FKCC Library

1. FKCC Library Introduction to Minority Literature 2009

2. FKCC Library Today’s presentation will cover • Essay paper tips • FKCC databases • MLA format tips

3. Plan your steps … Choose a topic Brainstorm ideas/background reading Develop your thesis Prepare an outline Write draft Review and revise Format paper in MLA Edit & proofread Allow enough time!

4. Choose your topic • Re-read your assignment, questions? talk to your instructor • Re-read the literary work(s) • Note what interests you • Write down all potential topics • Try putting your topic in the form of a question • Select a topic & remember your audience – in this case your instructor!

5. Brainstorming • Helpful to develop your topic – broaden it or narrow it down • Good for search terms for database and internet searching • Write down all ideas – it’s easy to forget them • Again re-read your assignment to be sure you are on track

6. Thesis statement • Whereas a topic is a question, a thesis is a statement • Thesis is your point of view – what you intent to prove in your paper • You may revise your thesis as you refine your paper • Found in your introductory paragraph • Support for your thesis in body of paper • Stated again in your concluding paragraph

7. Outline An outline is a tool to help you organize the main points you plan to make in your paper • Group related ideas together • List your main points/supporting details • See where you need more information or less detail • Arrange your ideas - see how your ideas connect to each other Can use a bullet approach with phrases or full sentences

8. FKCC Library Databases • FKCC has access to over 100 databases - all free of charge to students with full text and multimedia. • Suggestions for this project: • Essay & General Literature • Literary Reference Center • Literature Resources • JSTOR

9. FKCC Library Databases Let’s search the Library Catalog & Databases

10. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Modern Language Association Format MLA format includes page formatting, in-text citations (quotations or paraphrasing), and your works cited page.

11. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips The Format • Follow your instructor’s guidelines. • 1 inch margins on all sides of paper • Double space • The header should be at the top right hand corner of each page, ½ inch below the top edge and should include: your last name, and page number

12. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips The First Page • No title page is needed unless your instructor requests one • The upper left hand corner should include: your name, your instructor’s name, the course, the date • The title should be centered on the next line

13. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Your first page should look like this:(from http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Daly-MLA.pdf)

14. Plagiarism FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Plagiarize: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source "plagiarize." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.Merriam-Webster Online. 25 March 2009 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize> For more information visit: www.plagiarism.org/ owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01

15. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips In-Text Citations • Use in-text citation or footnote even if you are paraphrasing • Use quotation marks or indent with footnote or in-text citation when using exact quotes • Confused, check with your instructor • If in doubt, document your source • Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page

16. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips In-Text Citations 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). Visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/03/

17. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Works Cited Page • The heading should be centered • Double space the page • The list is alphabetized by authors’ last names or by the title when there is no author • The first line of each entry is at the left margin and the extra lines are indented ½ inch or five spaces

18. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Works cited page should look like this: (from http://www.dianahacker.com/pdf/Hacker-MLAupdates.pdf)

19. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Works cited page should look like this: (from http://www.dianahacker.com/pdf/Hacker-MLAupdates.pdf)

20. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Sample citations Book Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American Revolution. New York: Viking, 1997. Print. Online Database Journal Article Holton, Woody. "The Ohio Indians and the Coming of the American Revolution in Virginia." The Journal of Southern History 60.3 (1994): 453-54. JSTOR. Web. 31 July 1998. Interview conducted personally or via e-mail Obama, Barack, Personal interview. 27 Oct. 2008.

21. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Books at FKCC Library (available at Circulation Desk) Gibaldi, Joseph, ed. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009. (will be available soon) Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. Aaron, Jane E. The Little, Brown Essential Handbook. New York: Longman, 2008.

22. FKCC Library MLA Format Tips Helpful resources MLA formatting and writing style guide from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/MLA style from Diana Hacker Guide http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s5.html FKCC Library Research Help Blog http://www.fkcclibraryresearch.blogspot.com/ Be sure to acknowledge your sources and avoid plagiarism!