Ashley Quinn

Assessment Analysis: Research Paper MLA Format

Objective(s):

I can recall the correct format for MLA citations and works cited
page.
I can create a MLA citation without error.
I can create a MLA works cited page without error.

Pre-Test Results
Student Pre-Test Results (20 points
possible)
Macy 14
Jayce 14
Nathan 14
Brooklyn 13
Olivia 13
Lexy 13
Kenzie 13
Logan 12
Ellie 12
Devin 12
Roman 11
Brittany 11
Chloe 11
Jon 11
Hailey 11
Tyler L. 10
Zoee 9
Madison 9
Kennedy 9
Britt 8
Austin 7
Garrett 7
Seth 6
Tyler C. 6

Mean:
(14+14+14+13+13+13+13+12+12+12+11+11+11+11+11+10+9+
9+9+8+7+7+6+6)/ 24 = 10.67

10.67/20 = 53.3%

Median:
14, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 10, 9, 9, 9, 8,
7, 7, 6, 6 = 11
11/20 = 55%

Mode:
14, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 10, 9, 9, 9, 8,
7, 7, 6, 6 = 11

11/20 = 55%

Pre-Test Analysis:

The class that was used for this analysis was English 11B. The
first unit for this course is a three to six page research paper. The
research paper has to be formatted according to MLA. Therefore, the
students needed to understand MLA format and how to use it correctly.
MLA changed some of its formatting rules from last year. This made it
even more crucial to make sure the students were educated on MLA
format.
The results of the pre-test showed me that none of my students
had a sufficient amount of knowledge on MLA format. My intent when
giving the pre-test was to determine what the students already knew
about MLA format. The students used MLA in the past, but this pre-test
showed that they hadnt retain much of what they had learned
previously. The average, mode, and median for the pre-test were right
around 50%. This indicated that the students prior knowledge was low,
and the students would need to have instructional time spent of
discussing MLA format.
The highest score on the pre-test was a 70%. This combined with
the low average, median, and mode encouraged me to use models
when instructing on MLA format. The students needed a visual and
examples. No one received full credit on the last problem. This problem
asked the students to write an MLA citation for the given source.
Nobody knew how to do this correctly. Again, I concluded that
examples and models would be necessary.
Some of the questions on the pre-test were confusing. This
confusion arose from the changes that MLA made to their formatting
rules. Some of the rules that students did know changed from last
year, and those students answered the questions wrong.
With these results, I knew that I needed to spend instructional
time developing an understanding of the changes to MLA as well as
how to actually write a citation. Knowing that the students have written
papers using MLA format set me up to be surprised with the results.
MLA Pre-Test

Directions: Answer each question in complete sentences.

1. What is MLA?
2. What information do you need to make a proper MLA citation?

Directions: Write T for true and F for false.

1. _______You should not use the authors last names in the citation if the
authors names appear in the text.

2. _______ You only use et al when you are citing a text with more than three
authors.

3. _______ When you use quotations in the text, you place the citation before the
last quotation mark.

4. _______ You only use block quotes when quoting more than 4 lines (not
sentences) of text.

5. _______ You should underline the title of a text, but not the period at the end
in the Works Cited page.

6. _______ Quotation marks should be placed around titles of shorter works

(articles, poems, short stories, essays).

7. _______ MLA prefers Times New Roman font.

8. _______ Authors last names are listed alphabetically in reverse on the Works
Cited page.

Directions: Given the following source, make a proper MLA citation of the
source.

You read the article, 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web by Mark Bernstein. You
found This article on the web magazine, A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites. The article was published on August 16th, 2002. The URL is
alistapart.com/article/writeliving and you accessed the article on May 4th, 2009.
Pre-Test Key:

Directions: Answer each question in complete sentences.

1. What is MLA?
MLA is a way to format a paper.
2. What information do you need to make a proper MLA citation?
Author, Title of source, Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number,
Publisher, Publication date, and Location.
Directions: Write T for true and F for false.

____T___You should not use the authors last names in the citation if the authors
names appear in the text.

____F___ You only use et al when you are citing a text with more than three
authors.

____F___ When you use quotations in the text, you place the citation before the
last quotation mark.

____T___ You only use block quotes when quoting more than 4 lines (not
sentences) of text.

____F___ You should underline the title of a text, but not the period at the end in
the Works Cited page.

___T____ Quotation marks should be placed around titles of shorter works

(articles, poems, short stories, essays).

___T____ MLA prefers Times New Roman font.

___T____ Authors last names are listed alphabetically in reverse on the Works
Cited page.

Directions: Given the following source, make a proper MLA citation of the
source.

You read the article, 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web by Mark Bernstein. You
found This article on the web magazine, A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites. The article was published on August 16th, 2002. The URL is
alistapart.com/article/writeliving and you accessed the article on May 4th, 2009.

Bernstein, Mark. 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. A List Apart: For People
Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving.

Post-Test Results:

Student Post-Test Results (50 points

possible)
Macy 50
Devin 48
Logan 47
Hailey 47
Jayce 45
Nathan 45
Madison 45
Brittany 44
Chloe 44
Zoee 44
Ellie 43
Roman 43
Tyler L. 43
Tyler C. 43
Kennedy 42
Seth 42
Lexy 41
Kenzie 38
Garrett 38
Austin 37
Olivia 36
Jon 31
Brooklyn 0
Britt 0

Mean:
(50+48+47+47+45+45+45+44+44+44+43+43+43+43+42+42+41
+38+38+37+36+31+0+0)/24 =

39/50 = 78%

Median:
50, 48, 47, 47, 45, 45, 45, 44, 44, 44, 43, 43, 43, 43, 42, 42, 41, 38, 38,
37, 36, 31, 0, 0 = 43

43/50 = 86%

Mode:
50, 48, 47, 47, 45, 45, 45, 44, 44, 44, 43, 43, 43, 43, 42, 42, 41, 38, 38,
37, 36, 31, 0, 0 = 43

43/50 = 86%

The difference between the pre-test and the post-test was not as
significant as I had hoped. The mean score went from a 53.3% to a
78% and the median went from a 55% to an 86%. There was a major
difference between the pre-test and the post-test format. The pre-test
was a short answer, true and false, and one construction problem style
test. The post-test, on the other hand, was the actual works cited page
of the students research papers.
While the post-test results are not wonderful, it is obvious that
everyone did much better. The lowest score on the pre-test was a 30%,
whereas the lowest score on the post-test (disregarding the two
students who did not do the post-test) was a 63%. The pre-test was
focused on recalling information. There might have been a higher gain
if the post-test was similar. Instead, the post-test was all application.
Students all did well on the format of the works cited page, but they
lacked understanding with the format of the citations. The majority of
the students forgot to capitalize the titles, use the correct punctuation,
and use all of the sources in their paper. I believe these mistakes come
from a lack of repetition and practice. I also know that many of the
students chose to copy and pasted citations that were given to them
by the resources or used a citation generator online. While these were
good tools to use, the citations were not 100% correct.
During this unit students were given multiple references and
worksheets to aid in their MLA citations and format. I had all of the
resources on my website and showed them to the students during
class. Another teacher created a worksheet where all the students had
to do was plug in the information from their source. Students were not
required to do any practice citations.
If I were to teach this unit again, I would have the students do
practice citations for a grade. I would have them fill out the worksheet I
gave them and then use that worksheet to create a few practice
citations. This would have allowed for me to see where each student
was struggling with the format. It would also have given the students
another reference with teacher comments to guide them.
Another change I would make is to spend more time on their
rough works cited pages. I chose to grade their rough works cited
pages by glancing at them, instead of having the students print them
off for me. Next time, I will make the students print off their rough
works cited page, so I can grade them and give the students feedback.

MLA Post-Test: Research Paper

Works Cited Rubric
Meets Needs Skill
Expectations Final Works Expectation Work Expectation
Cited Not Met

A D Zero
3 1

Heading Works Cited is centered at the top

of the page in the same type/size font as the
rest of the text. No bold or underlining is
used.

Last name of the author and the page number

is in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Entries are alphabetized properly.

All entries are double spaced evenly and

correctly.

All entries are indented properly and correctly.

*All entries have the necessary information

included.

*All entries are in the proper order according

to the MLA handbook.

All titles are capitalized properly.

 *All entries are punctuated and italicized
correctly according to the MLA style sheet.

*All entries appear to be credible, reliable

sources. No blogs, wiki's, or obviously
questionable sources.

*All entries are used in the paper at least one

time.

*At least 5 entries are present.

Final Grade Works Cited (50 pts.)______

There is no key for this assessment.