1. MLA information

2. MLA MLA has a standard way to set up your paper:
12 point font with 1 inch margins
Times New Roman recommended
Has a standard way to put the identifying information at the top of the paper (Your Name. Instructors names, the course name, and date)
Has a running header on every page with your last name and page number
Has a title that is centered but not italicized or underlined
Is left aligned and indents the first line of each paragraph (no spaces between)
MLA is how you avoid plagiarism:
Avoiding plagiarism is really important for your college work
Plagiarized papers will receive a zero that cannot be made up
We will roll out how to cite to avoid plagiarism as we get into our research based writing. Until it is taught in class, please just do your best

3. MLA Round 2- Works cited and in-text citations
Is the last page of your paper (insert a page break at the end of your essay)
Is part of the paper and includes the same running header
Lists all the sources that informed your work (You will be provided with the correct citations for all class resources for this paper)
Has the same formatting as the rest of the paper
Is titled Works Cited (not underlines, not bold, not italicized, not in a bigger font). These words should be centered on the page
Is in alphabetical order
Has a hanging indent

4. In Text Citations
Show where the work from your works cited page shows up in your paper
Identify the text by the author’s last name OR the first listed item on the works cited page
Identify the page number the information comes from (if applicable)
Are used to cite both direct quotations AND paraphrasing
Information goes in parenthesis and are followed by the end punctuation of the sentence (if applicable)
Remove the need for you to ever say “In 2016 a man named Garcia did a study that showed…”
Example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).  Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

5. BRING A WORKING THESIS WITH YOU TO CLASS ON TUESDAY
Thesis statements
Is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
Directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
Makes a claim that others might dispute.
Is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.
BRING A WORKING THESIS WITH YOU TO CLASS ON TUESDAY