Slides for Day 5 in EWRT 1A

1. EWRT 1A
Day 5
Conclusions, MLA Style, Formatting

2. Agenda
 HP Discussion
 Review: The Argument Essay
 Intro, thesis, reasons and support
 Counterarguments
 The Ending: Conclusions
 Putting it all together
 Quoting and citing outside sources
 Video: Citations
 Video: MLA format
 Preparing the final draft

3. Discussion:
Harry Potter in college?
 The Harry Potter series is fun (I
hope you agree).
 But why might it be worth reading
in college and by adults?
 In your House, consider and
discuss:
 In what ways do you personally
relate to aspects of the Potter
universe? (Come up with several
examples.)
 How can Rowling’s world help us
understand our own?
 Why is “fantasy” popular as a
genre? Why might it serve an
important social function?

4. Review:
Basic features of an Argument Essay
1. A Focused Presentation of the Issue
--Directed summary of movie/book.
--If going to use definition: Merriam-Webster. AND explain
in your own words.
2. A Clear Position
--Who is marginalized?
--Why? Because of what? (ONE characteristic.)
3. Plausible Reasons and Convincing Support
4. Anticipating Opposing Positions and Objections
What you should have written already:

5. As you draft, you will need to move back and forth smoothly between arguments for
your position and counterarguments against your readers’ likely objections and
preferred positions. One useful strategy for making this move is to concede the
value of a likely criticism and then to refute it immediately, either in the same
sentence or in the next one.
The following sentences from essays we’ve read illustrate ways to make this move
(the concessions are in italics, the refutations in bold):
The primary goal of a professional athlete — winning — is not appropriate for
children. Their goals should be having fun, learning, and being with friends.
Although winning does add to the fun, too many adults lose sight of what
matters and make winning the most important goal. (Statsky par. 5)
And it is perfectly obvious how important competitive skills are in finding a
job. Yet the ability to cooperate is also important for success in life. (Statsky
par. 10)
But even if we read this as a moment of conflicted sympathy, it remains clear
that Hermione is unwilling to stand up for Myrtle in any meaningful way.
(Student 4).
In these examples
from different
stages in their
arguments, the
authors concede the
importance or value
of some of the
readers’ likely
objections, but then
firmly refute them.
Review: Counterarguments (concede, then refute)

6. The concession-refutation move, sometimes called the “yes-but”
strategy, is important in most arguments. Following is an outline of
some other kinds of language authors rely on to introduce their
concession-refutation moves:

7. “Yes, but” counterarguments
 In your House, share the two
counterarguments you submitted for
homework (accommodate a legitimate
objection and refute an illegitimate
objection).
 Discuss to see if you can revise your
counterarguments with the strategies on slide
5 or sentence starters that showcase the
concession-refutation style on slide 6.
 Re-write one of your counterarguments using
a “yes, but” structure.

8. The Ending:
What do you do in your conclusion?
 Be sure to reiterate your main point in the essay. But don’t just restate your
thesis verbatim. Find another way to say it.
 After you reiterate your main point, you need to do more.
 Two strategies:
 1. Answer the question “So what?”
Show your readers why this essay was important.
 2. Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further
study.
Redirect your reader’s thought process and help them apply your ideas to the world
or to see the broader implications. Tell them what they can do.
 Use one (OR BOTH!) of these to fill in your conclusion.

9. Sample Conclusions: Statsky and Etzioni
What does Statsky do in her
conclusion?
Where does she reiterate her
main point?
Then what does she add?
What does Etzioni do in his
conclusion?
Where does he reiterate his
point? Then what does he add?

10. Conclusions:
Moaning Myrtle Sample Essay
How does the ”Moaning Myrtle” sample essay conclude?
Does it reiterate the main point? Where?
Does it provide a “So What?” Where?
Does it suggest a course of action? If not, how it could it more clearly do so?

11. In-class writing:
Your conclusion
 DRAFT your conclusion now.
 Make sure you reiterate (but do NOT repeat verbatim) your main point in the
essay.
 Then try two different strategies and see which you like better:
 Answer the reader’s “So What?”
 Propose a solution, a course of action, or next steps.
 Consider combining both strategies for an even better finish!

12. How and When to Cite Sources
Avoiding Plagiarism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pTrU_YyjxI

13.  Avoiding Plagiarism: Writers — students and professionals alike — occasionally fail
to acknowledge sources properly. The word plagiarism, which derives from the
Latin word for “kidnapping, ”refers to the unacknowledged use of another’s words,
ideas, or information. Students sometimes mistakenly assume that plagiarizing
occurs only when another writer’s exact words are used without acknowledgment.
In fact, plagiarism also applies to such diverse forms of expression as musical
compositions and visual images as well as ideas and statistics. Therefore, keep in
mind that you must indicate the source of any borrowed information or ideas you
use in your essay, whether you have paraphrased, summarized, or quoted directly
from the source or have reproduced it or referred to it in some other way.
Remember especially the need to document electronic sources fully and
accurately. Information, ideas, and images from electronic sources require
acknowledgment in even more detail than those from print sources (and are often
easier to detect as plagiarism if they are not acknowledged). Some people
plagiarize simply because they do not know the conventions for using and
acknowledging sources. Others plagiarize because they keep sloppy notes and thus
fail to distinguish between their own and their sources’ ideas. If you keep careful
notes, you will not make this serious mistake. Another reason some people
plagiarize is that they feel intimidated by the writing task or the deadline. If you
experience this anxiety about your work, speak to me. Do not run the risk of failing
the course or being expelled from school because of plagiarism. If you are confused
about what is and what is not plagiarism, be sure to ask me.

14. Integrating Quotations: MLA Style
1. Every time you paraphrase, summarize, or directly
quote a source (in this case the film), you must
identify the material as quoted.
2. For quotations that refer to one character and are
under four lines of text, we can use "Quotation
Marks."
3. Always introduce the scene or character who is
speaking. For example, you might write:
When Harry, Hermione, and Ron are caught in the
hallway with a petrified cat, Filch insists, “You did it!”
(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).
4. We must include the name of the source to which we
refer. The citation will come between the last quotation
mark and the period.

16. One day, Hogwarts school tries to contact Harry by owl. Everyone is at
the table but Harry, and he is fetching the mail. This conversation shows
how the Dursleys react:
DUDLEY. Dad, look! Harry's got a letter!!
HARRY. Hey, give it back! It's mine!
VERNON. Yours? Who'd be writing to you? (Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer’s Stone)((Harry Potter).
When Uncle Vernon finds out who is writing to Harry, he nails the
mailbox slot closed. This shows how mean the Dursleys are to Harry.
They do not want Harry to know that he is a wizard.
If you quote multiple speakers, you must use a different format.
Begin each line with the appropriate character’s name indented
1-inch (10 spaces) from the left margin and written in all capital
letters followed by a period. Here is an example:
We will not use quotation marks or italicize the quote in the
case of multiple speakers; the indentation will be indication
enough.

17. MLA Essay Formatting

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xAc4yZ8VSA

19. Margins and Formatting
 1” all around
 Go to “Layout” and
adjust margins or use
custom settings
 Times New Roman 12
 Indent body paragraphs
½ inch from the margin
Header: Last Name 1
 Double Click in
Header Area
 Type your last name
 Align right
 Go to “insert” and
click on “page
number”

20. Heading: Double Spaced
Your Name
Dr. Brian Malone
EWRT 1A
21 January 2018
Title
 Original Title (not the title
of the film we saw)
 No italics, bold, underline,
or quotation marks
 Centered on the page
 No extra spaces (just
double spaced after your
heading and before the
body of your text)

21. .5 inch

22. MLA Works Cited page

23. Basic Rules: Works Cited
 Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the
end of your paper. It should have the same one-inch
margins and last name, page number header as the rest
of your paper.
 Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words
Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center
the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
 Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces
between entries.
 Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by
0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.

24. Header:
TNR 12
one-
inch
mar-
gins
.5” hanging
indent
Italicize
movie
titles
one-
inch
mar-
gins

25. Homework for next class
 Read HPPOA (Ch. 11 and 12)
 Discussion #6: your conclusion
 Bring two copies (one can be
electronic) for the writing
workshop. Your essay should be
complete and ready to turn in. This
means your formatting should be
correct, and your works cited page
should be complete.
 Remember: bringing a full draft to
this Writing Workshop counts for
Personal Participation Points AND
(potentially) House Points.
 Essay due #1 FINAL DRAFT due
Friday, February 2, at noon. Using
the comments you received from
your readers, revise and edit Essay
#1. Your paper must be in MLA
format.