MLA Format

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MLA Format
MLA Format
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Notetaking!!
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What should my notes look like?

• 3x5 notecards
• Loose leaf paper
• Post-its/sticky notes
• HIGHLIGHT
• UNDERLINE
• ORGANIZE!- OUTLINE!!

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So what should I write down?

• Anything and everything that relates to the
  question!
• Be short and sweet! BUT! Dont rely too heavily
  on memory, because you may forget! Write down
  source information, too!
• Remember that it's fine to copy down duplicating
  facts. You may need them later on to defend your
  thesis. For major issues, having more than one
  person who agrees with you strengthens your
  point. Just make sure to record who said what
  each time.

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• It's also okay to copy down contradictory
  information. Counterpoints and opposing views
  sometimes strengthen an argument!!
• Whatever you take notes on, be sure to take them
  from more than one or two key sources. Variety is
  the key!!

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• The final piece of data to record is a working
  works cited. Begin jotting one down as soon as
  you begin- so you dont forget when it comes time
  to draft a paper! (a common error and
  stress-inducer).
• you'll need
• author, title, (editor, translator, and/or
  edition number if there is one), publisher, city
  of publication, year of publication, issue
  number, volume, and page numbers).

"Taking Notes" Handout
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• the search terms you entered into any database
  and any URLs (web site addresses) for online
  information come in handy for easy RE-access to a
  resource should something come in question later
  on. In short, throw out nothing!

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Take care to distinguish between background or
commonly known facts in the field that you can
assume your audience already knows (e.g., "Radio
has evolved into an incredibly portable and
music-based medium"). Your own knowledge acquired
from a course makes you a great source of such
background data! other not-so-commonly-known
facts such as some unbelievable statistic you
found that you'll have to cite at the point of
discussion (e.g., "Research has shown that 95 of
students listen to the radio while they
study") opinions which are usually the most
contentious of all. If Dr. Z "believes" something
is the case, then record that he believes it.
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• Though you should limit this, if you absolutely
  must take a direct quotation,
• change to a different colored pen,
• put huge quotation marks around it,
• (3) don't forget the page number and source.
• Don't count on remembering later that it was
  copied down word for word you might accidentally
  believe you paraphrased it in which case careless
  plagiarism will probably take place.

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Evaluating Sources!
The gist of being critical is not "to criticize,"
but to question, to not take anything you read at
face value. Structure, purpose, audience, and
author are four important dimensions of the text
to pay close attention to
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When evaluating- look for

• Structure- what parts relate to my research?
• Purpose- what is the author saying?
• Audience- who are they talking to?
• Author- is my sources writer credible?

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Structure If you're starting with a book,
look at the table of contents to see if it
relates! Skim the Preface or Introduction to see
the authors reason for writing the piece, and if
it relates!
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For a journal article, read the "abstract" for a
summary. If it seems to address your question or
thesis. OR read the Background or Introduction
section which will normally have some kind of
"literature review" or summary of what others
have said. Conclusions or Discussions are a
great place to turn to next before getting bogged
down in minute detail. Did the author answer the
research question or support the thesis?
Starting with the intro and conclusion is a
good strategy for analyzing essays as well,
online or otherwise.
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Purpose Examine the title and first few
paragraphs. What is the author trying to do?
What is his or her bias? Look at the publisher
or institutional/organizational affiliation of
the author. Does the person have a vested
interest in swaying you one way or another? A
book on management style will be markedly
different if it comes from some corporate
management committee compared to union
representatives. It would even be different
presented by a professor of economics rather than
a professor specializing in human relations and
organizational psychology.
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Audience Who does the intended audience appear
to be? How narrow or broad is it? To answer
this, look at stylistic choices such as diction
and tone. For instance, are there a lot of
technical words? If so, look them up. And
finally, what stake does the target audience have
in the issue? In other words, why would the
audience be reading the text? Who would you be
imagining yourself talking to in your paper?
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• Author
• Who is the author? Is it someone your professor
  has mentioned or whom you've come across in your
  course readings? Has the person been mentioned in
  other texts or bibliographies of other texts?
  Presence in the scholarly community is one of the
  ways to establish authority. Another is education
  and/or expertise.
• Is the person a teacher or researcher from a
  reputable academic institution?
• Does the person have considerable knowledge of
  what he or she is talking about?
• Is the author respected and well-received?
• You wouldn't let just anyone off the street walk
  into your home, so make your sources establish
  rapport and trust with you before you just let
  them walk on into your research paper.

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Evaluation Quiz After reading and analyzing your
works, you should answer yes to each of the
following three questions Does the date of the
source match the level of currency you need for
your paper? A source from the late 1970s wouldn't
be appropriate for an examination of current
multi-media issues or the latest microsurgery
techniques, but it would still be appropriate for
a study of Homer. Currency is more important in
subject areas that are frequently researched
(where theories are frequently rejected and
updated) therefore, the physical and social
sciences need more current sources than subjects
like literature. Is the author a credible
source? In other words, has authority and
expertise been established? There aren't ulterior
motives colouring the text? Is the source
relevant to your thesis or question, i.e.,
useful? If the source argues thoughtfully and
logically, helps you look at something
differently, and gives you possible answers for
your question or evidence for your thesis, then
it's a keeper!
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EXERCISE 5 EVALUATING SOURCES You're writing a
paper with the following research question Has
the modern women's movement forced the Roman
Catholic Church to consider allowing women to
take leadership positions within the Church?
Which of the following sources would you
initially evaluate as useful to you? The
International Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences, 1968. An article entitled "The
History of Women and the Church" in a 1992 copy
of the journal Church and Society. A book,
Growing Up Catholic An Infinitely Funny Guide
for the Faithful, the Fallen, and Everyone
In-Between. A book entitled Feminist Theory
The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism.
An article entitled "A Symposium on the
Catholic Ethic and Feminism," in the
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and
Society published in 1995. An article entitled
"Feminism Corrupts the Church" in The Catholic
Digest magazine published in 1995.
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Paraphrasing,
Quotations..
Summarizing!
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What are the differences among quoting,
paraphrasing, and summarizing? These three ways
of incorporating other writers' work into your
own writing differ according to the closeness of
your writing to the source writing. Quotations
must be identical to the original, using a narrow
segment of the source. They must match the source
document word for word and must be attributed to
the original author. Paraphrasing involves
putting a passage from source material into your
own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed
to the original source. Paraphrased material is
usually shorter than the original passage, taking
a somewhat broader segment of the source and
condensing it slightly. Summarizing involves
putting the main idea(s) into your own words,
including only the main point(s). Once again, it
is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the
original source. Summaries are significantly
shorter than the original and take a broad
overview of the source material.
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• Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?
• Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many
  purposes. You might use them to . . .
• Provide support for claims or add credibility to
  your writing
• Refer to work that leads up to the work you are
  now doing
• Give examples of several points of view on a
  subject
• Call attention to a position that you wish to
  agree or disagree with
• Highlight a particularly striking phrase,
  sentence, or passage by quoting the original
• Distance yourself from the original by quoting it
  in order to cue readers that the words are not
  your own
• Expand the breadth or depth of your writing

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Writers frequently intertwine summaries,
paraphrases, and quotations. As part of a summary
of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer
might include paraphrases of various key points
blended with quotations of striking or suggestive
phrases as in the following exampleIn his
famous and influential work On the Interpretation
of Dreams, Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are
the "royal road to the unconscious" (page ),
expressing in coded imagery the dreamer's
unfulfilled wishes through a process known as the
"dream work" (page ). According to Freud, actual
but unacceptable desires are censored internally
and subjected to coding through layers of
condensation and displacement before emerging in
a kind of rebus puzzle in the dream itself (page
s).
Example
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How to use quotations, paraphrases, and
summaries 1. Read the entire text, noting the
key points and main ideas. 2. Summarize in your
own words what the single main idea of the essay
is. 3. Paraphrase important supporting points
that come up in the essay. Consider any words,
phrases, or brief passages that you believe
should be quoted directly. There are several
ways to integrate quotations into your text. a
short quotation works well when integrated into a
sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone.
Remember that quoting should be done only
sparingly!
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• A paraphrase is...
• Our own rendition of essential information and
  ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a
  new form.
• One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate
  documentation) to borrow from a source.
• A more detailed restatement than a summary,
  which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

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• Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...
• it is better than quoting information from an
  undistinguished passage.
• it helps you control the temptation to quote too
  much.
• the mental process required for successful
  paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning
  of the original.

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• 6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
• Reread the original passage until you understand
  its full meaning.
• Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase
  on a note card.
• Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to
  remind you later how you envision using this
  material. At the top of the note card, write a
  key word or phrase to indicate the subject of
  your paraphrase.
• Check your rendition with the original to make
  sure that your version accurately expresses all
  the essential information in a new form.
• Use quotation marks to identify any unique term
  or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the
  source.
• Record the source (including the page) on your
  note card so that you can credit it easily if you
  decide to incorporate the material into your
  paper.

Paraphrasing Excercise Handout
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Some examples to compare The original
passage Students frequently overuse direct
quotation in taking notes, and as a result they
overuse quotations in the final research paper.
Probably only about 10 of your final manuscript
should appear as directly quoted matter.
Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount
of exact transcribing of source materials while
taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research
Papers. 2nd ed. (1976) 46-47. A legitimate
paraphrase In research papers students often
quote excessively, failing to keep quoted
material down to a desirable level. Since the
problem usually originates during note taking, it
is essential to minimize the material recorded
verbatim (Lester 46-47). An acceptable
summary Students should take just a few notes in
direct quotation from sources to help minimize
the amount of quoted material in a research paper
(Lester 46-47). A plagiarized version Students
often use too many direct quotations when they
take notes, resulting in too many of them in the
final research paper. In fact, probably only
about 10 of the final copy should consist of
directly quoted material. So it is important to
limit the amount of source material copied while
taking notes.
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QUOTATIONS!!
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Short Quotations To indicate short quotations
(fewer than four typed lines of prose or three
lines of verse) in your text, enclose the
quotation within double quotation marks. Provide
the author and specific page citation (in the
case of verse, provide line numbers) in the text,
and include a complete reference on the Works
Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods,
commas, and semicolons should appear after the
parenthetical citation. Question marks and
exclamation points should appear within the
quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted
passage but after the parenthetical citation if
they are a part of your text. For
example 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)? Mark breaks in short quotations
of verse with a slash, /, at the end of each line
of verse (a space should precede and follow the
slash) Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that
happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).
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Long Quotations

• Place quotations longer than four typed lines in
  a free-standing block of text, and omit quotation
  marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with
  the entire quote indented one inch from the left
  margin maintain double-spacing. Only indent the
  first line of the quotation by a half inch if you
  are citing multiple paragraphs. Your
  parenthetical citation should come after the
  closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse,
  maintain original line breaks. (You should
  maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)
  For 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)

• In her poem "Sources," Adrienne Rich explores
  the roles of women in shaping their world
• The faithful drudging childthe child at the oak
  desk whose penmanship,hard work, style will win
  her prizesbecomes the woman with a mission, not
  to win prizesbut to change the laws of history.
  (23)

POETRY
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Adding or Omitting Words In Quotations

• If you add a word or words in a quotation, you
  should put brackets around the words to indicate
  that they are not part of the original text.
• 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).
• If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you
  should indicate the deleted word or words by
  using ellipsis marks, which are three periods
  (...) preceded and followed by a space. For
  example
• 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).

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CITATIONS!
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Works Cited!

• Begin on a new page!
• Arrange alphabetically!
• No author? No problem! Arrange alphabetically by
  title!
• Use a hanging indentation (see format
  paragraph)

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• Follow each item in the works cited with a
  period, as if each were a separate sentence!
• Type DOUBLE SPACE
• NO extra spaces between entries necessary!

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Examples!

• Lannon, John M. Technical Writing. Boston
  Little, Brown and Company, 1982.
• Endnote
• 1 John M. Lannon, Technical Writing (Boston
  Little, Brown and Company, 1982) 139.
• Parenthetical Note
• (Lannon 139) OR (Lannon, 139)

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Basic In-Text Citation Rules

• In MLA style, referring to the works of others in
  your text is done by using what's known as
  parenthetical citation. Immediately following a
  quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a
  source's ideas, you place the author's name
  followed by a space and the relevant page
  number(s).
• Human beings have been described as
  "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
• When a source has no known author, use a
  shortened title of the work instead of an author
  name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's
  a short work, or italicize or underline it if
  it's a longer work.
• Your in-text citation will correspond with an
  entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the
  Burke citation above, will look something like
  this
• Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action
  Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley
  U of California P, 1966.

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Citations! (2 ways)

• (Smith, 1)
• OR
• (Smith 1)

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Multiple Citations

• To cite multiple sources in the same
  parenthetical reference, separate the citations
  by a semi-colon
• ...as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3
  Dewey 21).

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Works Cited Page Basic Format

• Basic Rules
• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at
  the end of your research paper. It should have
  the same header as your paper.
• Label the page Works Cited (do not underline the
  words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks)
  and center the words Works Cited at the top of
  the page.
• Double space all citations, but do not skip
  spaces between entries.
• List page numbers of sources efficiently, when
  needed. If you refer to a journal article that
  appeared on pages 225 through 250, list the page
  numbers on your Works Cited page as 225-50.

Capitalization and Punctuation Capitalize each
word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but
do not capitalize articles, short prepositions,
or conjunctions unless one is the first word of
the title or subtitle Gone with the Wind, The
Art of War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose Use
italics or underlining for titles of larger works
(books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles
of shorter works (poems, articles)
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Listing Author Names

• Entries are listed by author name (or, for entire
  edited collections, editor names). Author names
  are written last name first middle names or
  middle initials follow the first name
• Burke, KennethLevy, David M.Wallace, David
  Foster

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HANDOUTS!

• Paraphrasing Exercise
• Example Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation So
  That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Dont
  Want To
• Taking Notes From Research Reading
• MLA edited sample paper

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INTRODUCTIONS!
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Introductions are important. They arouse a
reader's interest, introduce the subject, and
tackle the So What? factor. In short, they're
your paper's "first impression." But you don't
have to write them first. Whatever your style,
you'll probably put your thesis/question
somewhere near the end of the paragraph and some
important background information directly before.
But that still leaves the very beginning.
Contrary to what you may have been taught, intros
don't have to begin with a "general statement."
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The So-What? Test!

• Whenever you plan on writing a research paper,
  there is an extremely important point that you
  must constantly keep in the forefront of your
  mind--What is it? This means to construct a
  thesis statement or research question about a
  problem that is still debated, controversial, up
  in the air.
• So arguing that drinking and driving is
  dangerous-- while you could find a ton of
  evidence to support your view --would be pretty
  worthless nowadays. Who would want to read
  something they already knew? You wouldn't be
  persuading them of anything and all your work
  would be pretty meaningless.
• What this means is that during the
  topic-formulating stage and again now, always
  keep asking "SO WHAT?", "WHO CARES?"

"Tell me something new about something I care
about." -Barbara Frum (journalist)
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• Begin with a quotation. Just make sure you
  explain its relevance
• Begin with a question
• Begin with an acknowledgment of an opinion
  opposite to the one you plan to take
• Begin with a very short narrative or anecdote
  that has a direct bearing on your paper
• Begin with an interesting fact
• Begin with a definition or explanation of a term
  relevant to your paper
• Begin with irony or paradox
• Begin with an analogy. Make sure it's original
  but not too far-fetched

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The THESIS!

• for most student work, it's a one- or two-
  sentence statement that explicitly outlines the
  purpose or point of your paper. A thesis is to a
  paper what a topic sentence is to a paragraph.

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it should point toward the development or course
of argument the reader can expect your argument
to take. a thesis is normally placed at or near
the end of the introductory paragraph. It is not
a fact or casual observation it must beg to be
proved. And someone should be able to
theoretically argue against it (how successfully
will depend of course on how persuasive you are)
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it takes a side on a topic rather than simply
announcing that the paper is about a topic (the
title should have already told your reader your
topic). Don't tell a reader about something
tell them what about something. Answer the
questions "how?" or "why? it is narrow and
specific paper length and number of supporting
points are good guides here. it argues one main
point and doesn't squeeze three different theses
for three different papers into one sentence
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CONCLUSIONS!!
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Don't depend on your conclusion to sum up the
body paragraphs. Your paragraphs should flow
naturally into one another and connections should
be made among them. Summary can be an important
function of conclusions but keep this part brief
readers know what they've just read. Don't
simply regurgitate your introduction. Try to talk
about your topic in a new way now that you've
presented all that you have about it.
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• Point out the importance or the implications of
  what you've just said on an area of societal
  concern. Again, this is the so what? factor
  stated perhaps a bit more dramatically.

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• For analytical papers in particular, you could
  mention the lack of conclusion in the field. This
  demonstrates that you understand the complexity
  of the subject matter.

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• Perhaps propose what you feel is a natural next
  step to take in light of what your argument is
  attempting to convince people of.

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• Don't end your conclusion with a quotation or
  with a statement that could very well be the
  subject of another paper. The former deflects
  attention away from you as writer and thinker
  the latter deflects attention from what you're
  saying in your paper.