The document provides instructions for citing sources in a research paper, including an online newspaper article and a novel. It discusses the necessary components of citations in both Works Cited pages and in-text citations using MLA format. Students are then assigned to write a paragraph comparing how volunteering is depicted in the newspaper article and novel, citing both sources. They are also instructed to include a correctly formatted Works Cited page.

1. Research: Works Cited for a Novel and a Library Database
When completing a research paper, you must document all sources in your writing and on a
Works Cited page. Online sources can be very complicated, and all of the relevant information
will be found at the beginning and, sometimes, at the end of an internet source. Follow these
directions to find just one type of source—a newspaper article from an online library database:
Log on to Power Library>>>SIRS Discoverer>>>type “Nick Sortal volunteering”
into the search engine>>>click onto the article.
Note all of the material at the beginning and at the end of the article. Here is the basic format for
this type of source and for the actual one correctly formatted for a Works Cited page:
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper day Month year: page
number, page numbers, or n. pag. if none are listed. Library Database. Medium of
publication. Date of access.
Sortal, Nick. “Volunteering Is a Requirement at Florida High Schools.” South Florida Sun-
Sentinel 1 Oct. 2009: n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Here is another for one of our novels:
Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, year of
publication. Medium of publication.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print.
There are many ways to cite direct and paraphrased quotations from text material. When using
parentheses, you must include the author and the page number or numbers from where the
information is found. If there is no author, you must use the title, and only list page numbers for
print sources or for online PDF files. The following is one basic model for the above article and
for The Giver:
Direct: “Broward public schools require 40 hours to graduate” (Sortal).
Paraphrase: Public school students in Broward County, Florida must complete forty hours of
volunteer time to graduate (Sortal).

2. Direct: “He didn’t often do his volunteer hours with his friend because Asher frequently fooled
around and made serious work a little difficult” (Lowry 26).
Paraphrase: Jonas did not like to complete volunteer hours with Asher because he often failed to
take the work seriously (Lowry 26).
For the following assignment, you must write a one- or two-paragraph response that compares
the Sortal article and The Giver for the topic of volunteering. You must accurately cite each
source at least once in your comparison, and these citations may be direct or paraphrased. Avoid
first and second person in your analysis, too. Attached are two pages from The Giver about
volunteering, the Sortal article, and a model research response that I wrote about the importance
of memory to help you complete the task. When finished, create a Works Cited page for both
sources. Follow the same procedure as you did for an earlier assignment in order to format the
paper correctly, and accurately type these sources for your Works Cited page:
Works Cited
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print.
Sortal, Nick. “Volunteering Is a Requirement at Florida High Schools.” South Florida Sun-
Sentinel 1 Oct. 2009: n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

3. Ima Person
Mr. Tomedi
Language Arts
9 May 2012
The Giver and the Importance of Memory
One of the central themes in The Giver is the importance of memory in relation to human
life. In a previous time, the community had decided to eliminate memories beyond a personal
past to avoid pain and suffering, and in doing so, pleasure and happiness had to be sacrificed.
When Jonas is designated as the new Receiver, he thinks that memories should be shared in
order to make life easier (Lowry 112). However, The Giver instructs Jonas that their important
role is intended to protect citizens from problems and pain (Lowry 113).
Realistically, without memories, an individual has no identity because he or she would be
living forever in the present without recollection of history and with little anticipation about the
future. Since there is a strong relationship between memory and learning, there is a connection
between remembering and understanding, too (Thorne). Memory is an important aspect of
human life and one reason why Jonas struggles as he compares his community to Elsewhere. As
The Giver once stated to Jonas: “‘It’s just that . . . without the memories it’s all meaningless’”
(Lowry 105).

4. Works Cited
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 1993. Print.
Thorne, Glenda. “Memory and Learning.” Center for Development and Learning. Center for
Development and Learning, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.

5. Name_____________________________________
Research Grade: 150 Points
A+ A B C D
Research Response: 100 95 88 80 72
MLA Format: 50 47 44 40 36
Total: /150
Name_____________________________________

6. Research Grade: 150 Points
A+ A B C D
Research Response: 100 95 88 80 72
MLA Format: 50 47 44 40 36
Total: /150