1. Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel Catching Fire from her adolescent literature series, The Hunger Games

2. Jones 1 Joe Jones Mr. Braam CCR English 10, Bell 1 Ind. Novel Response #1 Nov. 6, 2015 Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title) In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. For example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head, where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart. Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that she always hears, then saying she hears nothing, Collins makes readers want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to know whether or not Peeta survives. Another example comes at the end of Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area where Katniss and her allies are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line [of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural.... A sickening sweet Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example This text – of which you have a copy in front of you – is an example of how to write a developed paragraph response to a prompt, while also using both MLA formatting and MLA in-text citations

3. Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Joe Jones Mr. Braam CCR English 10, Bell 1 Ind. Novel Response #1 Nov. 6, 2015 Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title) First, remember that all text in your response needs to be in MLA format. That includes things such as: 1.Double-spacing 2.Times New Roman font 3.12-point type 4.1-inch margins 5.AND DON’T FORGET THE HEADER AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE!!!

4. Joe Jones Mr. Braam CCR English 10, Bell 1 Ind. Novel Response #1 Nov. 6, 2015 That mandatory header includes: 1.The writer’s name 2.The teacher’s name 3.Name of the class and bell # 4.Type of assignment 5.And date the work is handed in Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

5. Jones 1 The header (continued) And don’t forget your last name and page number at the top right of the page In Microsoft Word, use the “Insert Page Number” function and add the name Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

6. The title Note that the title below is centered Note that the title is the same font and point size as the rest of the text Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title) In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example (In other words, the title is not underlined or italicized. It also is not bolder, or larger than anything else that is on the page)

7. The text Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title) In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. Note that the text begins double-spaced from the title Note that the text is indented 5 spaces Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

8. Responding to the Prompt Let’s say that you are responding to a prompt that asks: “How does the author build tension in the book?” Note that the prompt, in this case, asks about the author and the book. Note that it also asks you to offer an opinion about how tension is built in the book Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

9. The text Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title) In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. Note that the first sentence is my topic, or the thesis/claim statement It rephrases the question “How does the author build tension?” It also tells me the name of the book and the author Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

10. For example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head, where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart. Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279). The topic sentence/ claim is then followed by an example from the book The example includes a quote that provides evidence for the claim about the topic The in-text citation then gives the author’s last name and the page number that the quote was on in the book Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Note that a transitional word or phrase is used

11. ... Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279). Note carefully (and remember!!!) the following punctuation rules for MLA in-text citations Note that the quote ends with only a quote mark … and no period The author’s last name and the page number have no punctuation at all between them, and are surrounded by parentheses The final punctuation (the period, in this case) comes after the closing parenthesis Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example TEACHER NOTE: This is one of the rare, rare moments when a period or comma does NOT go inside the quote mark Voila!!! This is the punctuation style for MLA in-text citations

12. (Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that she always hears, then saying she hears nothing, Collins makes readers want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to know whether or not Peeta survives. Then the citation is followed by an explanation of the evidence from the book Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example What you are doing here is saying why your evidence that you quote from the text supports your claim … or, in this case, explaining how Collins built tension with a specific cliffhanger chapter ending!

13. … whether or not Peeta survives. Another example comes at the end of Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area where Katniss and her allies are sleeping. Then the evidence is followed by a second example from the book about building tension. Note the transition “Another example …” Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

14. … are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line [of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural.... A sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the new quoted evidence also is an example of how the author built tension Note that the new textual evidence from the book also has quote marks around it Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

15. … are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line [of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural.... A sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the quote is again followed by an in-text citation Note that the quote is again followed by no period and then a final quote mark Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

16. … begin to blister” (Collins 297). Once again, by leaving Katniss and her friends in danger and their fate unknown, Collins makes readers feel the increased tension, pulling them further into the book to find out the results. Note that the quote and the in-text citation are again followed by an explanation … Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example … that details how the quoted evidence shows that Collins built tension with another cliffhanger chapter ending

17. … out the results. These are just two examples of how Collins masterfully uses cliffhanger endings to build tension, both in her book Catching Fire and in the readers’ minds. Then, at the end, there is a conclusion that ties the evidence back to the topic sentence/ claim Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Note that your conclusion should rephrase (not merely repeat verbatim) the claim, drawing your response to a satisfactory – and complete – close

18. Major Points to Remember: 1.Type your responses 2.Use MLA formatting (double-spacing, font, point sizes, etc.) 3.Have a topic sentence/claim expressing your opinion that ALSO incorporates the original prompt (and probably the name of the book and the author’s name, too) Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

19. Major Points to Remember: 4. Follow the topic sentence/claim with an example from the book, plus a quote from the text provided as evidence that supports your original claim 5. Remember to use an in-text citation at the end of the quote, using the proper format and punctuation (author last name and page #) Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

20. Major Points to Remember: 6. Next, explain how the quoted evidence backs up your original topic sentence/claim 7. Make sure you have the correct number of requested examples within your response (ADDED NOTE: If no specific number of examples is requested in the prompt, my suggestion is to find two examples at minimum) Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

21. Major Points to Remember: 8. Make sure that for every quoted example from the text that you offer as support, that you also remember to use another in-text citation 9. End your response with a concluding sentence that refers back to the topic sentence/claim and to the cited evidence that you have provided from the text Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example

22. Major Points to Remember: Confused? Not sure if you will remember all of this, or not confident in the completeness of your notes?!?!? DO NOT PANIC This PowerPoint will be posted online permanently on my class website, where it can be viewed and/or downloaded 24/7. Plus – AS ALWAYS – you can always ask me for help! Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example