Mind mapping engages both sides of your brain, which results in better writing. Why? Because you can’t write well if you are not engaged creatively. If you find analysis itself to be a creative endeavor, on the next page you will find a more traditional brainstorming tool for analysis. PREWRITING TOOL INTEGRATING QUOTES (Beginners’) What does it mean to “integrate” quotes? This means you must make them part of your own sentence. Otherwise you “freestand”quotes, and this is an error in MLA writing. Example of freestanding quote: Scholars believe Bigfoot legends came from France. “French lore tells of a hairy who roams the woods” (Smith 50). Here is the same quote integrated using a simple colon: Scholars believe Bigfoot legends came from France: “French lore tells of a hairy who roams the woods” (Smith 50). Here is a smoother, more professional way to integrate the quote: Because “French lore tells of a hairy ape-man who roams the woods” (Smith 50), some scholars point to France as the origin of Bigfoot lore. man man
Analysis: (Explain further how the evidence supports your 2) Evidence (Quote or paraphrase from text w/ page number) 3) Analysis: (Explain further how the evidence supports your claim) 4) Conclusion Sentence Connect back to thesis C. asdf Conclusion (Answer question: So what?) FIRST DRAFT TEMPLATE
They Say/I Say: Writing Templates IMPORTANT! READ FIRST! The following templates provide examples of how to use information from texts that you read (the “THEY” in “They Say/I Say” are the author’s words. Some of these examples use “I,” “me,” and “you.” These are examples of INFORMAL writing. Keep in mind that FORMAL WRITING typically does not allow first person “I” or “me,” and discourages the second person “You.” Instead, substitute third-person verbs such as “one may think” instead of “you may think,” or “the reader concludes” rather than “I conclude.” INTRODUCING WHAT “THEY SAY” >A number of sociologists have recently suggested that X’s work has several fundamental problems. > It has become common today to dismiss X’s contribution to the field of sociology. > In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for _________. INTRODUCING “STANDARD VIEWS” > Americans tend to believe that __________. > Common sense dictates that __________. > The standard way of thinking about Topic X has it that __________. > Americans like to say __________. > My life I have heard it said that __________. > One may think that __________, but ___________. > Many people assumed that __________.
Marquez transfers his memories into a brilliant masterpiece inspired by his culture and family members. Art and music easily inspire authors and give them something worth writing about. Columbian culture and his home country play a major role in this novel. Marquez’s writing implies that anything and everything could happen, especially in this prize-deserving monument. Fletcher 4 Works Cited “Biography of Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928-).” N.d. Gradesaver. 11 December 2012. Davison, Phil. “Rafael Escalona: Singer and Composer Who Inspired One Hundred Years of Solitude.” 26 May 2009. The Independent. 11 December 2012. Del Castillo Cadavid, Luis. and Moya, Luis. “What is Vallenato?” N.d. Vallenato. 8 December 2012. Johnston, Ian. Lecture on One Hundred Years of Solitude. 28 March 2012. Malaspina University College. 08 December 2012. Marquez, Gabriel. One Hundred of Solitude. New York: Harper & Row, 1970. Nilsen, Lydia. “Communist or Anti-Imperialist? The Personal Politics of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.” N.d. Agora Journal. 08 December 2012. Simons, Marlise. “A Talk with Gabriel Garcia Marquez.” 5 December 1982. New York Times. 11 December 2012.
Last Name 3 Works Cited Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003. Web. Lastname, Firstname. of the Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Print. Lastname, Firstname. “Title of the Article Found on the Web.” Name of the Scholarly Journal Volume.Issue (Date): first page-last page. Web. Lastname, Firstname. “Title of the Newspaper Article in Print.” Title of the Newspaper Date, edition: SectionPagenumber+. Print. “The Title of the Article Found on a Library Database.” Title of Magazine Date: page number. Name of the Library Database: Name of the Database Service. Name of the library with city, state abbreviation. Date of access. Web. SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (1 entry) Works Cited Entries and Parenthetical Citations
Golden Ticket Items: Check Ideas What is a “Golden Ticket” item? These are some absolutely essential editing and revision items that directly, without exception, Are your ideas your own? Usually the first thing that comes to mind is not the best thing to base a composition on. Are you ripping off ideas from generic reference web sites such as Sparknotes, Shmoop, or Wikipedia? These sites are fine for learning ABOUT a subject, but stealing ideas is a bad idea. Copying a pasting is an even WORSE idea. Both stealing ideas and copying passages from web sites is considered plagiarism. Check out this graphic that illustrates commonly plagiarized sources: You can plagiarism by CITING your source (see “How To Write a Literary Analysis Essay” and/or “How To Use Sources” and “How to Integrate Quotes from Sources”). Does everything you discuss answer the question or support information that explores the assigned prompt? Are you writing what you really think after carefully consideration, or what you think will sound good because you are in a hurry? Are you expanding your notes, taking your notes further? Or are you merely repeating what everyone said in class? Are you basing your ideas on EVIDENCE from the text, or are you just glossing over and summarizing? Are you writing a plot/main point summary of an entire text? You should not be unless the assignment SPECFICALLY says that the purpose of the task is to summarize plot or main ideas. Writing plot summaries when students should be writing ANALYSIS is the most common reason for failed papers, NOT grammar and mechanics.