The College Essay

Beth Ritter-Guth

DeSales University

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/

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)

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…

Kinds of Sources

• Primary – Interviews– Surveys– Experiments

• Secondary– Peer Reviewed Journals– Magazines– Websites– Newspapers

Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing

• When possible, paraphrase• Only quote when necessary• Summarize lengthy texts

ALWAYS CITE QUOTES, PARAPHRASES, and SUMMARIES!!! ALWAYS!

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).

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

Defending a Thesis Statement

Proof Matters!

BAD: In our society, people use a lot of technology at work.

Why?

1. Which society? American? Center Valley? The US? The world?

2. Has a study of all these societies been conducted?

3. Do statistics exist to PROVE that ALL people use technology at work?

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!

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).