Introductions, Topic Sentences, Quote Integration, and Parenthetical Notes

1. Introductions, Topic Sentences, Quote Integration, and Parenthetical Notes A Review

2. The Funnel Introduction The Beginning:After a brief, general discussion of your topic, focus on the specific issue your thesis statement addresses. This strategy grounds the reader in your topic, reveals your thought process and steers them toward your thesis. Your thesis statement will seem not just logical, but almost inevitable. A great introduction sets readers up for what they’re going to encounter in your essay, and ideally it establishes that the writer is knowledgeable and credible. Introducing Your Arguments: Once you’ve introduced your topic and included your thesis statement, you will want to include a brief statement that introduces your arguments. The reader will find out soon enough what your arguments are, but the benefit of telling them what your arguments are up front is that they’ll know what to expect going into your essay. Length: The introduction should account for about 10% of your total paper. If you have a five-page paper, than your introduction should be no more than ½ a page. You should strive to deliver your introduction in no more than one paragraph.

3. The Funnel Introduction: Example The good of the one as weighed against the good of the many has been a subject of debate since the very first caveman decided he wanted to stay home and paint instead of hunting big, scary saber-toothed tigers for the rest of his family to eat. In contemporary Western society, some see the ability of an individual to follow their own whims and impulses as the only path to true happiness. The literary and philosophical traditions of Whitman, Emerson, and Thoreau have all contributed to the American mythology of the noble individual, standing against injustice. The Peter Weir film, Dead Poets Society uses the characters of John Keating, Neil Perry, and Todd Anderson to develop the ideathat no matter how noble their intentions, any individual who decides to travel the path of nonconformity, will ultimately walk that path alone. Connection between topic and wider world Narrowing of the topic Connection between topic and the text Thesis statement

4. Topic Sentences The topic sentences in your essay should do three things: 1. Transition from the previous paragraph. 2. Tie back to your thesis. 3. Clearly establish the topic of the paragraph.

5. Topic Sentences: Examples The first way in which Dead Poets Society illustrates the isolation that comes with nonconformity is through the idealistic, if somewhat naïve figure of John Keating. Finally, the anguished development of the character of Todd Anderson drives home the loneliness, as well as the nobility of the individual.

6. Integrating Quotes A sentence containing a quotation has several parts: your words, quoted material, parentheses containing page number, end punctuation Your words, quoted material, parentheses, end punctuation The story opens with George thinking “glimmeringly about his abnormal son” (35). Notice the order: First, quotation marks Then, parentheses And last, end punctuation

7. Integrating Quotes QUOTATIONS from the text CAN’T STAND ALONE! You NEED TO integrate the textual evidence, or make them part of your sentence. The combination of your sentence and the textual evidence needs to be grammatically correct—not a run-on or fragment. Take and use parts of the quotation that work well with the ideas you are trying to present. Example: Instead of this: The story opens with George. “He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son.” Do this: The story opens with George thinking “glimmeringly about his abnormal son” who sits hopelessly in his jail cell (35).

8. Integrating Quotes The combination of your sentence and the textual evidence can take any of the forms below: Your words, “quote.”OR “Quote” your words. OR “Quote” your words “quote.” Example Textual evidence (from Frankenstein): “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on.” Ways to integrate evidence into your sentence: The Creature comes to the conclusion that he is ,“an abortion, to be spurned at”(160). “I…am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on,” concludes the Creature(160). “I…am an abortion,” concludes the Creature “to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (160).

9. Integrating Quotes • Use Bracketswhen you want to change the verb tense or any other part of the quote • Original sentence:Walton states, “What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?”(12). • Example with brackets: Walton is unsure what he can, “[expect] in a country of eternal light”(12).

10. Parenthetical Notation When using MLA documentation style, you need to reference your sources by using a works cited page and parenthetical notation.   Generally, brief parenthetical notations consisting of the author's last nameand apage reference are sufficient.  For example:  (Drucker 30). Note:  If you mention the author in your sentence, then you need only cite the page number. 

11. Citing Poetry Rules for Citing Poetry: The name of a poem is always enclosed in quotations When quoting or paraphrasing from a poem, always capitalize whatever is capitalized in the original. Be certain to identify the name of the poet in your text or in parentheses following the quotation. Also, be certain to give the line reference in parenthesis following your quotation. Once you have established that the numbers designate lines, it is only necessary to use numbers (and the poet’s name) in subsequent citations. Example:"For the Anniversary of My Death" begins with the suggestion that after death the soul starts a journey through time "Like the beam of a lightless star" (Merwin, line 5). Put punctuation--except commas or periods that come at the end of the quotation--in where it is in the original.

12. Citing Poetry When directly quoting only one line of poetry, the line should be worked into the text. Example:Gerard Manley Hopkins presents his view of life best in a single line: "The world is charged with the grandeur of God" (line 7). Note: Name of poet is omitted from parenthesis because it is specified in the text. If you quote two to three lines of poetry, separate each line with a slash (with space before and after the slash) and enclose the entire quotation in quotation marks. Example: Reflecting on the "incident" in Baltimore, Cullen concludes, “Of all the things that happened there / That’s all that I remember" (lines 11-12). Note: Name of poet is omitted from parenthesis because it is specified in the text.

13. Citing Poetry If you need to leave a few words out of a line of poetry you are quoting, make sure you indicate that you have done so by using an ellipsis mark -- 3 periods with a space before each and a space after the last ( . . . ). Use a row of evenly spaced periods to indicate that one or more lines of poetry have been omitted from a quotation. Example: Earth has notanything to show more fair ...Dull would he be of soul who could pass byA sight so touching in its majesty