Class Notes: MLA

RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker Class Notes: MLA These notes are your responsibility. Please refer to them as you prepare your research paper.

MATERIALS: Copy of A Writer’s Reference: Fifth Edition by Diana Hacker (class set in room 308)

RESOURCES: 1. http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/ a. Use this website when not in class and while writing your paper.

2. www.ncwiseowl.org a. This Web site will provide access to online databases for your research. b. The password is “wiseowl”

NOTES: Go to page 331 in Hacker’s book. The questions below come from pp. 331 – 348 and additional notes I will provide in the classroom discussion. Please write the answers to all questions on this sheet. Keep this in your notebook because you will be accountable for the information covered in class and the book. I will check these at the end of class.

Avoiding Plagiarism 1. What are the three different acts of plagiarism?

Three forms of plagiarism: failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas; 2. failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks; and 3. failing to put summaries and paraphrases in your own words. RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker

2. What is the definition of common knowledge?

General information that your readers may know or could easily locate in a reference work

3. What type of source is Wikipedia?

An encyclopedia; therefore, COMMON KNOWLDGE 4. Hacker suggests a system to cite resources within your paper. This is called in-text citation. How does this system work?

The in-text citation identifies the author’s name and the page number. This information will match the list of works cited that appears at the end of the paper.

5. Please read the excerpt from an original source (Matt Sundeen, “Cell Phones…”) and explain why the first example is an example of plagiarism.

While the author of the paper gives credit to Matt Sundeen, he does not use quotation marks around the word-for-word quotation. RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker 6. From p. 333: “You are guilty of plagiarism if you half-copy the author’s sentences – either by mixing the author’s phrases with your own or by plugging your synonyms into the author’s sentence structure.” What suggestion does Hacker make to help you paraphrase your research?

After reading your source, close the book or turn the pages over and summarize the information in your own words.

Integrating Sources 7. What is a signal phrase?

The author’s name or title of the source is introduced in the sentence to prepare the reader for a quotation.

8. How many direct quotations should you use in a research paper? As few as possible!

9. Choose four verbs used in signal phrases that you especially like and write them below. (p. 336)

Argues, asserts, claims, emphasizes, implies, suggests

10. What is the function of the ellipsis mark?

… indicates that the author has omitted words

11. What do brackets indicate in your paper? RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker [ ] allows the author to insert his or her own words into the quoted material.

12. What does [sic] mean? Indicates an error in the original material.

13. How do you set off long quotations?

If the quotation is four or more lines, tab twice from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks. The parenthetical citation goes outside the final punctuation mark.

14. If you are not using a signal phrase, how would you use an in-text citation? What two bits of information go within the parentheses? Author’s last name and page number. If the source does not have an author, use the “Title” of the work.

Documenting Sources 15. How is the in-text citation connected to the works cited list?

All in-text citations must cross reference all the works that appear in the works cited list.

16. What information is provided in the list of works cited? All the publishing information. Print sources have publishers, city, and © copyright. Use the city closest to you and the most recent copyright date. RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker Internet sources need web page name, organization that created the website, and copyright. This often appears at the bottom of the home page.

17. You see an in-text citation that looks like this: (Sundeen 27-44). What is wrong with this?

Your notes are individual bits of information. This page range is way too big. The page range should never be more than two pages.

18. How do you cite the page number of a source when you mention the author’s name in a signal phrase?

You only need to put the page number in the parenthetical citation. (56). What if there are no pages? 

19. How do you cite a source if the author is unknown?

Begin your entry with a title and alphabetize.

20. How do you cite a source is the page number is unknown? This is important!! Do pages exist in Web sources?

You do not put anything!  RESEARCH MLA A Writer’s Guide: Fifth Edition by Diane Hacker MLA List of Works Cited 21. How do you begin an entry with a one author?

Last name, first name. EX. Truman, Harry S.

22. How do begin an entry with two authors? Last name, first name then first name, last name. EX. Hall, Braxton and Lynn Mathews

23. What does et al. mean?

When you have three or more authors, identify the first one then use et. al. which means “and others.” EX: Hall, Braxton et. al.

24. How do begin an entry when there is no author? The formatting rules are very important so please review the following types of sources and their format. a. How do your format an article title? i. “Speech at the Virginia Convention” b. How do you format a book title? i. The Metamorphosis c. How do you format a Web site? i. Digital History d. How do you format a newspaper article? i. “Ethnic Bloodshed Paralyzes Karachi” e. How do you format a song title? i. “Thriller” f. How do you format a magazine title? i. Newsweek g. How do you format a poem title? i. “The Raven”