He had written twenty
poems by the time of his death.
 Improvement– He wrote twenty
poems by the time of his death.