Engrams English 12

Essay & Research Writing Booklet

Name: ___________________

English Block: ___________

Quick run down of essay writing:

1) Know your topic and create a thesis statement:
A thesis statement is one sentence that explains what you will be discussing in your essay. It should have your
topic and your opinion about the topic, if writing a persuasive piece. If selecting from a list of specific topics, often
rearranging the topic question will form your thesis statement.

2) Plan and organize:

A basic essay must have five paragraphs, minimum:

Introduction = one paragraph (min)

This is where you introduce your topic, purpose for writing and state your thesis.

Body = three or more paragraphs

This is where you discuss or support your opinion. In research essays there will be MANY body paragraphs!

Conclusion = one paragraph (min)

This is where your wrap your ideas up and leave the reader with something to think about.

In order to create a solid essay it is important to clearly organize your ideas by laying them out. Outline, in point
form, what you plan to discuss in each part of the essay. Examples and because should be your best friends
when writing.

3) Typing specifics:
Do not use a cover page unless asked to by your teacher
Use only size 12 times new roman font FOR EVERYTHING, including the title.
DO NOT bold or underline titles
Double space the entire essay including your info on the first page. You can set this up automatically by
selecting format paragraph line spacing and choosing double from the drop down menu
BEFORE you type anything on the page.
Include page numbers on all pages but the first page. Use the insert page numbers application on the
menu bar to do this.

Research Essays: Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting: Handout 1

When you are writing a research essay you must realize that most of your essays content will come from other
sources. There are a variety of ways you can use the information you collect within your essay, such as:
summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting directly. The following definitions explain these terms:

Summarizing: When you summarize you take what you have read and reduce it into several key points using
your own words.

Paraphrasing: When you paraphrase you restate what you have read using your own words.

Quoting Directly: When you quote something directly you copy it word for word and put quotation marks around
this information.

Since you are using words and ideas it is important that you do not plagiarize when you write. To avoid plagiarism
you must credit all sources of information used within your essay. We will focus on this aspect in handout number
4.

How to format quotes within your essay:

(1) Short quotes: Short quotes are direct quotes of four typed lines or less. These are worked into the body
of your essay with tags, or signal phrases, and surrounded by quotation marks. Note where end
punctuation is placed.
Example:

Bob Brice reports that most students are unaware they are plagiarizing when they research (18). For this reason
After
many students risk harsh penalties when attending post secondary institutions. citation

(2) Long quotes: Long quotes are direct quotes of more than four typed lines. These are set off from the rest
of your essay by indenting each line 10 spaces. They are not surrounded by quotation marks. Note that
end punctuation changes with long quotes. See example on next page.
Example:

2
 Brice explains the reasons plagiarizing is becoming an epidemic:

Todays student is living in a fast paced world; everything comes quickly to them. No longer is

patience a virtue as the emphasis in our society is on the quick fix. With the aid of the internet

making research readily available at our fingertips and the invention of the word processor,

students can very easily and quickly locate the information they need for assignments and, with

one click, copy and paste it into their papers. (42)

Before
citation
(3) Partial quotations: If you want to use only part of a direct quote, or leave something out, then you must
indicate to your reader that you are starting a quote in the middle or you have left something out. This is
done by typing ellipsis ( three periods) at the beginning or end of the quote depending on what you
have left out. The ellipsis marks are kept within the quotation marks. (See example in number four).

(4) Inserting your own words into quotations: Sometimes, in order for your words to flow with a quotation you
may need to add a word or two of your own to a quote. If you do this you must indicate which words you
have added by enclosing them in square [ ] brackets.

Example of 3 and 4:

Things have certainly changed [with] the invention of the word processor, students can very easily

and quickly locate the information they need for assignments and, with one click, copy and paste it into

their papers (Higgins 55).

Research Essays: Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting: Handout 2

When you are writing a research essay you must realize that most of your essays content will come from other
sources. There are a variety of ways you can use the information you collect within your essay, such as:
summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting directly. The following definitions explain these terms:

Summarizing: When you summarize you take what you have read and reduce it into several key points using
your own words.

Paraphrasing: When you paraphrase you restate what you have read using your own words.

Quoting Directly: When you quote something directly you copy it word for word and put quotation marks around
this information.

Since you are using words and ideas it is important that you do not plagiarize when you write. To avoid plagiarism
you must credit all sources of information used within your essay. We will focus on this aspect in handout number
4.

How to format quotes within your essay:

(5) Short quotes: Short quotes are direct quotes of four typed lines or less. These are worked into the body
of your essay with tags, or signal phrases, and surrounded by quotation marks. Note where end
punctuation is placed.
Example:

Bob Brice reports that most students are unaware they are plagiarizing when they research (18). For this reason
After
many students risk harsh penalties when attending post secondary institutions. citation

(6) Long quotes: Long quotes are direct quotes of more than four typed lines. These are set off from the rest
of your essay by indenting each line 10 spaces. They are not surrounded by quotation marks. Note that
end punctuation changes with long quotes.

See example on following page.

Example:

3
 Brice explains the reasons plagiarizing is becoming an epidemic:

Todays student is living in a fast paced world; everything comes quickly to them. No longer is

patience a virtue as the emphasis in our society is on the quick fix. With the aid of the internet

making research readily available at our fingertips and the invention of the word processor,

students can very easily and quickly locate the information they need for assignments and, with

one click, copy and paste it into their papers. (42)

Before
citation
(7) Partial quotations: If you want to use only part of a direct quote, or leave something out, then you must
indicate to your reader that you are starting a quote in the middle or you have left something out. This is
done by typing ellipsis ( three periods) at the beginning or end of the quote depending on what you
have left out. The ellipsis marks are kept within the quotation marks. (See example in number four).

(8) Inserting your own words into quotations: Sometimes, in order for your words to flow with a quotation you
may need to add a word or two of your own to a quote. If you do this you must indicate which words you
have added by enclosing them in square [ ] brackets.

Example of 3 and 4:

Things have certainly changed [with] the invention of the word processor, students can very easily

and quickly locate the information they need for assignments and, with one click, copy and paste it into

their papers (Higgins, 55).

Using Quotations Effectively You Cant just Stick Quotes in!

1. Introduce your quotations. A quotation should never suddenly appear out of nowhere. Some kind of information about
the quotation is needed. Name the author, give his credentials, name the source, give a summary. You won't do all of these
each time, but you should usually name the author. For example:
a. But John Jones disagrees with this point, saying, "Such a product would not sell."
b. In an article in Time Fred Jackson writes that frogs vary in the degree of shyness they exhibit: "The arboreal tree frogs
seem to be especially [. . .]."

2. Discuss your quotations. Do not quote someone and then leave the words hanging as if they were self explanatory.
What does the quotation mean and how does it help establish the point you are making? What is your interpretation or
opinion of it? Quotations are like examples: discuss them to show how they fit in with your thesis and with the ideas you are
presenting. Remember: quotations support or illustrate your own points. They are not substitutes for your ideas and they do
not stand by themselves.

It is often useful to apply some interpretive phrasing after a quotation, to show the reader that the you are
explaining the quotation and that it supports your argument:

Here we see that clearly, then This statement shows we can conclude from this that

3. Use some variety in introducing quotations.

A. Pick the quotation verb which seems in each case to fit your purpose most exactly. For example:
In this essay Green tells us, "Hope increases courage."

Note that the particular verb you choose helps orient your reader toward your opinion of the statement. "Jones says" is
neutral; "Jones informs us" is positive, "Jones alleges" is somewhat negative. Other verbs to choose from include:

says remarks us
writes adds alleges
observes declares claims
notes informs states
thinks asserts comments
affirms explains

B. Sometimes you might want to use a colon introduction. For example:

Kumquat offers this explanation: "Deep thinkers talk little." Or Kumquat
4
 is more enlightening: discerns this point: reminds us of his youth:
prefers a different distinguishes between
argument: the two: believes we should talk
less

C. An introductory phrase may sometimes be best. For example:

In the words of Fisher, "Art is a mirror of belief" (342).
As Ted Fisher has remarked, "Life imitates art."
As Fisher reminds us, "Monkey see, monkey do."

4. Sometimes you might want to begin your quotation in the middle of the writer's sentence. For example, Joe's
Text:
I live in the country where life is slow and soft.
Your quotation:
Joe believes that "life is slow and soft" in the country (Living Easy 288).

Or, Boz's Text:

Sally, I love the delicious metaphors you make.
Your quotation:
Boz tells Sally that he loves "the delicious metaphors" she makes (433).

(Note: for embedded phrases like these, do not use ellipsis dots on either side.)

5. Sometimes leave out some words to condense the quotation. Mid-sentence ellipses use three spaced, bracketed
dots. Example text:
The surf on the beach at Mazatlan beat against the shore.
Your quotation:
Smith says of his wave watching, "The surf [. . .] beat against the shore" (Jones 788).

Ellipses at the end of sentence use three spaced, bracketed dots and then a period. Example text:
Rule 5 says, "Sometimes you will want to leave out some words [. . .]."

6. Parenthetical material goes inside the punctuation mark. Example:

The forest is variously described as "marvelous" (34), "fun" (98), and "dramatic" (39).

Compare punctuation without and with parenthetical material:

John records that "all things were made through him [. . .]."
John records that "all things were made through him [. . .]" (John 1:3).
(Note that the period has moved from next to the brackets to behind the right parenthesis mark.)

7. Standard MLA Citation Style is actually rather simple for most entries: The in-text citation is the author's last name
followed by a page number:
The new method was implemented to save money (Jenkins 242).

At the end of your paper, you will have a Works Cited page, listing the work in standard MLA order. Basically, the order is:

Book
Lastname, Firstname. The Book Title. City: Publisher, Date.

Article
Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name Volume (Year): Page-Page.

Web site
Last, First. "Article Title." Site Name. Article date. Organization Name. Web. Date of access <URL in angle brackets>.

Example
Harris, Robert. "Using Quotations Effectively." Home Page. 13 Feb. 2001. Vanguard University. 4 July 2002
<http://www.vanguard.edu/rharris/quotehlp.htm>.

Note: For Web articles, omit information not available, such as author, article date, site name, etc. Always include article
title, date of access, and URL at the very minimum.

This handout was taken from:

Harris, Robert. Using Quotations Effectively. Virtual Salt. February 13, 2001. October 2, 2006 <
http://www.virtualsalt.com/mla.htm>.

Robert Harris, 2001

5
Paraphrasing & Summarizing: Some Notes on writing it in Your Own Words

Learn to borrow from a source without plagiarizing. For more information on paraphrasing, as well as other ways to integrate
sources into your paper, see the Purdue University OWL handout Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/.
A paraphrase is...
- your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new
form.
- one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
- a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...

- it is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
- it helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
- the mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the
top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential
information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to
incorporate the material into your paper.

Some examples to compare

The original passage:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final
[research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter.
Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester,
James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

A legitimate paraphrase:
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level.
Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim
(Lester 46-47).
An acceptable summary:
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted
material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).
A plagiarized version:
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final
research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is
important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

The following information must remain intact on every handout printed for distribution. This page is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/researsch/r_paraphr.html

Copyright 1995-2004 by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.
Use of this site, including printing and distributing our handouts, constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use, available at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/lab/fairuse.html.

Parenthetical Citations and Works Cited: Handout 4

What is a citation?
A citation is when you make reference to a source that you have used within your paper. Any time you quote, paraphrase,
or summarize information from a source you must cite it to avoid plagiarism.

How do I cite a source?

You cite your sources two ways:
1) In the paper itself. This is called an in-text citation.
2) At the end of your paper in the Works Cited

In-text Citations
To site a source within your paper you place the information about your source in parentheses or brackets after the quote,
summary, or paraphrase you have included. This is also called a parenthetical citation. It is called a parenthetical citation
because the information regarding the source is placed in parentheses (brackets).

6
What information do I include in the parenthetical citations?
It depends on how you have set up your paper and the type of source you are dealing with. Typically you include the last
name of the author and the page number for where your information was located (i.e. Brown 16). In your paper, if you make
mention of the source before your insert your quote, summary or paraphrase then you need only to include the page
number for where that information comes from. This is a little more complicated when you want to cite an electronic source
(such as a web page). In this case you take the title of the web page and end it after the .com, or .edu, etc. Otherwise
some of the citations will be very long. Plays and poems are cited differently also, and you will need to look this format up.
Also, you may come across a quote you would like to use but it is quoted in the source you have. In other words, its
already been quoted and now you want to quote it. This is called an indirect quote. In this situation you place the
abbreviation qtd. in the citation and include the information for the source you got it from.

How do I format parenthetical citations?

The most important thing to know about formatting parenthetical citations is the punctuation. In MLA format the punctuation
is different for short and long quotations. If you are summarizing or paraphrasing you use the same format as you would for
short quotes.

Short quote format: When you insert a short quotation (four typed lines or less) into your paper you place the citation
AFTER the closing quotation mark and BEFORE the end punctuation.

Long quote format: In long quotations (more than four typed lines) you do not use quotation marks and the citation comes
AFTER the end punctuation. For examples refer to handout #3.

The Works Cited Page

What is a works cited page

A works cited page comes at the end of your essay and it lists all the sources you used with your essay.

How is a works cited page different from a bibliography?

A bibliography is to list every source you consulted as your research. Even if you did not cite a source within your paper, but
you consulted it, you include it in the bibliography. A works cited is a list of only those sources used within your paper.

How is a works cited page formatted?

First this will be the last page of your essay and therefore gets numbered accordingly.

Second, center the title Works Cited and double space before the first entry.

Third, a works cited page is organized much like a bibliography; sources are listed in alphabetical order with authors last
name first. If there is no author, as for some web pages, use the first word of the title but disregard words such as A, An,
The, etc.

Please note that subsequent lines in your citation on this page are indented; that is if your entry runs more than one line,
indent additional lines 5 spaces.

Example:

Booth, William. Monkeying with Language: Is Chimp Using Words or

Merely Aping Handlers? Washington Post 29 Oct. 1990:A3.

There are many sites out there that have information on citing sources in research essays. It is wise to consult them as they
list all the ins and outs of every type of source available and the specifics related to citing them.

MLA In-Text Citations Practice

Using the information below, write correct parenthetical citations/documentations for each example. Each
question is worth 2 points for a total of 12 points.

Information set:
Differences between Male and Female Brains Online: US News.

January 21, 2005. November 22, 2006

<http://www.usnews.com/usnews/tech/nextnews/archive/next050121.htm>

Donaldson, Sam. Bantering on Watergate. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.

Jennings, Peter. Pushing the Limits of Political Journalism. Washington: Greater Politics Press,

1994.
7
McCarthy, Alice. Male versus Female Intelligence: Does Gender Matter? Online: Swedish

medical Center. April 2006. November 22, 2006 <http://www.swedish.org/111149.cfm>

Xavier, Jason and Thomas Yater. Political Guide to the united States. New York: Ballentine,

2004.

Xavier, Jason. Somewhere in the political Realm. New York: Ballentine, 2002.

Questions:

1) He spoke to us in German and then left us behind ( ).

- from Donaldsons Bantering on Watergate, page 45.

2) I never thought of myself as proud, says Jennings in his book Pushing the Limits of Political Journalism (
).

- This source was located on page 107.

3) The study found that women had about 85% of their IQ-related brain matterboth white and gray
located in the brain's frontal lobes ( ).

- from McCarthys Male versus Female Intelligence: Does Gender Matter?

4) Enraged is how he felt after the episode ( ).

- From Jason Xaviers book Somewhere in the Political Realm, page 233.

Exercises continued on reverse

5) In Political Guide to the United States, Xavier and Yater explore the idea that the U.S. is changing politically
( ).

- From page 544 of this book.

6) According to the analysis, men have approximately 6.5 times as much gray matter related to general
intelligence as women, and women have nearly 10 times as much white matter related to intelligence as men
( ).

- From Differences between Male and Female Brains.

Worksheet adapted from: www.wvec.k12.in.us/harrison/jpearce/English_11/MLA_Doc_practice_Worksheet.pdf

8
TYPING YOUR ESSAY: SET UP
There is a specific way to set up most high school and university papers. It is called MLA (Modern Languages
Association) format. For your essays throughout the semester please follow this format. Below is a sample first
page of an essay with instructions on how to set yours up. Please set yours up this way:

Your name

Teachers name

Course name

Date

Essay 1: Title

Your first paragraph begins here. Notice the title is centered and NOT bolded or

underlined. Try to create an interesting or creative title for your essay that will give your reader

an idea of your topic. You must use a size twelve times new roman font throughout your essay.

Make sure you essay is double spaced. You should set your document up right away to

automatically do this. That way, you will not need to hit enter twice at the end of each line the

computer will do it for you. To do this, on the toolbar click Format, then Paragraph, and in that

pop-up box, where it says Line spacing click on the drop down arrow and select double. Then

click OK.

Make sure each paragraph is indented (just hit the tab button once to do this) and that

the entire essay is evenly spaced. That is, there are no wide gaps between paragraphs or other

parts of the essay. Note how the spacing is even all the way through on this sample even

between paragraphs!

J. Engram 2009