ENG 1500: Formal Paper Guidelines 1. Must use 12pt Times New Roman Font 2. Final draft must be a minimum of 6 pages, double spaced 3. Must use MLA formatting and documentation style 4. Must include in-text citations to credit all sources, as well as a works cited page 5. Must be written in the third person, avoiding first (e.g. I, me, we, our, my, us) and second (e.g. you). 6. Should avoid contractions (e.g. can’t, don’t, won’t, it’s, etc.). 7. Titles of long works (e.g. novels, movies, magazines, newspapers) are italicized. Titles of short works (e.g. poems, short stories, chapters, articles, songs) are placed in quotations. 8. MLA Documentation: · In-text Citations: · Introduce quotes with signal phrases that introduce the author and you don’t need the author’s last name in your in-text citation · Ex. According to Sam-I-am, “he didn’t like green eggs and ham” (Suess 4). · Ex. As Suess writes, “Sam-I-am didn’t like green eggs and ham” (5). · Signal phrases may include the following verbs: explains, illustrates, points out, makes clear, elucidates, writes, states, asserts, claims, describes, etc. · Ex. As Katniss explains; As Collins writes; As Anderson points out · When paraphrasing information from a source (readings), place the author’s last name and page number in your in-text citation · Ex. Sam-I-am wasn’t interested in green eggs and ham at all (Suess 6). · Place your periods after in-text citations when citations belong to the sentences that precede them. Please periods before in-text citations for block quotes (quotes of four or more lines) to show that the citation belongs to the block quote as a whole. · Use brackets to add your own language to a quote for clarity. · “No. I’ll [Leevy] stay with them myself” (Collins 110). · If working with more than one novel by the same author, include the title of the novel in your citation. · Katniss explains that District 13 handles weddings much differently than they do in the Capitol: “When Coin says ‘wedding,’ she means two people signing a piece of paper and being assigned a new compartment. Plutarch means hundreds of people dressed in finery at a three-day celebration” (Collins, Mockingjay, 224). · Use single quotation marks (‘…’) for quotes within quotes, as above with the word ‘wedding’ placed in quotations for emphasis. Ex. Of a block quote: Katniss describes how she dances at Finnick and Annie’s wedding as a form of rebellion against President Snow and the Capitol, asserting District 13’s victory in Panem’s civil war: What could spell victory louder than a happy Mockingjay twirling around to music? I find Prim in the crowd. Since winter evenings gave us a lot of time to practice, we’re actually pretty good partners. I brush off her concerns about my ribs, and we take our places in the line. It hurts, but the satisfaction of having Snow watch me dance with my little sister reduces other feelings to dust. (Collins, Mockingjay, 227) · Notice that block quotes are indented twice · ...

1. ENG 1500: Formal Paper Guidelines
1. Must use 12pt Times New Roman Font
2. Final draft must be a minimum of 6 pages, double spaced
3. Must use MLA formatting and documentation style
4. Must include in-text citations to credit all sources, as well as
a works cited page
5. Must be written in the third person, avoiding first (e.g. I, me,
we, our, my, us) and second (e.g. you).
6. Should avoid contractions (e.g. can’t, don’t, won’t, it’s, etc.).
7. Titles of long works (e.g. novels, movies, magazines,
newspapers) are italicized. Titles of short works (e.g. poems,
short stories, chapters, articles, songs) are placed in quotations.
8. MLA Documentation:
· In-text Citations:
· Introduce quotes with signal phrases that introduce the author
and you don’t need the author’s last name in your in-text
citation
· Ex. According to Sam-I-am, “he didn’t like green eggs and
ham” (Suess 4).
· Ex. As Suess writes, “Sam-I-am didn’t like green eggs and
ham” (5).
· Signal phrases may include the following verbs: explains,
illustrates, points out, makes clear, elucidates, writes, states,
asserts, claims, describes, etc.
· Ex. As Katniss explains; As Collins writes; As Anderson
points out
· When paraphrasing information from a source (readings),
place the author’s last name and page number in your in-text
citation
· Ex. Sam-I-am wasn’t interested in green eggs and ham at all
(Suess 6).
· Place your periods after in-text citations when citations belong

2. to the sentences that precede them. Please periods before in-text
citations for block quotes (quotes of four or more lines) to show
that the citation belongs to the block quote as a whole.
· Use brackets to add your own language to a quote for clarity.
· “No. I’ll [Leevy] stay with them myself” (Collins 110).
· If working with more than one novel by the same author,
include the title of the novel in your citation.
· Katniss explains that District 13 handles weddings much
differently than they do in the Capitol: “When Coin says
‘wedding,’ she means two people signing a piece of paper and
being assigned a new compartment. Plutarch means hundreds of
people dressed in finery at a three-day celebration” (Collins,
Mockingjay, 224).
· Use single quotation marks (‘…’) for quotes within quotes, as
above with the word ‘wedding’ placed in quotations for
emphasis.
Ex. Of a block quote:
Katniss describes how she dances at Finnick and Annie’s
wedding as a form of rebellion against President Snow and the
Capitol, asserting District 13’s victory in Panem’s civil war:
What could spell victory louder than a happy Mockingjay
twirling around to music? I find Prim in the crowd. Since winter
evenings gave us a lot of time to practice, we’re actually pretty
good partners. I brush off her concerns about my ribs, and we
take our places in the line. It hurts, but the satisfaction of
having Snow watch me dance with my little sister reduces other
feelings to dust. (Collins, Mockingjay, 227)
· Notice that block quotes are indented twice
· Never end a paragraph with a block quote. Remember that you
have to draw clear connections between the textual evidence
that you’ve provided, the claim that you’re making about the
text in your paragraph, and your paper’s overall thesis.
9. Things to Look for When Drafting/Revising Your Essay:
· Opening (1-2 paragraphs): introduce topic (including the

3. novel(s)), provide focus, state thesis (the reading/interpretation
of the novel(s) you’re presenting).
· Have you introduced your topic effectively (including the
novel(s))?
· Have you established what’s at stake in your paper (why
readers should be interested)?
· Have you presented the focus of your paper? (What aspect(s)
of the novel are you going to be paying particular attention to in
the analysis you’re presenting?)
· Remember that your readers might not be familiar with the
novel(s) that you’re writing about in your essay. You’re going
to want to briefly summarize what the book(s) are about.
· Make sure that your thesis statement presents the
reading/interpretation of the novel(s) that you’re putting forth
clearly, as well as provides a clear map for your paper.
· Body paragraphs: each organized around one central claim
· Have you presented a clear and specific claim that advances
your essay’s thesis?
· Have you provided enough context for your readers to follow
the point you’re making? Only provide as much plot
information as is necessary for readers to follow the point
you’re making.
· Remember to introduce your quotes with either signal phrases
or introductory sentences.
· The textual evidence that you provide, whether from the novel
or an outside source, should help to support the central claim
that you’re making in the paragraph.
· “unpack” evidence: Do you need to provide more context?
How was the quote used in the article/novel you took it from?
· What are the implications of your evidence? How does this
advance your essay’s thesis? Have you drawn clear enough
connections between the claim you’ve made, the evidence that
you’ve provided, and your essay’s thesis?
· Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs):

4. · Sign-off: answer these questions one more time in your
writing: what’s significant about the interpretation of the
novel(s) that you’re presenting in your essay? Why should
reader’s care? What might readers takeaway from reading your
paper? What about the novel(s)? Have you effectively
reestablished what’s at stake?
· Don’t write these questions out!
· Don’t make claims in your conclusion that you haven’t backed
with evidence in your essay!
· Remember to think of your conclusion as not just a summation
of things that you’ve already said in your paper, but instead as a
final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your readers.