1 Race unit essay – writing tipsIntercultural Literature C. Valverde

2 Modern Language Association Style Sheet FormatFOUNDED IN 1883, THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR ITS MEMBERS TO SHARE THEIR SCHOLARLY FINDINGS AND TEACHING EXPERIENCES WITH COLLEAGUES AND TO DISCUSS TRENDS IN THE ACADEMY. MLA MEMBERS HOST AN ANNUAL CONVENTION AND OTHER MEETINGS, WORK WITH RELATED ORGANIZATIONS, AND SUSTAIN ONE OF THE FINEST PUBLISHING PROGRAMS IN THE HUMANITIES. FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS, MEMBERS HAVE WORKED TO STRENGTHEN THE STUDY AND TEACHING OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

3 Why is it important? MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing is published and utilized widely across the world. Higher education institutions have adopted its guidelines as the standard for scholarly and professional writing.

4 MLA guidelines include…How to format documents appropriately; How to cite authors and works appropriately; How to write an appropriate bibliography format (Works Cited list)

5 Scholarly Essay Format

6 Scholarly Essay cont.

7 Determine what kind of essay you are writing.An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience. An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience. An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

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9 Thesis statement Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

10 Example of an analytical thesis statement:An analysis of the college admission process reveals one challenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds. The paper that follows should: Explain the analysis of the college admission process Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

11 Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers. The paper that follows should: Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

12 Example of an argumentative thesis statement:High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness. The paper that follows should: Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

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14 Thesis Statement ExamplesAlthough the contradictory character Anthony in the film Crash comes across as your typical street thug, he is far from it, as he projects the victimization of stereotype threat, unable to rationalize his identity politics, but eventually comes to terms with his own perceived self-fulfilling prophecies. The role of Rick Cabot in the film Crash represents the embodiment of various manifestations of power analyzed through the frameworks of institutional racism, the criminal justice system and identity politics. While the film Crash stresses the state of race relations in Los Angeles in 2004, it also demonstrates the profound interconnectedness we share in our common implicit biases, closeted racism, while acknowledging the need for greater empathy. The following paper will analyze the Eurocentrism, racial politics and White privilege within the dialogue in both dinner scenes in the film American History X. A close examination of the relationship between Lamont and Derek in AHX reveals multiple forms of oppression situated within the frameworks of institutional racism, the criminal justice system and closet racism.

15 Using Transitions Using transitional words and phrases helps papers flow smoothly.  They provide logical organization and improve the connections between thoughts. A coherent paper allows the reader to flow from the first supporting point to the last. Transitions indicate relations, whether within a sentence, paragraph, or paper. This list illustrates "relationships" between ideas, followed by words and phrases that can connect them. Examples: Addition: also, again, as well as, besides, coupled with, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, similarly Consequence: accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, so then, subsequently, therefore, thus, thereupon, wherefore Similarity: comparatively, coupled with, correspondingly, identically, likewise, similar, moreover, together with Restatement: in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, 
in short, in brief, to put it differently See handout for more.

16 Direct Quotations Directly quoting means typing one or two sentences verbatim from a source. Set up direct quotations with phrases of your own to guide your flow of discussion. Use quotation marks (“ ”) to set off directly quoted material from your own words, and parenthetically document the work at the end of the sentence, using MLA format. Avoid ‘dropped quotations;’ randomly placed without context or signifiers introducing the quote.

17 What is a dropped quote? Enrique discovers the hardship of surviving life as a fugitive. “Enrique tries to stay clean by finding bits of cardboard to sleep on” (Nazario 99). He makes due with the little he has. Enrique discovers the hardship of surviving life as a fugitive when he “tries to stay clean by finding bits of cardboard to sleep on” (Nazario 99). He makes due with the little he has.

18 Another example... The US is currently experiencing its largest wave of immigration in its history. “Each year, an estimated 700,000 immigrants enter the United States illegally” (Nazario xiii). These immigrants are transforming the nation in many different ways. The US is currently experiencing its largest wave of immigration in its history. According to Nazario, “Each year, an estimated 700,000 immigrants enter the United States illegally” (xiii). These immigrants are transforming the nation in many different ways.

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20 Common Errors in Student EssaysPlagiarizing Ideas. Incomplete sentences, redundant phrases, obvious misspellings – Proofread! When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it. 'Affect' is a verb: “Gender discrimination affects child development.” 'Effect' is a noun. “The effect of gender discrimination is worrisome to child psychologists.” Improper Capitalization (names, titles, etc.) In the USA we put commas and periods before the quotation mark, not after it. “This is a correct example.” not “This is an incorrect example”.

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