LSCC Fall 2010 J. Pierce, Instructor

 MLA Documentation Workshop  Conducting Literary LSCC  Official Assignments ◦ Midterm Paper ◦ Research Paper ◦ Oral Presentation

 Do your works cited list as you locate resources  Start with the stories themselves  Helpful tools ◦ A handbook such as The Little Brown Compact Handbook ◦ Any library will also have the actual MLA Handbook ◦ DO NOT rely on 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, owners, and location of access  URLs

 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

 Working together, let’s create works cited entries for: ◦ The Awakening ◦ Readings from later in the text

 Many of the book sources might collect essays:  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.  The benefit of using an essay collection is that you might find multiple sources in one book!

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

 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. 16 Sept Web. ◦ Wood, Michael. "Tolkien's Fictions." New Society 27 Mar Literary Resources from Gale. 30 May Web.

 Web sources require: ◦ Author. “Title.” Webpage Title. Publisher, Date published. Date Accessed. Web. ◦ The only time you’ll need the URL at the end now is if it’s “hard to find.”  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. #)—this is new to MLA this year

 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 novel and what aspects you wish to cover  Pick passages from the novel 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 Celie in The Color Purple suffers from low self-esteem. I could research low self-esteem using psychological sources and then tie to the story myself.

How to find resources for all the major assignments in AML 2264

 The Mission: to write a short research paper exploring one aspect of one of the works covered thus far in AML 2264  Requirements: ◦ Minimum of three full pages (not counting the Works Cited page, of course) ◦ At least 2 reputable secondary sources plus the novel ◦ MLA documentation CategoryWorth On Time10 Effective Intro/Conclusion/Thesis 10 Thoughtful Analysis20 Adequate Proof from Primary Source 10 Use & Choice of Secondary Sources 10 MLA Format & Documentation 20 Grammar & Punctuation20 Total100

 A character study ◦ Chopin: Leonce, Adele, Mademoiselle Reisz, Robert. If choosing Edna, focus only on one role (wife, mother, lover…). ◦ Hurston: Logan Killicks, Nanny, Joe Starks, TeaCake, Mrs. Turner. If choosing Janie, focus on only one period (like during a particular marriage, perhaps).  Trace a particular motif/theme ◦ Chopin: birds, art, ocean/swimming, manners… ◦ Hurston: trees, hair, folktales, speaking/silence…  Adopt a critical lens and apply it to a limited aspect of the story

 Essentially, you’re doing the same thing as you’re doing in the Midterm Paper, just way more of it  Requirements: ◦ 6-8 pages ◦ At least 5 secondary sources in addition to the novel(s) you use  Topics: ◦ Thematic discussions always work  Including tracing a similar theme through 2 books in a comparison ◦ Might consider comparisons of characters within or among novels

 Starting in Week 11 (Nov. 1 & 3), individual presentations begin  This can be on any aspect related to our study ◦ Most of you will tie in to either the Midterm or the main Research Paper ◦ Could also, however, get inspiration from one of the Reading or Research Responses, or even just something a class discussion sparks in you  Required: ◦ 5-10 minutes ◦ PPT ed to me prior to your day to present ◦ Document any sources used just as you would in a paper

 Utilize PowerPoint for presenting the information  Presentations should be about 15 minutes in length  Should address the content of the novel, but not just summarize the plot  Organize your discussion around the formal elements of discussing fiction: ◦ Plot  Conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution ◦ Character  Protagonist/antagonist  Other major characters  Important minor characters ◦ Setting ◦ Point of view ◦ Theme(s) ◦ Critical reaction?  Document sources as you would for a paper  Last slide will be Works Cited  Can also include biographical/historical information about the author and period in which it is written

 Use fairly simple background  Slides should be outline of talk, not every word you plan to say ◦ Can use Notes section for that  Check grammar and punctuation VERY CAREFULLY  Avoid overly heavy animation  Will need to save on a jump drive or to me in advance so that I can bring it to class with me

 Next two weeks will be spent on Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God  After that, Carson McCullers’ The Ballad of the Sad Cafe