The document summarizes the agenda and content for Class 18 of an EWRT 1A course. It includes presentations on MLA format and reducing wordiness in writing, as well as an in-class writing workshop. It provides guidance on proper MLA formatting for elements like paper format, headings, citations, and quotations. It also discusses common writing errors like wordiness and provides strategies for eliminating extra words to improve clarity and concision.
4. MLA format: on our website under “MLA
Guidelines.”
Download “Hapi Tobia Student”
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to
write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the
English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a
system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in
their essays and Works Cited pages.
Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by
demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly,
the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism,
which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material
by other writers.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
6. Margins and Header: Last Name
Formatting 1
1” all around Double Click in
Header Area
Go to “Layout” and
adjust margins or use Type your last name
custom settings
Justify right
Times New Roman
Go to “insert” and
12
click on “page
Indent body number”
paragraphs ½ inch
from the margin
7. Heading: Double Title
Spaced
Your Name Original Title (not the title
of the essay we read)
Dr. Kim Palmore
No italics, bold, underline,
EWRT 1A
or quotation marks
3 May 2012
Centered on the page
No extra spaces (just
double spaced after your
heading and before the
body of your text)
9. Short Quotations
To indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed
lines of prose or three lines of verse) in your
text, enclose the quotation within double quotation
marks. Provide the author and specific page citation
(in the case of verse, provide line numbers) in the
text, and include a complete reference on the Works
Cited page. Punctuation marks such as
periods, commas, and semicolons should appear
after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and
exclamation points should appear within the
quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted
passage but after the parenthetical citation if they
are a part of your text.
10. For example, when quoting short passages of prose, use
the following examples:
According to some, dreams express "profound aspects
of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express
"profound aspects of personality" (184).
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound
aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?
When short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from
poetry, mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash,
/, at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede
and follow the slash).
Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there /
That's all I remember" (11-12).
11. Long Quotations
For quotations that extend to more than four lines of
verse or prose, place quotations in a free-standing
block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the
quotation on a new line, with the entire quote
indented one inch (10 spaces) from the left margin;
maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of
the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are
citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical
citation should come after the closing punctuation
mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line
breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing
throughout your essay.)
13. Common Writing
Errors
Wordiness
http://dawnreader.blogspot.com/20
12/03/watching-kids-write-i.html
14. Wordiness: using more words than necessary
to express thought.
Many people write wordy papers because they
are trying to make their ideas sound important
by using long words and intricate sentences.
They think that their writing must be
complicated to seem professional. Although
these writers are trying to impress their readers,
they often end up confusing them. The best
writing is clear, concise, and easy to
understand. Your ideas are much more
impressive when your reader does not have to
15. Often writers use several words for ideas that can be expressed in
one. This leads to unnecessarily complex sentences and genuine
redundancy as the following examples show:
Redundant Not Redundant
The printer is located The printer is
adjacent to the computer
adjacent to the
The printer is located in computer
the immediate vicinity of
the computer The printer is near the
The user can visibly see computer
the image moving
The user can see the
He wore a shirt that was image moving
blue in color
The input is suitably He wore a blue shirt.
processed
The input is
16. Now you try it. Write this sentence in as few words as
possible without changing the meaning!
The available receptacle, in
any case, was of insufficient
size to contain the total
quantity of unnecessary waste.
17. How to reduce
wordiness!
1. Reduce Long 2. Reduce Phrases
Clauses
Likewise, try to reduce
When editing, try to phrases to single words:
reduce long clauses to
shorter phrases: Wordy: The clown at the
end of the line tried to
Wordy: The clown who sweep up the spotlight.
was in the center ring
was riding a tricycle. Revised: The last clown
tried to sweep up the
Revised: The clown in spotlight.
the center ring was riding
a tricycle.
18. Eliminating Wordiness Strategies
3. Avoid Empty Openers 4. Don’t Overwork Modifiers
Avoid There is, There are, and Do not overwork very, really,
There were as sentence totally, and other modifiers that
openers when There adds add little or nothing to the
nothing to the meaning of a meaning of a sentence.
sentence:
Wordy: By the time she got
Wordy: There is a prize in every home, Merdine was very tired.
box of Quacko cereal.
Revised: By the time she got
Revised: A prize is in every box home, Merdine was exhausted
of Quacko cereal.
Wordy: She was also really
Wordy: There are two security hungry.
guards at the gate.
Revised: She was also hungry
Revised: Two security guards [or famished].
stand at the gate.
19. Eliminating Wordiness
5. Avoid Redundancies
Replace redundant expressions (phrases that use
more words than necessary to make a point) with
precise words. Remember: needless words are
those that add nothing (or nothing significant) to the
meaning of our writing. They bore the reader and
distract from our ideas. So cut them out!
Wordy: At this point in time, we should edit our
work.
Revised: Now we should edit our work.
20. Try these!
1. He dropped out of school on account of the fact that it
was necessary for him to help support his family.
2. It is expected that the new schedule will be announced
by the bus company within the next few days.
3. There are many ways in which a student who is interested
in meeting foreign students may come to know one.
4. It is very unusual to find someone who has never told a
deliberate lie on purpose.
5. Trouble is caused when people disobey rules that have
been established for the safety of all.
21. Possible Answers
1. He dropped out of school to support his family.
2. The bus company will probably announce its
schedule during the next few days.
3. Any student who wants to meet foreign students
can do so in many ways.
4. Rarely will you find someone who has never told a
deliberate lie.
5. Disobeying safety regulations causes trouble.
22. Find a Wordy Sentence
Check your essay for wordiness. Look
for a sentence that falls into one of the
categories we just discussed. Edit it for
clarity and conciseness.
23. Writing Tips
Write about literature in present tense
Write about your experience in past tense
Avoid using “thing,” “something,” “everything,” and
“anything.”
Avoid writing in second person. (Don’t use “you”
unless it is in dialogue.
24. HOMEWORK MAY 2/3
Post #20: Your final draft of Essay #2
Study: Vocabulary (1-16)
Read: HG through chapter 16; SMG 134- 148 and answer the
following questions: Be ready to talk about these in class!
• What is the concept about which Ngo writes? Which extended anecdote
does Ngo use to help explain the concept to his readers? What is his
thesis? How does he classify his concept? Categories? Types? How does
he define his concept? Find examples of each his classified concepts.
Bring: Final draft of Essay #2; SMG