LSCC Summer 2010 J. Pierce, Instructor

 Part 1 Finding literary resources with Dr. Morrill  Part 2 MLA Documentation Review  Part 3 Library & Workshop Time

 Do your works cited list as you locate resources  Start with the stories themselves  Helpful tools A handbook such as Bedford or the McGraw-Hill Any library will also have the actual MLA Handbook Word 2007 Sites like

 Author  Title of work  Title of source  Editors for anthologies  Page numbers for parts like articles, etc.  Dates of publication  Dates of access for electronic sources  Database names  Format (web, print, etc.)

 Still plain double-space Just like the rest of the paper  Part of the same document Header with page # continues on this last page  Works Cited Centered at the top of the page  The entries are alphabetized  Entries use the “hanging indent” Reverse of paragraph indent

 It’s an anthology, so we’ll need:  Author. Title. Source. Edition. Editors. City: Publisher, Year. Page range. Format.  For example: Mason, Bobbie Ann. “Shiloh.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. 10th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, Print.  This applies to the stories and the articles in our text. If you cite the biographical or other material that is just part of the textbook, that will be a separate entry for Kennedy & Gioia.

 Book with an overall author: Author. Title. City: Publisher, Year. Format.  Book that collects essays: Author of essay. “Title of Essay.” Title of Collection. Editor(s). City: Publisher, Year. Page range of essay. Format.  Reference books—actual Encyclopedia: “Article.” Encyclopedia Title. Edition. Year. Format.

 Samples abound on the library’s website  Here’s a sample from both of the Literary Databases you’re targeting: Sackton, Alexander H. "A Note on Keats and Chaucer." Modern Language Quarterly 13 (1952): Literary Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Web. Wood, Michael. "Tolkien's Fictions." New Society 27 Mar Literature Resource Center. Web.

 If you’re writing about Hemingway or Kaufman, you’ll be citing that the stories came from the internet.  Web sources require: Author. “Title.” Webpage Title. Date Posted. Date Accessed. Web.. For these stories, right after the story title, also include the original date of publication.  You really should not be using web sources for your secondary material.

 Overtly introduce/mention your sources In “Sunday in the Park,” by Bel Kaufman, we meet Morton, a “city pale” university professor… According to Barbara Christian, Alice Walker’s use of….  End cited material with a parenthetical citation What goes inside? (Author #) If no author: (“Title” #) If author previously mentioned, just (#) If electronic and no actual page number available (par. #)—only if the original has pre-numbered paragraphs.

 It is NOT ok to just have a citation at the end of a paragraph Implies that only the last sentence came from the source Often, you will include a paragraph full of information from the same source  By starting with a mention and ending with a citation, you make it clear everything from point a to point b came from that same source  Examples….

o John Doe’s early childhood is still somewhat of a mystery to scholars. Nobody really knows much about his school days. We know he attended school for at least part of his childhood. “Doe was apparently not a good student. School records indicate he was suspended three times in one semester” (Appleton 376). o John Doe’s early childhood is still somewhat of a mystery to scholars. Adam Appleton’s book, Doe’s Early Days, offers a little insight into this man of mystery. We know he attended school for at least part of his childhood. Appleton asserts, “Doe was apparently not a good student. School records indicate he was suspended three times in one semester” (376).

o John Doe’s early childhood is still somewhat of a mystery to scholars. Nobody really knows much about his school days. We know he attended school for at least part of his childhood. “Doe was apparently not a good student. School records indicate he was suspended three times in one semester” (Appleton 376).  Note how it could be just the quote, any part or the whole paragraph that comes from Appleton’s book  Also, note how the quote isn’t attached to any other phrase or sentence: DON’T DO THIS! Integrate quotes with at least an opening phrase.

 When writing about literature, you’ll quote more from your primary sources and paraphrase more from your secondary sources  Even then, you don’t want lots of long quotations  Make sure to format quotes properly In-text vs. Indented  Integrate and follow up on quotes

 Put together your thoughts on the story/stories you want to write about  Pick passages from the story that illustrate your points  Research your stories to supplement your discussion In some cases the research won’t cover what you’re talking about In those cases, you can include some biographical, historical, or other background with the research  For example, say I wanted to argue that the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” suffers from post-partum depression. I could research post partum depression using psychological sources and then tie to the story myself.