(WR2) Lesson Topic 1: Writing Review-2

Lesson Topic 1: Writing Review

In the Writing Workshop of Module 7, we discussed several important pieces of writing that come together to form a well-crafted essay.

Important Pieces of Writing Brainstorming: There are many ways to brainstorm, and one person's way of brainstorming might not be the way you brainstorm best. Brainstorming happens when we, as writers, sit down and think about what we are going to write, and how we are going to put all of our ideas together in an essay. Some ways to brainstorm include webs, lists, or outlines. Support: Support is the evidence that writers use from other sources to prove what they are saying is true. You may also hear people refer to support as proof or quotes. If you write about how nice a character appears in the novel, you would need to go back to the novel and find a sentence that reveals the character doing something nice to another person or a sentence where people discuss the kindness of the character. Any information from the novel that you find to back up, or prove, your idea is considered support. In this module, we are going to practice finding reliable support--or support that we can trust that will help provide our thesis statements. Thesis Statements: The thesis statement reveals what the entire paper will be about, so this particular part of the essay serves as an anchor and the thesis statement always appears at the end of the introduction paragraph. Without a properly written thesis statement, the reader will not have a clear understanding of the topic of the essay.

 

What is the Purpose of MLA Format?

A lined notepad has "DO NOT FORGET!" and a picture of a finger pointing up on it. We use MLA format to keep everything uniform or the same. The chosen font and style make reading the paper easy, and everyone starts on equal ground when we all have the same look to our papers. Therefore, we all set up our papers in the same way (MLA format). Remember that all assignments you turn in need to be in MLA format.

What is MLA Format?

Remember that MLA stands for Modern Language Association. In English courses, you will write all of your essays in what we call MLA format. MLA format means that your paper is set up in the following manner:

  1. Everything in MLA is double-spaced.
  2. Your last name and the page number should appear as a header on each page, with right-side alignment.
  3. An initial header should appear on the first page of your essay, above the title, with left-side alignment. This should include your name, the instructor's name, the course, and the date of assignment.
  4. Use in-text citations throughout your writing to give credit for information borrowed from other authors. This includes information you quote directly, paraphrase, and summarize.
  5. Include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper, on a new page. The works cited page is also double-spaced. Use the hanging indent format for your entries.
  6. Works cited entries are alphabetized by the author's last name. In the case of a source with no author, alphabetize by title.

Overwhelmed? Don't be. We will continue practicing this until you know how to set up each essay you will turn in.

Make sure you are familiar with the terms in this unit in order to understand how the pieces of the essay come together.

 

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