MLA Essay Writing Unit

Modern Language Association Plagiarizing is a NO! NO! Summarizing/Paraphrasing

Changing the words

People's writing styles and the words they use are very distinct. It is generally easy to tell when someone has copied directly from a text.

In order to make sure you do not plagiarize, you must paraphrase, or change the wording!

It is not enough to take a couple of words out of a sentence and call it your own!

Paraphrasing

Means condensing information—pulling out only the important pieces of information.

Paraphrases should be written in your own words.

4 Hints for Paraphrasing:

1. Read the sentence to be paraphrased a number of times.

Read the sentence / paragraph you want to paraphrase a number of times to get the meaning of the text. Once you understand it, write out the key points (in your own words as much as possible.) If you do not fully understand the text, do not

attempt to paraphrase it, as you will just copy it.

Get ready to start your paraphrasing journey!!! Read the article entitled Shakespeare’s

Children. Every time there is an important piece of

information, jot down the key points.

Step One Read the article a number of times to get the meaning of the

text. Every time there is a relevant piece of information, put the key

points down on the lines to the right. Shakespeare's Children William and Anne Shakespeare had three children. Their first

child was Susanna, born a mere six months after the wedding of her parents. She was christened on May 26, 1583, and twins arrived in January, 1585. They were baptized on February 2 of that year and named Hamnet and Judith, after two very close friends of William: the Stratford baker, Hamnet Sadler and his wife, Judith. Tragically, Hamnet Shakespeare died of unknown causes in August 1596, at the age of eleven. The events of his short life are unrecorded.

2. Circle the specialized words. Circle the specialized words, ie. the words

that the text is actually about. These will need to be included in your paraphrase, as without these words, the meaning of the paraphrase will change completely.

3. Underline keywords that can be changed.

4. Find alternative words for the keywords.

Find other words (synonyms) and phrases that have similar meanings that can be used to replace the keywords in the text.

Use a thesaurus and/or dictionary to help.

Put these 4 steps to work…

Read the article on The Life of Susanna Shakespeare (Hall) and paraphrase it.

Remember:Read the article a number of times to get full

comprehension of the text.Circle the specialized words (the words that

the text is actually about & cannot be changed without altering the meaning of the text)

Underline keywords that can be changed. Find alternative words for the keywords.Jot down the relevent pieces of information.

Step Two Read the article a number of times to get full comprehension of the text. Circle the specialized words (the words that the text is actually about & cannot be changed without altering

the meaning of the text) Underline keywords that can be changed. Find alternative words for the keywords. Jot down the relevent pieces of information. Paraphrase this short article without copying word-for-word. Change the sentence structure, eliminate the

“fluff”, and change the keywords to alternative synonyms. The Life of Susanna Shakespeare (Hall) Witty beyond her sex, but that’s not all,

Wise to salvation was good Mistress Hall.(Susanna Hall’s Epitaph) On June 5, 1607, Susanna married the famed and prosperous Stratford physician John Hall. Susanna's marriage to Dr. Hall must have pleased Shakespeare tremendously, for Shakespeare appointed John and Susanna executors of his will. Susanna moved into John's home (Hall's Croft) and on February 21, 1608, gave birth to a baby girl. Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall, was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. Shakespeare left the clever and business savvy Susanna most of his property upon his death in 1616. She and John left Hall's Croft to live at Shakespeare’s home, known as New Place, where they oversaw the affairs of Susanna’s mother. With respect to her literacy, we know that Susanna could sign her own name and, if we also consider her reputation as a highly intelligent woman, it is plausible that she could have enjoyed the printed work of both her father and husband, the two most celebrated men in Stratford. Dr. Hall left detailed records of his medical practice which reveal that, astonishingly, he had developed a treatment for scurvy made from local grasses and plants high in ascorbic acid, over one hundred years before James Lind’s discovery that the disease could be treated with lemon juice. When Susanna herself contracted scurvy, John’s treatment was a complete success. John Hall died suddenly in 1635 and was buried close to Shakespeare at Holy Trinity Church. Susanna died in 1649, at the good age of sixty-six, with comfort knowing that her only child was a remarkable success.

Be careful…even though you’ve changed the words…you still could be plagiarizing!!!

Even though you have changed the words of the text, you still could be breaking the law!

Whenever you “borrow” information and/or an idea, you must state where you got this information from. These are called IN TEXT CITATIONS.

In text citations are written in parentheses (author’s name & page).

Revisit the last article you paraphrased and add in-text citations… How to cite this article:

Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare's Children Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information)

www.shakespeare-online.com

(Mabillard 1).

What is the difference between paraphrasing and quoting directly? Paraphrasing is when you take another

person’s ideas, change their words around, and write it down.

Direct Quotes are taken word-for-word from the text. They do not have to be words that are spoken

to someone else.

Direct short quotations are 3 lines or less. You need to use quotation marks at the beginning

and end of your “borrowed” words to let the reader know you’ve used these words on purpose.

They are written within the body of your essay.

His penalty, however, was commuted to a small fine and private penance. "It has been speculated that this scandal may have It has been speculated that this scandal may have hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after changing his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quineychanging his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quiney" (Boyce 529).

Just like with paraphrased in-text citations, you still have to tell whose words you have used. And the format stays the same: (author’s last name & page number) His penalty, however, was commuted to a

small fine and private penance. "It has been It has been speculated that this scandal may have speculated that this scandal may have hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after changing his will to few weeks later, after changing his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quineyprotect Judith's inheritance from Quiney" (Boyce 529).

Let’s put it all together now…paraphrasing, in-text citations, and direct quotes…

Read the articleThe Life of Judith Shakespeare (Quiney.)

Paraphrase the article’s main points. (Remember to use your own words, but source where your ideas came from.)

Go a step further and add two direct short quotes in your piece of writing. (Remember to source these with in-text citations, too.)

Pick out the relevant information from this article. Paraphrase the article. NO plagiarizing!!!Cite the information with in-text citations.Include two direct (short) quotes and source them. (The author is still Mabillard, but this article was found on page 2.)

The Life of Judith Shakespeare (Quiney) Shakespeare’s daughter Judith appears to have had a gloomy and tragic life.

Unlike her sister's marriage to the upstanding Dr. Hall, Judith's marriage to a vintner named Thomas Quiney in February 1616 caused Shakespeare no end of scandal. Quiney did not receive the license necessary for a wedding during Lent before his marriage, and thus the couple was excommunicated a month later. Moreover, Quiney was prosecuted for 'carnal copulation' with a local woman named Margaret Wheeler, who had died in March along with her baby by Quiney. He confessed, and was sentenced to perform public penance. His penalty, however, was commuted to a small fine and private penance. "It has been speculated that this scandal may have hastened Shakespeare's death, for he died a few weeks later, after changing his will to protect Judith's inheritance from Quiney" (Boyce 529).

Thomas and Judith Quiney had three children named Shakespeare, Richard, and Thomas. Shakespeare Quiney died in infancy and was buried in 1617; Richard and Thomas died within weeks of each other (aged twenty-one and nineteen) and were buried in 1639. With the death of her husband sometime around 1652, Judith was alone. She lived to the amazing age of seventy-seven, and was buried on February 9, 1662. Sadly, there was no epitaph praising her wit and wisdom.

Some IN-TEXT CITATIONS Tricks/Tips (MLA Style) To recap: Direct short quotations are 3 lines or less.

You need to use quotation marks at the beginning and end of your “borrowed” words.

“They told us that Indian ways were bad; they said we must get civilized” (Elk 3).

If you mention the author’s name within your sentence, you do not need to cite it at the end of the sentence. You’ll only have to add the page number.

Ex: Elks states that “[t]hey told us that Indian ways were bad; they said we must get civilized” (3).

Please note that the period for the end of the sentence goes AFTER the closing parentheses of the citation!

Direct Short Quotes

Can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of your paragraphs.

Ex:

At these residential schools, the teachers often mistreated their students. “They told us that Indian ways were bad; they said we must get civilized” (Elk 3).

As you are writing your paper you may want, in the middle of a sentence, to “directly cite something that is very important” (author & page) to the meaning of your paper.

What about articles/texts with no author? How do you cite these?

If you have a source with no author, then you will cite it the way it is first listed on your Works Cited page. (This would traditionally be with an abbreviated form of the title and then the page number.)

(Title & page). For example, if the title of the article was

“Shakepeare’s Children: Judith, Suzanna and Hamnet,” you would put (Shakespeare’s Children 7).

Two Types of Direct Quotes

1. Direct short quotations 2. Block (long) quotations

Block Quotes

2. Block quotations are 4 lines or more in length. You do not put quotation marks around the words, but you must double indent the whole quote (Tab it twice.)

Note: You must also tell whose words you have used.

Note: The period goes BEFORE the opening bracket.

Block quotation example:Throughout Canada and the United States, First Nations children were forced to do the following in residential schools:

The children were forced to speak only in English and were taught that their way of life was bad. Caught between two worlds, the First Nations children lost their languages and heritage and became “the lost people.” Worse, many children are now known to have suffered terrible abuse at some residential schools. (Elk 3)

Quoting lines of poetry

If you are quoting two-three lines of poetry, you use quotation marks.

Use a slash with one space on each side between each line.

Page numbers are not cited.  Instead, the line number(s), enclosed in parentheses, go after the end quote and before any end punctuation. 

Ex. The author uses alliteration in the following lines,

"Where thoughts serenely sweet express / How pure, how dear their dwelling-place" (Byron 11-12).

If you are quoting more than three lines of poetry, follow the block quote format. Remember, the lines are not enclosed in quotes. The line number(s), enclosed in parentheses, go after

any end punctuation. Do not change any of the poem’s capitalization or

punctuation. If a poem’s line goes further than the right margin of the

page, continue it onto the next line and indent it three additional spaces.

Example: In the sixteenth century, one poet wrote about

a scholar: As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go,

Whilst some of their sad friends do say

The breath goes now, and some say, No;

So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods,

nor sigh-tempests move,

‘Twere profanation of our joys to tell the laity our

love. (Donne 1-5)

Works Cited Page

The last page in your MLA essay is the “Works Cited”page.

This is the page where you list all of the sources (books, articles, etc.) you’ve used to write your essay. If you didn’t paraphrase or directly quote from a source, the source does not belong in your Works Cited page.

All sources are listed in alphabetical order. The second (and subsequent) lines of each citation is indented.

Ways to cite books:

Book with 1 authorLastname, Firstname. Title of the Book is

Italicized. Place of Publication: Publisher,Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Ex: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science.

New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Book with 2 authors Lastname, Firstname, and Lastname,

Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.

Ex: Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn

and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

You do not need to include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.

Ways to cite Internet sources:

Internet Site with authorEditor, author, or compiler name. “Title of article in

quotations.” Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site, Day Month Year of resource creation. Medium of publication. Day Month Year of access. <www.address until the first backslash>.

Ex: Felluga, Dino. “Guide to Literary and Critical Theory.”

Purdue University, 28 November 2003. Web. 10 May 2006. <www.guide.purdue>.

Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If publishing information is unavailable, such as publisher names and publishing dates, MLA requires the use of special abbreviations to indicate that this information is not available.

Use n.p. to indicate no publisher name has been provided.

Use n.d. when the Web page does not provide a publication date.

Use n.pag. when an entry has no paging.

Internet Site with no author

“Name of Site.” Name of institution or publisher, day month year of

creation/revision. Web. Day Month Year of Access. <www.>.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.<www.vegetarian.chili>.

MLA ESSAY Paper Format Guidelines

Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper,

Double-space the ENTIRE text of your paper, and use a legible font like Times Roman. The font size should be 12 pt.

Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor).

Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of a paragraph five spaces (or press tab once) from the left margin.

Create a header that numbers EVERY page consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Ex: Smith 1

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

Use either italics or underlining throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page.

Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your

instructor's name, the course, and the date. (Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. )

Double space again and center the title. Don't underline your title or put it in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case, not in all capital letters.

Use quotation marks and underlining or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text, ex. The Theme of Masculinity in “Macbeth.”

Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style: