MLA Review 1 MLA Review Please read this week’s Lessons and then read the information below. What is the purpose of Modern Language Association (MLA)? According to Hacker, there are three main objectives in MLA: “(1) supporting a thesis, (2) citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism, and (3) integrating quotations and other source material” (395). You have already learned how to write a thesis and how to compose a well- organized essay. Now it is time to learn how to include research to support your ideas. Why do I need to include research in my writing? Quite simply, we do not know everything. We need to research whatever topic we are discussing to learn more about it and also to support our claims. Hacker explains, “expert opinion can give weight to your argument” (398). For example, if I were writing a paper about Abraham Lincoln, I would already know some things about him, but not all. If I wanted to emphasize his work towards ending slavery, for example, it would be great to include scholarly research about this to support my claims. Through research, I could find specific dates and legislation and other important work that the president put forth towards this worthy cause. Hacker writes, “in a research paper, you will draw on the work of other writers, and you must document their contributions by citing your sources. Sources are cited for two reasons: 1. to tell readers where your information comes from—so that they can assess its reliability and, if interested, find and read the original sources. 2. to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words and ideas” (399). The only exception is common knowledge. This is information that you already knew (without looking it up) or is considered to be general knowledge. (Example: most people know that New York City is referred to as “The Big Apple.” Therefore, there is no need to cite a source for that.) However, if you are in doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry; go ahead and cite the source. What is plagiarism? Plagiarism is taking material from a source and including it in your paper as if you wrote it yourself, without giving any credit to the original author. This can be material from articles, books, the internet, other students’ essays, or a variety of other materials. To avoid plagiarism, you may either use direct quotes or paraphrase the material. A direct quote is material that is copied word for word, EXACTLY as the author has written it. You must put quotation marks around a direct quote. When you paraphrase, you put what is written in your own words. (Hint: the best way to paraphrase is to read the material, completely look away from it, and then rewrite it in your own words. Looking away from the article will help you resist including language that is too close to the original text.) MLA Review 2 How does the MLA system work? This is very important: when you include research (such as information ...

1. MLA Review 1
MLA Review
Please read this week’s Lessons and then read the information
below.
What is the purpose of Modern Language Association (MLA)?
According to Hacker, there are three main objectives in MLA:
“(1) supporting a
thesis, (2) citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism, and (3)
integrating
quotations and other source material” (395).
You have already learned how to write a thesis and how to
compose a well-
organized essay. Now it is time to learn how to include research
to support your
ideas.
Why do I need to include research in my writing?
Quite simply, we do not know everything. We need to research
whatever topic we
are discussing to learn more about it and also to support our
claims. Hacker
explains, “expert opinion can give weight to your argument”
(398). For example, if
I were writing a paper about Abraham Lincoln, I would already
know some things
about him, but not all. If I wanted to emphasize his work

2. towards ending slavery,
for example, it would be great to include scholarly research
about this to support
my claims. Through research, I could find specific dates and
legislation and other
important work that the president put forth towards this worthy
cause.
Hacker writes, “in a research paper, you will draw on the work
of other writers, and
you must document their contributions by citing your sources.
Sources are cited for
two reasons: 1. to tell readers where your information comes
from—so that they
can assess its reliability and, if interested, find and read the
original sources. 2. to
give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words
and ideas” (399).
The only exception is common knowledge. This is information
that you already
knew (without looking it up) or is considered to be general
knowledge. (Example:
most people know that New York City is referred to as “The Big
Apple.” Therefore,
there is no need to cite a source for that.) However, if you are in
doubt, it is better
to be safe than sorry; go ahead and cite the source.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is taking material from a source and including it in
your paper as if you
wrote it yourself, without giving any credit to the original
author. This can be
material from articles, books, the internet, other students’

3. essays, or a variety of
other materials.
To avoid plagiarism, you may either use direct quotes or
paraphrase the
material. A direct quote is material that is copied word for
word, EXACTLY as the
author has written it. You must put quotation marks around a
direct quote.
When you paraphrase, you put what is written in your own
words. (Hint: the best
way to paraphrase is to read the material, completely look away
from it, and then
rewrite it in your own words. Looking away from the article
will help you resist
including language that is too close to the original text.)
MLA Review 2
How does the MLA system work?
This is very important: when you include research (such as
information from an
article or book from our library), YOU MUST INCLUDE
SOURCE INFORMATION
IN TWO PLACES. First, you will include citations in your
paragraphs. Second, you
will list complete source information on your Works Cited page.
Doing so will help
you avoid plagiarism.
As detailed in Hacker, there are three basis steps towards using

4. MLA correctly.
1. The source is introduced by a signal phrase that names its
author.
2. The material being cited is followed by a page number in
parentheses
(unless the source is an unpaginated Web source).
3. A list of Works Cited is at the end of the paper. (Hacker 400)
What is a signal phrase and parenthetical citation?
A signal phrase introduces quotes or paraphrased material.
Often signal phrases will
include the author’s credentials, like in this example. Historian
Mark Bede claims,
“slavery was the central cause of the Civil War” (72). The
parenthetical citation
goes at the end. In this example, it contains the page number
from where the
quote was located.
The fact that Mark Bede is a historian lends credibility to what
is he saying.
Otherwise, you could just go ask your neighbor or someone off
the streets for a
quote. The person you are quoting must be reputable and an
expert in the subject
at hand or field of study.
Please note that you do not have to use the same signal phrase
or verb every time.
Here are some verbs you might want to use to add variety to
your writing:
“acknowledges, adds, admits, agrees, argues, asserts, believes,
claims, comments,

5. compares, confirms, contends, declares, denies, disputes,
emphasizes, endorses,
grants, illustrates, implies, insists, notes, observes, points out,
reasons, refutes,
rejects, reports, responds, suggests, thinks, writes” (Hacker
406).
MLA relies heavily on author information and page numbers.
Both are shown in
the Mark Bede example above. (Hint: lots of online sources will
not be paginated.
In such cases, you may include the paragraph number, if you
wish. Just count the
paragraphs as best you can, within reason, of course. You are
not expected to
count a hundred paragraphs!) Example: (Smith par 3).
Also, sometimes author names are not available. In such cases,
you will cite using
the first important word from the title of the article instead.
(Examples are provided
at the end this handout.)
How do I recognize good and bad sources?
In our world of information overload, it is easy to click on an
internet search engine,
type in a subject, and use the first source that pops up. Though
this seems fast and
easy, it is not the proper way to conduct scholarly research.
While some information on the internet is great, other sources
can be incorrect or
misleading. For example, you should never use Wikipedia as a
source. It is

6. MLA Review 3
open content, meaning that anyone can alter the information.
(Sometimes you will
find good sources listed at the bottom of the Wikipedia article,
though.)
To avoid the problem of unreliable sources, we will use ONLY
THE APUS LIBRARY
for our research during this course. Google Scholar is also
acceptable since there is
a link to it in our library.
Before you complain (wink), let me offer you these thoughts.
Our library contains
practically a limitless amount of information. Chances are if
you find yourself
saying, “I can’t find anything on my topic,” you probably
simply need to look
further or ask for help.
Part of what we learn in this course is library research, so
please be sure you spend
enough time familiarizing yourself with the library. Let’s take a
moment to open
the library link in the classroom. Scroll down a bit. On the right
you will see
“Getting Started with Research.” Click on this, please.
Also notice these words of wisdom on the same page: “Research
takes practice.
It is a process of identifying and evaluating relevant resources.
With time, you will

7. learn where to go to find the information that you need and the
process will become
less difficult. Take a look at our Getting Started with Research
video and the
other icons below for more detailed tips on the research
process.”
Please take time to watch the tutorial videos and explore the
library. The more time
you put in to learning to navigate the library now, the easier the
research process
will be throughout your entire college career.
If you get stuck, contact a librarian. They are ready and willing
to assist! Look at
the “Contact Us” bar. You can chat with a library or even text
them, 365 days a
year!
How do I know if a source is scholarly?
More often than not, your professors will ask you to use
scholarly sources in your
writing. Hacker explains that scholarly sources are,
written by experts for a knowledgeable audience and usually go
into
more depth than handbooks and articles written for a general
audience. (Scholarly sources are sometimes called refereed or
peer-
reviewed because the work is evaluated by experts in the field
before
publication.) To determine if a source is scholarly, look for the
following:

8. iography documenting the works cited by
the author
in the source
of other
people’s works)
humanities
disciplines such as literature, history, and philosophy)
MLA Review 4
research (in
the sciences and social sciences)
Note: in some databases, searches can be limited to refereed or
peer-
reviewed. (Hacker 380)
How many quotes should I use in my paper?
As a general rule, your essays should be 80% your own writing
(thoughts and ideas
strictly from your own brain) and 20% source material (quotes
or paraphrases).
Here is what I suggest. For your body paragraphs, where you
will discuss three
separate ideas, include a quote to support each idea. One or two

9. lines of quote or
paraphrase in each body paragraph will keep your paper mostly
your own writing.
In future courses where you write longer papers, you might be
able to use longer
quotes. However, since this is a beginning writing course, there
is simply not
enough room in short papers for long quotes.
What is a Works Cited?
Citations within your paragraphs should be short, like in my
previous Mark Bede
example. You would not want lengthy in-text citations because
this would interrupt
the flow of you own writing. Your Works Cited page will be
different.
The Works Cited will be on the very last page of your essay. On
this page, you will
list every source from which you quoted or paraphrased in your
essay. You will list
complete publication information for each source. Sources
should be listed in
alphabetical order according to the author’s last name. If the
author is unknown,
alphabetize by the first important word in the title.
HINT! When you research in our library, there will be a cite
button that you can
click on that will format your MLA citation for you. Just copy
and paste this onto
your Works Cited page. You can double-check in Hacker or
Purdue OWL to be sure
it is correct. Also, make sure your Works Cited page is in the

10. same format as the
rest of your paper (e.g., Times New Roman, double-spaced).
Where can I find more information?
Believe it or not, this handout provides only a very short
summary of MLA. The MLA
section that I am currently looking at in my Hacker book is 77
pages long! So, there
is obviously a lot more information. However, the above
summary will get you
started. I do not want you to become overwhelmed.
For more information, you may locate and read the MLA section
in the Hacker book
(print or online) or on the free Purdue OWL website. Also,
please look closely at the
MLA Examples I included on the last page of this handout.
These examples will
serve as guidance for you as you write essay two.
You may view a sample MLA essay here:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13 (Hint:
Notice the Works Cited
page at the end and how the second lines are indented.)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13
MLA Review 5
MLA Examples

11. Below are some MLA examples to help you along. If you need
help with quotes,
see the first section. Paraphrase examples are in the second
section.
QUOTES
Use the author’s name in either the signal phrase or end citation
but not both.
Historian John Smith writes, “quote here” (137).
Abraham Lincoln was influential in “quote here” (Smith 137).
If the author is unknown, use the title of the article in the signal
phrase or the first
key word of the title of the article in the end citation.
According to the article “The Life of Abraham Lincoln,” the
president was
“quote here” (par 7).
President Lincoln came from humble beginnings and was “quote
here” (“Life”
par 7).
PARAPHRASES
Use the author’s name in either the signal phrase or end citation
but not both.

12. Historian John Smith reports that your own words here (137).
Abraham Lincoln was influential in your own words here (Smith
137).
If the author is unknown, use the title of the article in the signal
phrase or the first
key word of the title of the article in the end citation.
According to the article “The Life of Abraham Lincoln,” the
president was your
own words here (par 7).
President Lincoln came from humble beginnings and was your
own words
here (“Life” par 7).
MLA Review 6
Works Cited
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2016.

13. Purdue Online Writing Lab [OWL]. Purdue University, 2017.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Discussion Prompt 1
The Developmental Debate on Gender Identification
There is debate among developmental theorists as to what
influences thoughts and behavior
related to gender. For example, what influences a child to play
with a doll versus a truck, or
what influences a child to engage in active play versus passive
play? Do we make these
choices because of innate desires determined by biological
factors, or is it because we have
become socially conditioned to make certain choices? Review
and identify the positions that
developmental theorists take regarding the influences of gender,
and describe what you believe
influences gender identity most. Elaborate on your answer.

14. Discussion Prompt 2
Learning Language
Some experts emphasize the importance of adult reinforcement
of early speech, others suggest that
language learning is innate, biologically wired, while others
believe it to be a biproduct of social impulses.
Reflect on this week's video, Out of the Mouths of Babes.
Which language development theory does this
video emphasize, and how can you tell? To support your
answer, provide an example of one of the
experiments conducted and explain how it fits in to the learning
theory process you identified. What
position do you take on the matter of language acquisition, and
based on that position, would you
advocate that parents read to children even before they start to
talk? Explain your rationale.
I concur with this discussion that hiking is one of the leisure
activities that exposes an individual to the best that nature can
provide. It is right to say that hiking offers an individual with a
refreshing moment besides keeping one physically fit.
Whenever I feel stressed, I always go out for hiking. The reason
I call it an exhilarating moment is that once I am out, I forget

15. all am going through and enjoy the beautiful scenery. By the
time I am heading back to my home, I am relieved of all that
stress and ready to move on!
Razaq.