Class 18EWRT 1A

AGENDA Presentation: MLA Format

Editing Strategies: Wordiness

Discussion: Open for questions

In-Class Writing: Writing Workshop Editing

MLA Formatting StyleHapi Tobia Student

MLA format: on our website under “MLA Guidelines.”

Download “Hapi Tobia Student”MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.

Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material by other writers.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Paper Format

1” all around

Go to “Layout” and adjust margins or use custom settings

Times New Roman 12

Indent body paragraphs ½ inch from the margin

Double Click in Header Area

Type your last name

Justify right

Go to “insert” and click on “page number”

Margins and Formatting

Header: Last Name 1

Your Name

Dr. Kim Palmore

EWRT 1A

3 May 2012

Original Title (not the title of the essay we read)

No italics, bold, underline, or quotation marks

Centered on the page

No extra spaces (just double spaced after your heading and before the body of your text)

Heading: Double Spaced

Title

Short Quotations To indicate short quotations (fewer than four

typed lines of prose or three lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the text, and include a complete reference on the Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your text.

For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use the following 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)?

When short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash, /, at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash).

Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).

Long Quotations

For quotations that extend to more than four lines of verse or prose, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch (10 spaces) from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

Common Writing Errors

Wordiness

http://dawnreader.blogspot.com/2012/03/watching-kids-write-i.html

Wordiness: using more words than necessary to express thought.

Many people write wordy papers because they are trying to make their ideas sound important by using long words and intricate sentences. They think that their writing must be complicated to seem professional. Although these writers are trying to impress their readers, they often end up confusing them. The best writing is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Your ideas are much more impressive when your reader does not have to fight to understand you.

Often writers use several words for ideas that can be expressed in one. This leads to unnecessarily complex sentences and genuine redundancy as the following

examples show:

Redundant The printer is located

adjacent to the computer

The printer is located in the immediate vicinity of the computer

The user can visibly see the image moving

He wore a shirt that was blue in color

The input is suitably processed

Not Redundant The printer is

adjacent to the computer

The printer is near the computer

The user can see the image moving

He wore a blue shirt.

The input is processed

Now you try it. Write this sentence in as few words as possible without changing the

meaning!

The available receptacle, in any case, was of insufficient size to contain the total quantity of unnecessary waste.

How to reduce wordiness!

1. Reduce Long Clauses

When editing, try to reduce long clauses to shorter phrases:

Wordy: The clown who was in the center ring was riding a tricycle.

Revised: The clown in the center ring was riding a tricycle.

2. Reduce Phrases

Likewise, try to reduce phrases to single words:

Wordy: The clown at the end of the line tried to sweep up the spotlight.

Revised: The last clown tried to sweep up the spotlight.

Eliminating Wordiness Strategies

3. Avoid Empty Openers

Avoid There is, There are, and There were as sentence openers when There adds nothing to the meaning of a sentence:

Wordy: There is a prize in every box of Quacko cereal.

Revised: A prize is in every box of Quacko cereal.

Wordy: There are two security guards at the gate.

Revised: Two security guards stand at the gate.

4. Don’t Overwork Modifiers

Do not overwork very, really, totally, and other modifiers that add little or nothing to the meaning of a sentence.

Wordy: By the time she got home, Merdine was very tired.

Revised: By the time she got home, Merdine was exhausted

Wordy: She was also really hungry.

Revised: She was also hungry [or famished].

Eliminating Wordiness

5. Avoid Redundancies

Replace redundant expressions (phrases that use more words than necessary to make a point) with precise words. Remember: needless words are those that add nothing (or nothing significant) to the meaning of our writing. They bore the reader and distract from our ideas. So cut them out!

Wordy: At this point in time, we should edit our work.

Revised: Now we should edit our work.

Try these! 1. He dropped out of school on account of the fact that it was necessary for him to help support his family.

2. It is expected that the new schedule will be announced by the bus company within the next few days.

3. There are many ways in which a student who is interested in meeting foreign students may come to know one.

4. It is very unusual to find someone who has never told a deliberate lie on purpose.

5. Trouble is caused when people disobey rules that have been established for the safety of all.

Possible Answers1. He dropped out of school to support his

family.

2. The bus company will probably announce its schedule during the next few days.

3. Any student who wants to meet foreign students can do so in many ways.

4. Rarely will you find someone who has never told a deliberate lie.

5. Disobeying safety regulations causes trouble.

Find a Wordy Sentence

Check your essay for wordiness. Look for a sentence that falls into one of the categories we just discussed. Edit it for clarity and conciseness.

Writing Tips Write about literature in present tense

Write about your experience in past tense

Avoid using “thing,” “something,” “everything,” and “anything.”

Avoid writing in second person. (Don’t use “you” unless it is in dialogue.

HOMEWORK MAY 2/3 Post #20: Your final draft of Essay #2

Study: Vocabulary (1-16)

Read: HG through chapter 16; SMG 134- 148 and answer the following questions: Be ready to talk about these in class!

• What is the concept about which Ngo writes? Which extended anecdote does Ngo use to help explain the concept to his readers? What is his thesis? How does he classify his concept? Categories? Types? How does he define his concept? Find examples of each his classified concepts.

Bring: Final draft of Essay #2; SMG