Your full name

Your last name 1

Your full name

Teacher’s name

Course name

Turn-in date

Your Title Centered

          The required margins for your paper are simple: one inch all the way around – left and right, top and bottom.
          Use your tab key for indentation.
          Do not use footnotes. That is what in-text citations (Lewton 20) and your Works Cited page are for.
          Your last name and the page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page beginning with the first page of the essay and including the Works Cited page. Insert the name and page number as a header. This is current MLA (Modern Language Association) form and is required throughout English and the Humanities. Check the glossary in your Writer’s Inc. text for complete references for MLA source citations, works cited information, and a sample essay. The other major form, APA (American Psychological Association), is used primarily in the Sciences and for advanced degrees.
          When should you use in-text citations?
          Every time you paraphrase someone else’s ideas, directly quote from a source, cite a statistic, or attribute a statement to someone that you obtained from someone else’s book, magazine, or newspaper article, you should cite your source.

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When should you use quotation marks?

Every time you take words directly from a source without changing them you should use quotation marks, unless the quote is over three lines in length.

Then you indent twice without further indenting for an initial paragraph indentation. This sets a long quote off from the text of your argument, identifying it as a quote from another writer’s work. Do not use long quotes unless they are extremely dramatic and necessary to your argument. Do, however, always end them with an in-text citation, like this one (Lewton 3).

What are some tips for inserting the research material into the essay?

According to Beebe, when the author of the citation is referred to in the sentence, the citation need only include the page number (4). “In a direct quote from a source in which the author is not named, the author’s name and page number must be cited” (Beebe 2). Paraphrasing of ideas should be short and the source must be cited (Anderson 3). Sources that do not have authors are not necessarily reliable; but if you are using one, then the citation should include the first two or three words of the title in quotation marks and the page number (“How to Write” 4). If there are no page numbers given on an Internet source, then use N.pag or just the title or author ("How to Write" N.pag). If you have more than one source in your works cited page by the same author, then to distinguish between the sources you must include the first two or three words of the title along with the author’s name (Warriner “Reread, Revise” 2). The in-text citations and Works Cited page are for the reader. The reader needs a clear and complete reference of your sources to fully appreciate the focus of your essay.

You should never start or end a paragraph with cited information, either quoted or paraphrased. The main idea or topic sentence in a paragraph should be in your own words. “The cited source should not be used for the main idea of a paragraph but as proof of your opinions or points” (Beebe 3). If you do use cited information, be sure to have your own

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points or words of explanation separating the cited sentences. “Back-to-back quotes are not acceptable in an essay” (Beebe 4). Remember, the main focus of the paper should be your own ideas and the outside sources are used to show that other authorities support your points.
How are the rough draft and final paper to be prepared?
An organizational outline of main ideas would be highly suggested. Many students who spend time in the pre-writing stage find it much easier to stay focused and organized as they write their essays (Anderson 3). Please type the final drafts. Correct spelling, punctuation, and usage are the expected standards of any reader whose goal is to understand and enjoy your work.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Henry. Writing with the Reader in Mind. Chicago: Morrison Publishing, 2002.
Beebe, Susan. "Writing Essy." Newsweek 16 June 2001.
"How to Write an Essay and Feel Good About What You Have Said and How You Have Said It."
23 Sept. 1999: N.pag. 5 Oct. 2002 <http://www.ppc.new.edu/home/stb/com>.
Warriner, Sally. Focusing on Your Thesis. Chicago: Morrison Publishing, 2000.
---. Rereading, Revising, and Success. New York: Anderson Publishing, 1999.

created by Susan A. Nies, Batavia High School