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English 370. Thursday, February 7, 2013 Melissa Gunby. Freewrite. Today is National Fettuccine Alfredo Day. Tomorrow is National Kite Flying Day. If you could dedicate a day on the calendar to anything, what would it be, and why?. Agenda for Tonight. MLA formatting and how to use quotes
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English 370 Thursday, February 7, 2013 Melissa Gunby
Freewrite • Today is National Fettuccine Alfredo Day. Tomorrow is National Kite Flying Day. If you could dedicate a day on the calendar to anything, what would it be, and why?
Agenda for Tonight • MLA formatting and how to use quotes • Peer Review guidelines • Peer Review essay 1 • Hunger Games Discussion • Setting Up Introductions and Conclusions
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
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" (11-12).
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.
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 handy when you’re writing. • I have a Master’s in English and I still have to look this stuff up.
Orenstein, Peggy. “I Tweet, Therefore I Am.” What Matters in America. 3rd ed. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. Boston: Pearson, 2012.40-43. Print. • Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
Why Peer Review? • A lot of people wonder about the value of peer review, thinking that if they don’t think they’re a great writer that surely it means their classmates aren’t either. • But I believe that we all have strengths and weaknesses and sometimes by working with others we can balance those things out.
Goals of Peer Review • To read and think like a reader • To give honest and constructive feedback • To learn a bit about what others are doing and trying to incorporate it into your own writing
Be Honest • It does no good to just skim through your partner’s paper and say “it looks good!” • That kind of feedback isn’t helpful in the long run. • Be honest, but be constructive. • Don’t say “dude, this sucks.” • Instead say “You know, I had a hard time understanding what you meant to say in this sentence? Can you explain it to me?”
Talk • When you’re done reading each other’s papers it’s okay to talk a bit. Sometimes, we can explain better verbally than we can in writing. • Ask your partner to clarify anything that troubled you. By talking it out, you both may come to solutions that you were both looking for.
Peer Review Instructions • 1. read your partner’s draft • 2. mark any places on the draft where you think you need to mark; where you were confused or didn’t understand, or where you think there might be an error in grammar or something • 3. answer the questions on the handout (you may need to use a separate sheet of paper or write on the back of your partner’s draft) • 4. return drafts and talk for a few minutes about the feedback you each got.
Chapters 3-4 The Hunger Games
How does the fact that the tributes are always on camera affect their behavior from the time they are chosen? Does it make it easier or harder for them to accept their fate? How are the “career tributes” different from the others? • How would your life be different if everything you did was recorded and broadcast?
Think about Katniss’ reaction to things on the train, like the food and the shower. What does this sudden access to luxury say about the way the Capitol views those who live in the districts?
Katniss expresses hope that her stylist won’t think that “nudity is the last word in fashion.” Do you find this surprising, or weird in any way? What else does it tell you about this society, where kids have to kill kids as punishment for something their ancestors did? And why would having naked kids be in any way okay on television?
“If anything, they have not quite captured the magnificence of the glistening buildings in a rainbow of hues that tower into the air, the shiny cars that roll down the wide paved streets, the oddly dressed people with bizarre hair and painted faces who have never missed a meal. All the colors seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, the yellows painful to the eyes, like the flat round disks of hard candy we can never afford to buy at the tiny sweet shop in District 12.” • What is significant about comparing the Capitol to candy?
For those of you who haven’t seen the movie or haven’t read ahead (are there any of you?), what do you think is going to happen in the next few chapters? • Let’s try to avoid spoiling it for those in class who don’t know the story.
What is the purpose of an Introduction? • An introduction is the first thing people read when they read your essay. • It should get the reader’s attention • It should give the reader an idea about the topic of your essay. • It should connect to your thesis statement.
Okay, so how do I start one? • My big tip for introductions is to leave them for the end of the process. • I can’t tell you what I’m going to write about until after I’ve written it, so my introduction is always the piece I end with.
Narrative Thesis statement You can always begin with a narrative or story, drawn from your experiences, or something seen in the news or other media. On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists crashed two airplanes into the twin towers at the World Trade Center. Ignoring the danger to themselves, hundreds of firefighters rushed inside the buildings to try to save as many lives as possible. Their actions enabled thousands of people to get out, but half the firefighters – over three hundred– died when the twin towers collapsed. Although I have never faced a catastrophe like the one in New York, as a volunteer firefighter I am read – day or night, whenever an alarm sounds – to deal with a dangerous situation.
Begin with a question Be careful with questions, though; try to avoid posing a “you” question (like “have you ever wondered…?”) because you’re not addressing a specific audience, and we try to avoid using 2nd person in academic writing. Asking a question can be useful, because it will keep the reader reading, expecting you to answer the question you pose. Imagine this scene: A child is sitting under a Christmas tree opening her presents. She laughs and claps her hands as she gets a doll, a pair of shoes, and a sweater. What could spoil this picture? What information could cause the child’s parents to feel guild? The answer is that children from developing countries probably worked long hours in substandard conditions so this child could receive her gifts.
Begin with a background statement A broad statement that provides some background to the topic can catch your readers’ attention and focus them immediately on your topic. English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet, used in some way by at least one out of every seven human being around the globe. Half of the world’s books are written in English, and the majority of international telephone calls are made in English. English is the language of over sixty percent of the world’s radio programs, many of them beamed, ironically, by the Russians, who know that to win friends and influence nations, they’re best of using English. …
Start with an interesting quote Some witty or related statement by someone else can catch your readers’ attention According to the comedian Jerry Seinfeld, “When you’re single, you are the dictator of your own life…when you’re married, you are part of a vast decision making body.” In other words, before you can do anything, you have to discuss it with someone else. These words kept going through my mind as I thought about asking my girlfriend to marry me. The more I thought about Seinfeld’s words, the more I hesitated. I never suspected that I would pay a price for my indecision.
This sample incorporates both a quote and a shocking statement. “In my day, only sluts had tattoos,” Liz’s mom said to me on our first day back at college our sophomore year. I had gotten a tattoo over the summer, an outline only, feminine stamp of a bee circling over a flower on the inside of my left ankle. This was her way of telling me she didn’t approve of my ink. Since then, I’ve gotten a second tattoo, an Amy Brown fairy on my right shoulder, and am considering a third on the inside of my right wrist, to read in script “not all who wander are lost,” a line from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. My parents do not understand my desire for ink, the need to express myself through modifying my body. To them, tattoos are something for thugs or lower-class people, not a college professor, a middle-class white lady, a straight A honor roll student. What my parents fail to realize is that the presence of ink on my body doesn’t discount all those parts of my personality; it is simple another facet of it.
Using a surprising statement Start with something that takes your reader by surprise. Some of the smartest people I know never went to college. In fact, some of them never finished high school. they still know how to save 20 percent on the price of a dinner, fix their own faucets when they leak, get discounted prescriptions, get free rides on a bus to Atlantic City, use public transportation to get anywhere in the city, and live on about twenty-two dollars a day. These are my grandparents’ friends. Some people would call them old and poor. I would call them survivors who have learned to make it through life on nothing but a Social Security check.
