Breakthrough Writer

MLA Works Cited Link

These links will help you with your Works Cited Page. 

MLA Works Cited Link

Citation Machine

Easy Bib (MLA)

Bib Me

MLA Works Cited Link

Citation Machine

Easy Bib (MLA)

Bib Me

MLA Works Cited for Internet Sources

For citing internet sources and a good list of other documentation rules for your MLA Works Cited Page, CLICK HERE.

How Do I Document Web Sources for MLA Format?

Here's a good guide for formatting web sources: http://www.mla.org/style_faq4

Two Solid Templates for Your Research Papers

Here are two solid templates that can be applied to your research papers for English 1A and 1C:

Choice Number One:

One. An introduction, either one paragraph or one-page, which could be based on a personal anecdote that is relevant to your essay's theme. Or write a one-page extended definition of a term that your reader may not understand and this term is essential to understanding your theme. You can even use a personal anecdote to illustrate the word you're defining. Or you can use one of a variety of methods.
Two. Following the introduction, a thesis followed by 4 or 5 mapping components, which provide the how or the why of your thesis.
Three.  Write 4-6 support paragraphs that are well developed (130-180 words). Eighty percent of your support should be in your own words. Twenty percent should be quotations, paraphrases, and summaries of your consulted outside sources.
Four: Conclusion: A dramatic restatement of your thesis.
Five: An MLA Style Works Cited page.

Choice Number Two: Counter-Argument; also called the Refutation Essay
 

One: In your introduction you give context to a debate, showing its two sides.

Two: You explain three or four objectives to a prevailing argument (which you will defend later in your essay). This should take you three or four paragraphs.

Three: You transition to your thesis, which is to refute these objections.

Four: In three to four paragraphs, you show why the objections you provided earlier in your essay are NOT defensible.

Five: Your conclusion is a restatement of your thesis in more dramatic form.

Six: MLA Works Cited page.

MLA Format Guide

For MLA format guide, CLICK HERE.

Some Helpful Research Paper Reminders

Your research paper should be about 80% of your own writing voice in which you write argument, analysis, illustration, personal examples, personal narratives, personal anecdotes, etc., in the service of your thesis. About 20% of your essay should be direct quotes, paraphrases, and summary of research texts from my website, other credible websites, books, articles, periodicals, films, etc. When you're quoting from one of these diverse sources, you should introduce in a variety of ways that conform to good academic, college-level writing. One way to keep your pronouns consistent and to sound college-level is to use the pronoun "we." Here are some effective ways to introduce quotes:

One: The pain and anxiety of losing one's faith is evident in Julia Sweeney's "Letting Go of God" where she writes, "I shuddered. I felt I was slipping off the raft."

Two: We find ourselves confronted with the arduous task of having to free ourselves from our self-centeredness in David Foster Wallace's "Kenyon Commencement Speech" in which he argues that  the real value of an education  "has nothing to do with grades  and degrees and everything to do with simple awareness . . ." Notice I use a three-dot ellipsis because I cut off the quote in mid-sentence.

Some common introductory phrases:

According to Wallace,

In "Kenyon Commecement Speech," Wallace opines . . .

In  "Letting Go of God," Sweeney  posits . . . 

We read in Haruki Marukami's "The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day" that . . .

Vary Your Verbs: Don't always use "writes" or "says" as in "So-and-So writes . . ."

Here are some effective verbs:

1. argues
2. opines
3. speculates
4. posits
5. exposes
6. illustrates
7. acknowledges
8. admits
9. asserts
10. claims

For a more complete of verbs in signal phrases, CLICK HERE.

For a good Internet guide to formatting in MLA, CLICK HERE.

Your MLA Works Cited Page: Some helpful points

One: If you're using an anthology, such as The Best American Nonrequired Reading, the rule is on page 427, Rule 10, of Rules for Writers. The citation looks like this:

Wallace, David Foster. "Kenyon Commencement Speech." The Best    American Nonrequired Reading 2006. Ed. Dave Eggers. Houghton     Mifflin, 2006, 355-364.

Two: If you're using a film that you watched on DVD, the rule is  on page 439, Rule 43. The citation looks like this:

Groundhog Day. Dir. Harold Ramis. Perf. Bill Murray, Andie               MacDowell, and Chris Elliot. 1993. DVD. Columbia Pictures, 2002.

Three: If you're using a film review on the Internet, refer to pages 432-438. If you use Movie Review Query Engine, you must refer to the type of media that you use. For example, if MRQE refers you to an online newspaper film review, you would use format on page 436, Rule 32, "From an online newspaper." The citation would look like this:

Maslin, Janet. "Bill Murray Battles Pittsburgh Time Warp." The New   York Times 12 Feb. 1993                             http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.
Four: If you're using a short story collection like Tobias Wolff's The Night in Question, your citing should look like the following:

Wolff, Tobias. The Night in Question. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

The format for Works Cited page, the last page of your research paper, is explained on page 446. A sample Works Cited page is on page 454.

Wallace, David Foster. "Kenyon Commencement Speech." The Best    American Nonrequired Reading 2006. Ed. Dave Eggers. Houghton     Mifflin, 2006, 355-364.

Two: If you're using a film that you watched on DVD, the rule is  on page 439, Rule 43. The citation looks like this:

Groundhog Day. Dir. Harold Ramis. Perf. Bill Murray, Andie               MacDowell, and Chris Elliot. 1993. DVD. Columbia Pictures, 2002.

Three: If you're using a film review on the Internet, refer to pages 432-438. If you use Movie Review Query Engine, you must refer to the type of media that you use. For example, if MRQE refers you to an online newspaper film review, you would use format on page 436, Rule 32, "From an online newspaper." The citation would look like this:

Maslin, Janet. "Bill Murray Battles Pittsburgh Time Warp." The New   York Times 12 Feb. 1993                             http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.
Four: If you're using a short story collection like Tobias Wolff's The Night in Question, your citing should look like the following:

Wolff, Tobias. The Night in Question. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

The format for Works Cited page, the last page of your research paper, is explained on page 446. A sample Works Cited page is on page 454.

Wallace, David Foster. "Kenyon Commencement Speech." The Best    American Nonrequired Reading 2006. Ed. Dave Eggers. Houghton     Mifflin, 2006, 355-364.

Two: If you're using a film that you watched on DVD, the rule is  on page 439, Rule 43. The citation looks like this:

Groundhog Day. Dir. Harold Ramis. Perf. Bill Murray, Andie               MacDowell, and Chris Elliot. 1993. DVD. Columbia Pictures, 2002.

Three: If you're using a film review on the Internet, refer to pages 432-438. If you use Movie Review Query Engine, you must refer to the type of media that you use. For example, if MRQE refers you to an online newspaper film review, you would use format on page 436, Rule 32, "From an online newspaper." The citation would look like this:

Maslin, Janet. "Bill Murray Battles Pittsburgh Time Warp." The New   York Times 12 Feb. 1993                             http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.
Four: If you're using a short story collection like Tobias Wolff's The Night in Question, your citing should look like the following:

Wolff, Tobias. The Night in Question. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

The format for Works Cited page, the last page of your research paper, is explained on page 446. A sample Works Cited page is on page 454.