LastName1

Your full name

Date
English 125.056
Title Reflecting Your Central Idea about The Book or "The Short Story"
I would like you to use standard MLA formatting for your papers in this class.1 Except for
the heading, everything in this paperthe body of the paper, any indented long quotations, and
the list of "Work(s) Cited"is double-spaced. Introduce quotations by providing your readers
with a context for understanding your interpretation (for example, who is the speaker? What just
happened or is about to happen?). The following passage is an example of what I would like you
to do with longer quotations:
For quotations longer than four lines, please use this indented block form. Continue
double-spacing, and indent only on the left side. Also, when you block quote, do not
enclose the passage within quotation marks; indenting already tells the reader that these
words are from a quoted source. For block quotations, the parenthetical reference goes
after the period. (Author's last name 47)
You should have a good reason for including a passage of the length above from a source. Make
sure that the entire passage helps to support the claim you are making, and that you discuss in
some detail the specific elementsideas, language, imagery, or diction, for examplethat make
this passage worth quoting at such length. In fact, a rough rule of thumb is to make sure that your
discussion of the quotation is about twice its length. If you cannot find much to say about your
quotation, you should reconsider whether you need to quote it in its entirety. Be economical.
At any length, quotes do not speak for themselves. You must speak for them, exploit
them, make clear how they support your point. Be sure to vary the ways in which you quote:
1

Incaseyouwerewondering,MLAstandsfortheModernLanguageAssociation,whichisanorganizationfor
academicsinliterarystudies.I'musingthisfootnotetoexplainsomethingthatisrelatedbuttangentialtothesubject
ofthepaper.

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short phrases integrated into your sentences are as important as longer quotes, and a variety of
sentence structures makes your writing more interesting. When including brief quotations of
"someone else's words" (Author's last name 24), make sure that your sentence is grammatically
correct. For example, you might argue that the main character asserts her authority by the end of
the novel: "I am a writer" (Author's last name 217). Or you could say that, by the end of the
novel, the main character asserts her authority by saying that "[she is] a writer" (Author's last
name 217). You will have to decide which sentence you like better. Note that you may have to
change "some aspect[s] of the quote[s]" to integrate them into your sentences grammatically; yet
you must acknowledge any changes that you make with square brackets. Do not plop quotes
between sentences; instead, "integrate quotations into your own sentences even if they are
complete sentences in themselves" (Author last name 48). With shorter quotations, notice that the
period goes after your quotation mark and your parenthentical reference; the period closes your
own sentence.2 Furthermore, do not forget to give credit when you paraphrase, that is, write in
your own words and sentence structure, a source's idea (Author's last name 55).
You should proofread your paper carefully and make sure that it is free from common
grammatical errors and stylistic weaknesses. Such problems include unnecessary use of the
passive voice. The ball was thrown by Mary is a passive sentence much more vividly
expressed as Mary threw the ball. Misplaced modifiers involve using ing clauses
inappropriately (and often introduce humor unintentionally): While reading Things Fall Apart,
Okonkwo was the character who really stood out is a problematic sentence because Okonkwo is
a character in, rather than the reader of, the novel. The first word after an ing clause must be
the agent who does the x-ing. Expletives are sentences that use There, This (alone, without a
2

Usecommonsensewhendealingwithexclamationpointsandquestionmarks:ifthemarksappear"inyour
quotation!",theybelongwithinthequotation(Author'slastname108).Ifyouareraisingaquestion,whywouldyou
putthe"questionmark"anywherebutattheendofyourownquestion(Author'slastname34)?

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noun), or It as the subject of a sentence. Sometimes expletives are unavoidable: there are some
good reasons for using them. Too often, however, they reflect a certain mental laziness (they are
very common in speech, because we use them to buy time) and a missed opportunity to make the
subject of your sentence something concrete. This as the subject of a sentence can be improved
with a noun 99% of the time: Instead of This explains why (which explains nothing) try This
disaster or This miracle or This pothole. Sentences beginning with the unspecified It (It
seems, It is for this reason) could often be more concisely phrased without the It opening
phrases. Sentences beginning with a pronoun it that refers directly to something in the previous
paragraph should be examined to make sure that the antecedent for the pronoun it (what it stands
for) is absolutely clear;perhaps a more concrete strategy would be better. Note the use of the
semicolon in the previous sentence and this one; semicolons (not commas) are used to separate
two clauses that could be complete sentences on their own. Semicolons cannot be used to join a
fragment (that can't stand on its own) to a clause that can stand on its own.
Finally, your paper should include a bibliography, which the MLA likes to call a list of
"Works Cited." Technically, it should begin on a new page, but I prefer for you to put it below
the last paragraph of your paper (saves trees). Your sources should be arranged alphabetically by
last name. Below is the basic format for common types of sources: books and articles from
journals. Ask if you have sources that do not match these formats.

Works Cited
Last name of Author, First name of Author. Book Title. Place of Publication: Name of publisher,
year of publication.
Last name of Next Author, First name of Next Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume
number.issue number (year of publication): beginning page ending page.