Journal Topic for Tuesday, November 6th:
 What is MLA format? What is it used
for? Do you remember how to use it
properly? Why or why not?
Assignment:
• Interpretive statements for Act One of “The Crucible”
Learning Target:
• How can I put a quote in the middle of a paragraph
and make sure I give credit to the proper source?
Criteria for Success:
• Begin working on group interpretive
statements.
What is MLA anyway?
• Modern Language Association
– Founded in 1883
– Discussion & advocacy group for literature & modern
languages
– 30,000 members in 100 countries worldwide
– Annual 4-day convention
• Academic study of language
• Language mapping
• Job placement
Why would you want to?
• Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
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–
–
–
–
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Support claims or add credibility
Give examples of POV
Call attention to position
Highlight something powerful
distance yourself from the original
expand the breadth or depth of your
writing
Summarizing
• Summarizing = put main idea(s) into your
own words, including only main point(s)
– must be attributed
– significantly shorter than original
– take a broad overview
Paraphrasing
• Paraphrasing = put it in your own words
– Attribute paraphrases to their original
sources
– usually shorter than the original
– Condense a broader source
Quoting
• Quotations = exact words!
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–
–
–
narrow segment
must match source document word for word
must be attributed to the original author
Use quotes when:
• Author makes a solid point
• Precisely & accurately stated
• You can’t say it better yourself
Signal Phrases and In-Text Citation
• introduce someone else’s work
• In-text citations (also known as parenthetical citations)
– Usually appear at end of quote
– Give credit where credit is due
• A simple rule:
Author or Title and Page: what isn’t signaled up
front must be cited at the end.
Signal Phrases and In-Text Citation
(continued)
• Limited signal, everything in citation
. . . end of paraphrased sentence, in which you convey the
author's ideas in your own words (Williams 103).
" . . . end of quoted sentence" (Williams 103).
• Author in signal, page in citation
In 1985, Williams reported that . . . (103).
Williams tells us that . . . (103).
According to Williams, ". . ." (103).
Examples from “The Crucible”
• Character: John Proctor
• Evidence: He was the kind of man – powerful of body, eventempered, and not easily led – who cannot refuse support to
partisans without drawing their deepest resentment (1245).
• Interpretation:
Proctor becomes an easy target because people
believe he’s very self-righteous.
• Rationale:
– This tells us a lot about what’s going to
happen to Proctor later in the play: the
fact that he never chose sides means
everyone will be against him.
Writing an Interpretive Statement
• Combine your evidence and interpretation into one paragraph
– Must use correct MLA format for citing quotes!
• Example:
– The character of John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is
a very confident, strong willed man who doesn’t care
what other people think of him. This leads people
to believe he’s very self-righteous. We see proof
of this when Miller describes John Proctor’s
character. “He was the kind of man – powerful
of body, even-tempered, and not easily led –
who cannot refuse support to partisans
without drawing their deepest resentment”
(1245).
Looking for quality quotes!
• Which of these quotes tells the most about Abigail Williams?
– “I know you, John. I know you” (1246).
– “And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the
edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to
you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a
pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (1244).
– “I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a
proper girl” (1259)!
– “… Abigail Williams, seventeen, enters – a
strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with
an endless capacity for dissembling”
(1238).