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Writing Format and MLA Reminders

1. Body Paragraph Format (CQC) pg. 2

2. Sample Body Paragraph pg. 3

3. Essay Format pg. 4

4. Weak Words pg. 5

5. Power Verbs pg. 6&7

6. Transitions pg. 8

7. Citing Sources – MLA Format pg. 9-11

8. Paper Format PG. 12

9. Signal Phrases/Introducing Quotations pg. 13-15

9. Works Cited pg. 16

*** You may come across some sources that do not follow these rules. For example, if one author has the same last name as another you are using, or if the source has more than one author, you will need to look up how to CORRECTLY cite the source. DON’T JUST GUESS!! Find out how to correctly cite the source if it doesn’t follow one of the above rules!!!

Try the following websites for additional help:

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

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Body Paragraphs

A solid paragraph is composed of the following four aspects:A. Topic Sentence B. An argumentative ClaimC. A Quote/Specific Detail that supports the claimD. Commentary about the quote/specific detail

A. Topic Sentence - Tells what the entire paragraph will be about· If a one paragraph response: restate the prompt in the topic sentence,

include title and author if applicable

B. Argumentative Claim - makes an interpretive statement, presenting a portion of the essay’s argument.

C. Quote/Specific Detail – provides concrete, textual support for the claim statement

D. Commentary – functions to tie the quote/detail to the claim and explain the significance

** Now – use a transition and repeat steps B-D one to two more times.

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Implementing Quotes within a Body Paragraph

CLAIM. QUOTE. COMMENTARY.Easy to remember.

In “The Monkey’s Paw” W.W. Jacobs implements foreshadowing to create suspense and

to teach the reader they need to be careful what they wish for. The White family receives

a magical monkey’s paw which grants wishes, but there is something

strange about the whole situation. As soon as they receive the paw,

Sergeant Major Morris tells the family, “’If you keep it, don’t blame me for

what happens’” (Jacobs 35). This tense warning from Morris suggests something is wrong

with the monkey’s paw. The suspenseful situation also pushes the reader to find out what will

happen next. Additionally, Jacobs foreshadows consequences for the family

when Morris states, ‘”wish for something sensible’” (35). The reader soon learns

what he means when the family asks for two hundred pounds. Ironically, Mr. and Mrs. White

receive this money as a result of their son’s death. In conclusion, the readers learn to be careful

what they wish for through the foreshadowing and suspense W.W. Jacobs creates.

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Essay Format

IntroductionA. Attention Getter – the first sentence, grabs the reader’s attention.

Ex. Question, quote, interesting fact, anecdoteB. Transitional Area (no formal name) – answers/explains the attention getter,

broadly introduce topic, transition for the AG to the thesisC. Thesis Statement (includes preview/organization statement) – 1-2 sentences

which tell what the whole paper is about. The preview/organizational statement should list what the body paragraphs will be about in the order they are written.

** Include title and author in intro. ** The thesis should attempt to PROVE something

Body Paragraph(s)A. Follow CQC FormatB. Implement transitionsC. Strong word choice

ConclusionA. Restate the thesis (Do not use same sentence from intro.B. Summarize the body paragraphs (A&B can be switched around)C. NO NEW INFOD. Clincher – last sentence of the conclusion, ties up loose ends, leaves the

reader with a strong impression of what you said – often connects to AG or title of your paper

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stuff goodthings bada lot okvery awesomelittle bigcool nicegreat hugelike manytons bunch ofthat could ofget/makes use/show/seemsyou, your, I, me, my, we, uscontractions

Avoid Weak Words

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Power Verbs

Example: "The writer uses imagery to convey…" (weak) "The writer conveys (meaning) through imagery (stronger)

alludes analogizesargues assertsaugments bolstersconveys connotescontrasts createsdeduces delineates (defines)demonstrates (proves) depictsdevelops emphasizesenhances establishesexpresses fostersillustrates (shows) implementsinitiates introducesjuxtaposes permeatesportrays presentsqualifies revealsspecifies transforms

WEAK VERBS:

*is, am, are, be, was, were, has been, had been, have been, being, has, had, have, makes, seems, appears, uses, utilizes, shows

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WRITER OR NARRATOR evokes elicits manipulates alludes to twists ignites suggests hints atcreates depicts conveys conjures up juxtaposes portraysdifferentiates maintainsimplies connotesexplains elucidatesemphasizes enunciatesclarifies repudiatesrefutes tacklescompares shiftschanges invokesdelineates altersdescribes enhancespaints prone toproduces revealsignites assertsstirs inspiresexplores dispelsdemonstrates constrainmasters construetranscends solidifies

TOOLS imagery syntax diction comic details tone details figurative lang. foreshadowing symbols irony setting plot details point of view diction

READER EFFECTS pathos intensity empathy laughterimages impactshock angerawareness connectionscontrasts moodimages imagerytones

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When you ADD ideas: in addition, furthermore, moreover, further, besides, too, also, and then, then too, again, next, secondly, equally important, additionally

When you COMPARE or CONTRAST : similarly, likewise, in comparison, in like manner, however, in contrast, conversely, nevertheless, on the other hand, but, and yet, even so, still

When you cite an EXAMPLE : for example, for instance, for this reason

When you REINFORCE and idea: indeed, in fact, as a matter of fact, of course, for this reason, in any event, by all means

When you show RESULTS : as a result, as a consequence, consequently, thus, therefore, hence, accordingly

When you express a SEQUENCE or TIME passing: soon after, then, previously, meanwhile, later, in the meantime, at length, after a while, next, immediately

When you show PROXIMITY: here, nearby, at this spot, near at hand, in this vicinity, on the opposite side, across from, adjacent to, not far from

Transitions

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When you CONCLUDE : finally, in short, in other words, in a word, to sum up, in conclusion, in the end, overall

MLA Format for Citing Sources

** Make sure the quote(s) you choose really support the point you’re trying to make. (I.e., a discussion about symbolism falls apart if the example you quote isn’t actually symbolism.)

** Use ONLY the words or phrases that you absolutely need to make your point. Avoid long quotes as much as possible.

** Never simply state a quote all by itself in your essay or paper. Always include words (signal phrase) which introduce the quote and help the reader to understand how the quote relates to the argument. (It’s also possible to put these words at the end of the quote.)

** Be sure you discuss quotations. Explain what they mean and how they help to establish the point you are making!!! Don’t just randomly throw in quotes without explaining their significance.

To give credit to a source within the body of your paper, insert a parenthetical reference. There are a few rules to complete this correctly.

Author named in Parentheses - In parentheses, give the author’s last name and the page number of the source material you are citing. Period always goes after the parentheses.

When a woman asked a deckhand if the Titanic was really “unsinkable,” he replied, “God Himself could not sink this ship” (Freidrich 70).

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Author Named in Signal Phrase - Use the author’s last name in the body of your sentence and place only the page number in parentheses.

Baldwin notes that “only a few boats...were heavily loaded; most of those that were

half-empty made but perfunctory efforts to pick up the moaning swimmers, their

fficers and crew fearing they would endanger the living if they pulled back into the

midst of the dying” (57).

Long Quotes – When you quote more than four typed lines of prose or more than three lines of poetry, set of the quotation by indenting it one inch. Long quotations should be introduced by an informative sentence, usually followed by a colon. Quotations marks are unnecessary and the final punctuation goes inside the citation. Long quotes should be used sparingly!

Botan examines the role of gender in company practices of electronic surveillance:

By the middle of the 1990s, estimates of the proportion of surveilled employees that were women ranged from 75% to 85%. . . . Ironically, this gender imbalance in workplace surveillance may be evening out today because advances in surveillance technology are making surveillance of traditionally maled dominated fields, such as long-distance truck driving, cheap, easy, and frequently unobtrusive. (127)

Author Unknown - If no author is listed, use the title of the article, or an abbreviation of it, and the page number. If you are shortening the title to save space, use the word that determines where the work is inserted in the list of Works Cited.

About 350 of the biggest names in American and British society were on the first-class list (“Titanic in Peril” 6).

Page Number Unknown – You may omit the page number if a work lacks page numbers, as is the case with many Web sources.

As a study by Salary.com and America Online indicates, the Internet ranked as the

top choice among emplyees for ways of wasting tie on the job; it beat talking with co-workers – the second most popular method – by a margin of nearly two to ne (Frauenheim).

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**Pay attention to the punctuation. Generally you need to put a comma after your introductory words just before you begin the quote. However, if your introduction to the quote is an Complete sentence, put a colon (:) before the quote. Always put the final period (for the end of the sentence) AFTER you cite the source.

Poetry/Songs – Enclose quotations of three or fewer lines of poetry/song lyrics in quotation marks within your text, and indicate line breaks with a slash with a space on each side. Include line numbers in parentheses at the end of the quotations. For the first reference, use the word “lines.” Thereafter, use just numbers. Remember to introduce quote with title and author as needed.

The opening of Frost’s “Fire and Ice” strikes a conversational tone: “Some

say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice” (lines 1-2).

Plays – Whenever possible include the act number, scene number, and line numbers .

Two attendants silently watch as the sleepwalking Lady Macbeth subconsciously struggles with her guilt: “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (5.1.50-51).

Indirect source (source quoted in another source) – When a writer’s or a speaker’s quoted words appear in a source written by someone else, begin the parenthetical citation with the abbreviate “qtd. in.” This assumes, however, that your citation will clearly state the original author who is being quoted.

Researchers Botan and McCreadie point out that “workers are objects of information

collection without participating in the process of exchanging the information . . .”

(qtd. in Kizza and Ssanyu 14).

Ellipsis – To shorten a quote, you can use the ellipsis (. . . ) to indicate that you have omitted words. What remains must be grammatically complete. Ordinarily, do not use an ellipsis mark at the beginning or end of a quotation. Your readers will understand that the quoted material is taken from a longer passage. The only exception occurs when words have been dropped at the end of a final quoted sentence.

Lane acknowledges management’s concern about preventing “the theft of information that can be downloaded to a . . . disk, e-mailed to oneself . . ., or even posted to a Web page for the entire world to see” (12).

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Brackets – Use these to insert your own words into quoted material or to explain a confusing reference or to keep a sentence grammatically correct.

Legal scholar Jay Kesan notes that “a decade ago, losses [from employees’ computer

crimes] were already mounting to five billion dollars annually” (311).

Paraphrases and Summaries will be cited the same way as a direct quote, except you will not use quotation marks. Make sure you write these in your own words!!! As with quotations, you should introduce most summaries and paraphrases with a signal phrase that names the author and places the material in context. Readers will then understand that everything between the signal phrase and the parenthetical citation summarizes or paraphrases the cited source.

The citations for these may be after one sentence or after a whole paragraph. It just depends on how long your paraphrase or summary is.

Paper Format:

Paper Heading:Your NameMs. CableEnglish 10Due Date (26 September 2011)

You must have the following formatting elements or the paper will NOT be accepted!

· Formal Heading, Header, Title, Length requirement· Typed Papers: Size 12, Times, Double spaced, 1 inch margins· Works Cited

*** You may come across some sources that do not follow these rules. For example, if one author has the same last name as another you are using, or if the source has more than one author, you will need to look up how to CORRECTLY cite the source. DON’T JUST

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GUESS!! Find out how to correctly cite the source if it doesn’t follow one of the above rules!!!

Introducing Quotations

We like to think that quotations get lonely when snatched from their cozy beds of text. When you use quotations in a paragraph, you should transition them into their new place with a few transitional phrases to make the quotation flow smoothly and to create a stronger argument.

Example #1 – The first example is the simplest form of introducing a quotation. It calls for the smallest number of writer-supplied words. This idea is useful when the writer has already established the context of the quotation in previous sentences and needs only to supply the exact quotation to make the point of the claim.

When Mrs. Jones releases him, “Roger looked at the door – looked at the woman – looked at the door – and went to the sink” (Hughes 19).

Example #2 – The second example involves a bit more writing as it links the quote to its claim. Providing significant detail from the story, this idea is appropriate when the reader needs to be reminded of the context of the quotation – the details of the scene in which the quotation occurs.

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Although the boy has been struggling to get free of Mrs. Luella BatesWashington Jones’s firm grasp ever since she literally catches him picking her pocketbook, by the time they arrive in her apartment and she releases him to clean himself up, Roger “looked at the door – looked at the woman – looked at the door – and went to the sink” (Hughes 19).

Example #3 – The third example requires extensive writing surrounding just a tiny quotation, phrase, or important word from the text. This idea allows the writer both to maintain coherence with the claim and to maintain the writer’s own tone while grounding the development of the argument in the text.

Misunderstanding her motives to be punitive rather than correctional, the

boy struggles to get free of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’s firm grasp when she catches him picking her pocketbook, and even when she does release him, Roger “looked at the door” as if to run away from what he thinks will be the harsh punishment she is still to inflict upon him (Hughes 19).

How to Integrate Quotations and Sources

As a writer, you must learn the proper way to integrate information from sources – quotations, summaries, paraphrases, and facts – SMOOTHLY into your own text. Provide clear signal phrases to indicate the boundary between your words and the source’s words.

** To avoid monotony, try to vary both the language and the placement of your signal phrases.

** Establishing authority – The first time you mention a source, briefly include the author’s credentials, or experience to help your readers recognize the source’s authority and your own credibility as a responsible researcher who has located reliable sources.

a. In the words of researchers Mendel and Johnson, “…”b. As legal sholar Matt Sorenson has noted, “ …”c. Sally Smith, mother of a child killed by a driver distracted by a cell phone, points

out that “…”d. “. . . ,” claims attorney Schmitt.

Avoid simply dropping your quotations into your text without warning (drive by). Instead, provide clear signal phrases, which usually include the author’s name.

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Quotation with a CLEAR SIGNAL PHRASEIn 2004, Marion County passed a law restricting drivers’ use of handheld phones.

Indianapolis Star reporter Megan Hertel commented, “The bill prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving unless it is equipped with an earpiece or can act like a speakerphone, leaving the driver’s hands free” (Smith 1).

Verbs in Signal PhrasesAcknowledges comments endorses reasonsAdds compares grants refutesAdmits confirms illustrates rejectsAgrees contends implies reportsArgues declares insists respondsAsserts denies notes suggestsBelieves disputes observes thinksClaims emphasizes points out writes

2. Sprinkle your discussion with key phrases and terms, which should be surrounded with quotation marks.

Wilfred Owens says that the only prayer said for those who die in battle is the “rapid rattle of guns which patter out their hasty orisons” (line 7). **Example for a poem

3. Blend your signal phrase and quotation.Knight views the symbolism in Jones’ play as a “creation and destruction pattern” (164).

4. Use a complete sentence signal phrase. Follow with a colon and two spaces before the quotation.

The author describes Hera perfectly: “She was the protector of marriage, and married women were her particular care” (Hamilton 223).

Again the main character hears the words spoken by his grandfather: “I never told you, but our life is a war” (Mosie 154).

5. Split the quotation.

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“A fully articulated pastoral idea of America,” claims Leo Marx, “did not emerge until the end of the eighteenth century” (89).

Works Cited

Carson, Rachel. From Silent Spring. Prentice Hall Literature. Ed. Kate Kinsella et al.

Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. 153-156. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Prentice Hall Literature. Ed. Kate

Kinsella et al. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. 61-67. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Gold-Bug and Other Tales. New York: Dover Publications,

1991. Print.

One Republic. “Stop and Stare.” Dreaming Out Loud. Mosley Music Group, 2007. CD.

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Basic Internet MLA Format

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of article.” Title of webpage/Original source.

Publication date/Updated (n.d. if there is no date). Web. Date found by researcher.

Jepson, Chris. “Ray Bradbury Online.” Frontline. 2001. Web. 26 Aug. 2009.