Worksheet #1 Narrowing Your Essay Topic
1. According to the UVic Writer’s Guide, why is it important to find a
topic of interest?
• It will be more sHmulaHng and will help you write a more convincing essay.
2. What results if your topic is too broad?
• A vague and generalized essay that is uninteresHng to the student
3. What are the three categories to narrowing a topic?
• General subject: • Narrowed topic: • Specific topic:
4. Using the three categories, narrow a topic of your own choice. • EXAMPLE: • General subject: teacher
• Narrowed topic: high school teacher
• Specific topic: high school literature teacher
Using Credible Sources
hUp://plagiarism.umf.maine.edu/valid.html
1. What six quesHons should you ask about any source used for
informaHon? • Who?
• Who is the author? What are his/her credenHals?
• What?
• What informaHon is available from this resource?
• Where?
• Where did the author(s) get the informaHon? Are citaHons provided?
• When? • When was the resource produced? (For books, check the copyright date. For arHcles, check the publicaHon date. For websites, look for a "created on" or "last updated on" date.)
• Why? • Why does this resource exist? Is the purpose to entertain, persuade, inform, etc.? Is the resource biased?
• How? • How comprehensive is the resource? Does it go into the depth you need?
2. What is plagiarism?
• Plagiarism, strictly speaking, is the stealing of words, ideas, images, or creaHve works.
3. If you decide to use a direct quote, what punctuaHon must you use?
• If you decide to use a quote, you must use quotaHon marks. Use quotes only when the author presents the informaHon in a unique way, when there's no beUer way to say it. To avoid confusion, always add the quota3on marks during the note-‐taking process.
4. For parentheHcal citaHons in MLA style, what informaHon must you list in
order to give proper credit to the source?
• For parentheHcal citaHons in MLA style, you will need the author's last name and the page number(s) on which the quote appears.
EXAMPLE
• From only one cyber-‐hate site at the Hme of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 to more than 2,800 by 2001, "The Internet has put the problem of incendiary hate into sharp relief, raising many difficult poliHcal, legal, and social quesHons" (Leets 287-‐288).
5. What is paraphrasing?
• When you paraphrase, put the thought enHrely into your own words. A close paraphrase, any paraphrase that mimics the original sentence structure, is plagiarism.
Worksheet #3
WriHng a Thesis Statement
hUp://wriHng2.richmond.edu/wriHng/wweb
thesis.html
1. What is a thesis statement?
• A thesis statement unifies a paper.
2. Why is it important?
• The thesis statement can help "map" a paper as it suggests an order or direcHon for the paper's development.
3. What can a good thesis statement act as for your paper?
• It should act as mortar, holding together the various bricks of a paper, summarizing the main point of the paper "in a nutshell," and poinHng toward the paper's development.
4. The sentence aher your thesis might list what informaHon?
• The sentence aher the thesis statement suggests an obvious path for development.
• Judy Syfer's essay, "I Want a Wife," exaggerates the marital expectaCons facing women in our society today.
• The following sentence could conHnue: • Those expectaCons include managing a household, maintaining a career, and having a good relaConship with a spouse.
5. Where should the thesis statement come in your research paper?
• It should be included in the introducHon.
6. Should a thesis statement be general or specific?
• General
7. Can a thesis statement be revised during the researching and
wriHng process?
• YES! You may find informaHon that is more interesHng to you than something you already had wriUen in your thesis.
OUTLINES
hUp://webster.commnet.edu/MLa/format.shtml
1. Why is wriHng an outline recommended?
Using an outline can help you organize your material.
2. Define a Working Outline.
• A Working Outline is an informal list of topics and subtopics which you are thinking of covering in your paper.
3. What is the purpose for wriHng and using a Final Outline?
• A Final Outline should enhance the organizaHon and coherence of your research paper.
4. How should you try to arrange the informaHon included in an outline?
• Outlines can be organized according to your purposes.
• Example: * chronological * cause and effect * compare/contrast * logical
5. What is the difference between a topic outline and sentence outline?
• A final outline can be wriUen as a topic outline, in which you use only short phrases to suggest ideas, or as a sentence outline, in which you use full sentences (even very brief paragraphs) to show the development of ideas more fully.
6. In an outline, logic requires what?
• Logic requires that if you have an "A" in your paper, you need to have a "B"; a "1" requires a "2," and so forth.
Formaong the MLA Research Paper
Worksheet #5
hUp://webster.commnet.edu/MLA/format.shtml
1. What size paper should be used?
• Use white, 8 ½ x 11-‐inch paper.
2. What margins should be used for the text?
• Leave one-‐inch margins all around the text of your paper -‐-‐ leh side, right side, and top and boUom.
3. How far should each paragraph be indented?
• Paragraphs should be indented half an inch (tab buUon).
4. What does The MLA Guide say in regard to spacing?
• The MLA Guide says that "the research paper must be double-‐spaced," including quotaCons, notes, and the list of works cited.
5. Is a Htle page needed in MLA format?
• Your research paper does not need a Htle page. At the top of the first page, at the leh-‐hand margin, type your name, your instructor's name, the course name and number, and the date -‐-‐ all on separate, double-‐spaced lines.
6. Where should the Htle for the paper be placed?
• Double-‐space again and center the Htle above your text. (If your Htle requires more than one line, double-‐space between the lines.) Double-‐space again before beginning your text.
7. What informaHon should be included in the header on the upper-‐right hand corner of each page of your
research paper?
• Number your pages consecuHvely throughout the manuscript (including the first page) in the upper right-‐hand corner of each page, one-‐half inch from the top. Type your last name before the page number.
8. What margin should be used for the header?
Half inch margins should be used for the header.
CitaHons in Text
Worksheet #6
hUp://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch
citmanage/mla#ciHng
1. MLA formaong uses parentheHcal citaHons, which suggests that what punctuaHon is used
around the citaHons?
Parenthesis
2. What informaHon is given in an in-‐text citaHon?
• Give only the informaHon needed to idenHfy a source. Usually the author's last name and a page reference suffice.
3. Where should the parentheHcal reference (citaHon) be placed?
• Place the parentheHcal reference as close as possible its source. Insert the parentheHcal reference where a pause would naturally occur, preferably at the end of a sentence.
4. Should sentence punctuaHon come before or aher the citaHon? • The parentheHcal reference should precede the punctuaHon mark that concludes the sentence, clause, or phrase that contains the cited material.
Worksheet #7 Works Cited Page
hUp://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/sample.shtml
1. What order is used for the Works Cited page?
• alphabeHcal
2. What spacing must be used on the Works Cited page?
• double
3. What do you noHce about the indenHon that is used on a Works
Cited page? • The line is only indented if the citaHon is longer than one line.
4. What is the first thing that should be listed in each entry (if stated in the source) of the Works
Cited page?
• Author’s name (last, first)
5. What Htle must be used for this page?
• Works Cited
6. Does this page use a header with a page number?
• Yes
7. How many sources were used on the Works Cited page listed on this web page?
• 28
8. Should entries listed on a Works Cited page be numbered?
• No