Layout, Formulating a Thesis, Organizing
Ideas, In-text Citations, Citing & Documenting
Sources, and Avoiding Plagiarism
In Blackboard the Information tool has links
for Sample MLA Papers
 Click on the links below for Sample Papers:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/200
90701095636_747.pdf

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/pd
f/Hacker-Orlov-MLA.pdf
(A picture is worth a thousand words)
Heading is on the first line in the body of the
paper:
Your name
Professor Patterson
English 1301
26 August 2012
Please Note the date
format
8 ½ by 11 inch white paper
 1 inch margins (top/bottom, right/left margins)
 Heading (sample slide #3)
 Title (centered)
 Entire paper from beginning to end is double spaced
 Pagination – Place the page number in upper right
hand corner preceded by your last name (Use Insert
tool in MS Word, select Page Number, and select
option for top upper right hand corner of paper).
Note: I prefer you do not put the number on the first
page so select-Different First Page and the numbering will begin on
Page 2.
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To Form a working thesis read the assigned
readings (samples) from your Norton text
Consider your genre/topic for the assigned
essay
Examine different perspectives
Formulate a working thesis: one/two
sentences which represent the central idea
for your essay
After you have written a rough draft—review
your thesis and revise if necessary
Always outline your ideas before drafting your essay.
This may be accomplished by using:
A.
Supporting
Idea
Supporting
Idea
Bubble Map
Main Idea
Supporting
Idea
Supporting
Idea
B . Traditional Outline, Effective Essay Model:
1. Introduction (thesis)
2. Body (development of ideas and evidence in
support of your thesis)
3. Conclusion (No new ideas)
This is a sample of a proper quote in your essay:
Jay Kesan notes that even though many companies now
routinely monitor employees through electronic means, “there
may exist less intrusive safeguards for employers” (293).
 ENTRY IN THE LIST OF WORKS CITED
Kesan, Jay P. “Cyber-Working or Cyber-Shirking? A First
Principles Examination of Electronic Privacy in the
Workplace.” Florida Law Review 54.2 (2002): 289-332.
Print.

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_o.html
Remember to always cite your sources—be “fair
and ethical…acknowledge your debt to the
writers of those sources. If you don’t (sic),
you commit plagiarism, a serious academic
offense” (Hacker 376).
 Cite sources for any borrowed ideas
 Or Ideas—even when paraphrasing make sure
the author is given credit.
 Read Hacker 378-9 for an example of
unacceptable/acceptable paraphrasing.
Stay in a Formal Academic Voice
1. Avoid first person: I, me, my, we
2. Absolutely no contractions—write it out:
I’m = I am
don’t = do not
can’t = cannot
3. No slang or jargon (unless utilized in a quote):
gonna = going to
wanna = want to
4. No texting:
lol, u, thx,
Mini Tutorial Lessons at EPCC
http://www.epcc.edu/Library/VV/Pages/MiniT
utorials.aspx
1. Citing
2. E-books
3. MLA format
4. Online Databases (broaden or narrow
searches)
5. Current Controversial Issues

1. EPCC-VV Library Resources
http://www.epcc.edu/Library/VV/Pages/Res
earchGuides.aspx
 MLA Style Guides
 Research/Periodicals & Databases links
 Specific Subject Research links
2. Researching Literature at the Valle Verde
Library
 http://www.epcc.edu/Library/VV/Leisure%2
0Reading/literature.pdf
Reliable Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylp9nJpGak
4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Currency
Authority
Purpose
Objectivity
Writing Style
CAPOW
Google is not for College Research Projects:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39mnu1P
kgw
Do not use Wikipedia
 Do not use Spark notes
 Find Academically Credible Sources from
Library Databases only!

Video on Valid and Reliable Sources – Search
Engines vs. Research Database for College
Research
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUp1PubOIc
 Search Library Databases Like a Pro!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X8QyqN
0gU

Steps:
1. Go to www.epcc.edu
2. Select top menu: Current Students
3. Select from side menu (gray): Online
Resources
4. Select: Literature
5. Logon - follow logon instructions: first &
last name and password (date of birth in six
digits: month, day, year)
Flesch, William. "Browning, Elizabeth
Barrett." The Facts On File Companion to
British Poetry, 19th Century. New York:
Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary
Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
Flesch, William. "Browning, Elizabeth
Barrett." The Facts On File Companion to
British Poetry, 19th Century. (2009): N.
pag. Bloom's. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. “Mother and Poet.
The Norton Anthology: English Literature.
9th Ed. Vol. E. New York: Steven
Greenblatt, 2012. 1106-1109. Print.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. “Mother and Poet.”
The Norton Anthology: English Literature.
9th eds. Vol. E. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt.
New York: Norton, 2012. 11061109. Print.
Eliot, George. Silas Marner. New York: Signet
Classics, 1960. Print.
A Simple Twist of Fate. Dir. Gillies MacKinnon.
Perf. Steve Martin, Gabriel Byrne,
Catherine O’Hara, and Stephen Baldwin.
Touch Stone Pictures, 2012. Film.
1. Hanging quote
2. No in-text citation for quote
3. Format of in-text citations
(Greenblatt 100).
(Browning 37-39).
(Browning, Mother 37-39).
4. No title or it is not creative
5. Books and Movies are in Italics
6. Essays, articles, and poems are in
“quotations”
1. In the poem “And someone came out of the
cheers in the street, With a face pale as stone,
to say something to me. My Guido was dead! I
fell down at his feet,” (37-39).
2. In the poem, the speaker states “And
someone came out of the cheers in the street,
With a face pale as stone, to say something to
me. My Guido was dead! I fell down at his
feet,” (37-39).
Remember writing and research is a process
and we get better with practice!