Monday, March 12, 2012
Freewrite!

Hold your hands out in front of you,
palms down. Imagine that you have a
total of six strings tied around your
fingers. Write about the objects that are
dangling from the strings.
Agenda for the Day
Critical Thinking through Cartoons
 MLA formatting
 Using and supporting quotations
 Avoiding plagiarism

Chapters 6*8 Ender’s Game
MLA

The MLA is the Modern Language
Association. It is a group of
professionals that meet annually and
make decisions for formatting
documents, etc, that are used in the
Humanities fields.
Other Documentation Styles

APA = American Psychological
Association
 -ologies

Chicago Style
 History
Basic Rules for MLA Format
See MLA tab in Hacker Handbook
 1” margins all around
 Name, professor, class, date in upper
left corner (NOT in the header)
 Last name, page number in the upper
right (in the header)
 Title: centered
 Full document should be double spaced
 Indent each new paragraph

Sample 1st Page
Why Use Quotes
We use quotes to show that we have
experts who agree with what we have to
say in our writing.
 We also use quotes to say things that
other’s have already said better
 Or we use quotes when writing about
literature to make a reference to a
particular line, phrase, etc.

Example (research):

My syllabus reflects a very mixed philosophy of teaching. I
believe in free-writing to develop ideas, and that it doesn't
need to be graded. It should be collected and used for
participation points, but not for evaluation. I wouldn't want
my notebook graded on the random thoughts I generate
in class, so it would be unfair of me to expect different of
my students. I also believe very strongly in the revision
process, but also of giving grades. As Lad Tobin writes,
"[e]ven the most process-oriented teachers acknowledge
that a meaningful profess ought to lead eventually to
some sort of written product" (Guide, 7).To that end, I
have created a syllabus that allows time for multiple drafts
for each major assignment, with the provision that the
grade received on a "final draft" my be improved by
further revision in time for the final portfolio project.
Example (literature):

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the modern romantic epic,
the main group of nine heroes follows a code of friendship to
hold them together and see them through the dark times that
they are trying to bring to a close. “Faithless is he that says
farewell when the road darkens” (Tolkien, 274). Their friendship
is one of undying loyalty to each other and the mission they
have taken up. The Fellowship of nine is brought together with a
common purpose and soon develops a close bond among the
nine. But when one member of the Fellowship allows himself to
be lured by the power of the Ring, the Fellowship crumbles and
the members go on their separate ways to see to the ultimate
goal of destroying the Ring the fighting the growing darkness
spreading over Middle Earth. Though the Fellowship was
reunited at the end, it wasn’t the same. The journey had cost
the remaining eight members so much, that none of them were
the same. The fault of one member caused the Fellowship to
break, because he couldn’t uphold the unwritten code that they
all agreed to live by.
How to use quotes
 Easiest thing to remember is this:
 Set up the quote
 Give the quote
○ Cite the quote
 Support/explain the quote
You don’t want to just drop a quote in
 It has to be supported and tied back to
your thoughts

Example:

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a character of
much indecision. He waffles constantly
over his courses of action. “To be, or not
to be, that is the question,” may be one
of the most famous lines from the play,
but it also sets up Hamlet’s frame of
mind (3.1.55). Throughout this soliloquy,
Hamlet is questioning his decision to
act, and reveal his uncle/step-father’s
guilt in the death of the King.
Formatting Short Quotations
In-text Examples:
According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184),
though others disagree.
According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality"
(184).
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?
Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (1112).
Formatting Long Quotations
In-text Example:
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her
narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room,
and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping
it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing
his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on
quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was
obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and
inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)
Adding/Omitting Words
In-text Example for Adding Words:
Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states: "some individuals [who
retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).
In-text example for Omitting Words:
In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals
make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively
exchange of details occurs" (78).
Summarizing or Paraphrasing
Sometimes you don’t want to use a whole
quote but you want to explain someone’s
ideas in your own words. This is
paraphrasing or summarizing.
 Example: Hamlet’s indecision shows in his
soliloquy in the first scene of the third act.
When he questions whether or not to take
action or suffer the consequences of
inaction, he is struggling with ideas of not
only justice, but loyalty to his mother and
being a hormonal teenager (3.1.55-88).

Formatting Quotes and
Paraphrase
The period for the end of the sentence
always goes on the outside of the ( ).
 If you follow up the quote with more
words before the end of the sentence,
put a comma before the close quote
punctuation.
 “To be, or not to be, that is the question,”
may be one of the most famous lines
from the play, but it also sets up
Hamlet’s frame of mind (3.1.55).

Citing Sources





Whenever you quote in an essay, you must cite
your source, that is, give credit to the original
author.
Whenever you reference an idea by another
author (summarize or paraphrase), you must also
give credit to the author.
You must cite in two places: in text and at the end
Each documentation style (MLA, APA) has its own
way of documenting
We’re going to focus on MLA, but your handbook
has information on APA which maybe handy in
other classes.
In text citation

In MLA format, we use parenthetical
citation. This means that after a quote,
we put the source in parenthesis ( ) at
the end of the sentence.
In-Text Citations: the Basics
 MLA uses parenthetical citations
 Parenthetical citations depend on the medium
(e.g. Print, Web, DVD)
 Parenthetical citations also depend on the source’s
entry on the Works Cited page
 Signal word in the text is the first thing in the
corresponding entry on the Works Cited page
Author-Page Style
In-text Example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored
the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Corresponding Works Cited Entry:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford
U.P., 1967. Print.
What to put in the ( )
If you use the author’s name in the
sentence (signal phrase), just put the
page number in the ( )
 If you just quote, put the author’s last
name and page number in the ( )
 If you use more than one source by the
same author, include the title in the ( )


See page 191 in green book
Print Source with Author
In-text Example:
Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using animals" (3).
Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
Big Tip!
Don’t try to memorize the way all this
formatting should be done. There’s too
much to try to remember.
 Keep your handbook (the green book)
handy when you’re writing.
 I have a Master’s in English and I still
have to look this stuff up.
