The College Essay

1. The College Essay Beth Ritter-Guth DeSales University

2. Modern Language Association • Purchase the MLA Guide @ http://mla.org/store/CID24/PID159 • Purdue OWL (Free Guide) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

3. General Formatting Tips • Always use 12 point Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier fonts • Use a ONE inch margin on all four sides • Use in-text parenthetical citations • Double space the entire document, but DO NOT add an extra space between paragraphs • DO NOT underline, bold, italicize, or capitalize your title; do not change its size • The first page should include the proper MLA heading; a page number is optional • Every remaining page should have your last name and page number in the top right corner (in the HEADER)

4. The First Page… Sam Student Professor Ritter-Guth English 104 Hy 14 November 2007 The New Media Craze The first para should then start here. I did not bold or highlight my title. I just type it…no extra spaces…no underline…no bold…

5. Kinds of Sources • Primary • Interviews • Surveys • Experiments • Secondary • Peer Reviewed Journals • Magazines • Websites • Newspapers

6. Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing • When possible, paraphrase • Only quote when necessary • Summarize lengthy texts ALWAYS CITE QUOTES, PARAPHRASES, and SUMMARIES!!! ALWAYS!

7. Using Quotations • Quotations can not stand alone! • Watch punctuation! • All sentences must be GRAMMATICALLY correct! • BAD: “This important statement really helps support the thesis. (Jones, 7) • CORRECT: In an effort to demonstrate this concept, one person claims that “this important statement really helps the thesis” (Jones 7).

8. A Closer Look… • BAD: “This important statement really helps support the thesis. (Jones, 7) • The quotation is standing alone • The period is before the parenthesis • There is a comma after Jones • There is no period after the parenthetical citation • CORRECT: In an effort to demonstrate this concept, one person claims that “this important statement really helps the thesis” (Jones 7). • The writer introduces the quote • The comma is deleted • The period is in the correct position

9. Defending a Thesis Statement Proof Matters! BAD: In our society, people use a lot of technology at work. Why? • Which society? American? Center Valley? The US? The world? • Has a study of all these societies been conducted? • Do statistics exist to PROVE that ALL people use technology at work?

10. Fixing the Sweepers The Fix: In corporate America, the use of technology to cut costs and expand productivity is a rising trend. In a 2004 study by the US Department of Labor and Statistics, more than 65% of Fortune 500 companies are encouraging the use of social software, portable computers, and cell phones (76). ENTIRELY FICTIONAL CITATION!

11. A Closer Look… In corporate America, the use of technology to cut costs and expand productivity is a rising trend. In a 2004 study by the US Department of Labor and Statistics, more than 65% of Fortune 500 companies are encouraging the use of social software, portable computers, and cell phones (76).