Tom P. on MLA Format November 6, 2007

Tom Priedeman

Professor Paliobagis

College Writing 1

October 30, 2007

 

Correcting that Horrible Format: The MLA Way

 

            Which is the right way to format your paper? Throughout my writing career I have always been extremely confused about how to format something as simple as my name and title. Although this seems ridiculous, the format of a papers heading and title is very important. These are the first things that the reader sees, if the format is incorrect it questions the credibility of the paper, before the first word is even read. In this document I am going to show you writers exactly how to format your paper in MLA format.

            MLA format has strict rules for the heading of the paper. In a college setting the heading should look exactly like what is on this paper. The heading should be in the upper left corner. This heading should consist of

·        The writers name

·        The professors name

·        The class in which the paper is being written for

·        The Date

This heading should be double-spaced. Along with a header at the top of the page, any paper longer than one page should have a page number in the top right. This should just be a number and no writing. Take one space after the header and then type your title. Your title should be the same font and size as the rest of your paper. The title should not be in quotations of underlined. Between the title and the first body paragraph one line break should be given. This is the exact way that an MLA paper should start. The entire paper should be double-spaced and have one-inch margins. This format although simple is corrected often, especially in papers written by me. The most helpful way for me personally to make sure that I have the right format is to look at an example. You can use this paper itself an example of the correct format. Except for my works cited because the information that is needed for a correct works cited of a website was not available or I couldn’t find it.

  

Works Cited

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/speech/writing/title_etc.htm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/format.shtml

Jim’s Writing Issue November 6, 2007

So i was going over mentally what i think i am bad at in my paper and i figured it out…… the thesis is what makes a paper what a paper is and therefore i deemed the thesis my weakest link. there are many things which can help me with my thesis. one you suggested to me was having a vague thesis to begin the paper with and then once i have a slight idea of what my paper is i should have a dope thesis. just the outline of a paper should be able to help me come up with a better thesis. thanks to you i hope that my thesis for my latest paper was better then it was when i gave it to you for the first time.
a couple of strategies to help me figure out how to gain a better thesis can come from the internet. the thesis should be a statement and take a position on an issue. it should be different then a topic sentence in that it should not be neutral it should take a position on that issue. the thesis should be as specific as possible and not to broad but there should be an anti thesis that should be able to be written, the thesis should be able to be fought from two positions, and you should be able to support your thought position.
 
sources…..my TA and www.english.upenn.edu/Grad/teachweb/scthesis.html

Jim’s Writing Issue November 6, 2007

So i was going over mentally what i think i am bad at in my paper and i figured it out…… the thesis is what makes a paper what a paper is and therefore i deemed the thesis my weakest link. there are many things which can help me with my thesis. one you suggested to me was having a vague thesis to begin the paper with and then once i have a slight idea of what my paper is i should have a dope thesis. just the outline of a paper should be able to help me come up with a better thesis. thanks to you i hope that my thesis for my latest paper was better then it was when i gave it to you for the first time.
a couple of strategies to help me figure out how to gain a better thesis can come from the internet. the thesis should be a statement and take a position on an issue. it should be different then a topic sentence in that it should not be neutral it should take a position on that issue. the thesis should be as specific as possible and not to broad but there should be an anti thesis that should be able to be written, the thesis should be able to be fought from two positions, and you should be able to support your thought position.
 
sources…..my TA and www.english.upenn.edu/Grad/teachweb/scthesis.html

Problemas For Cam November 4, 2007

Probably my biggest problem is the introduction of an idea that starts well, but lacks development. This is mainly because I have no idea of where to go with ideas when I first put them down. It would help significantly if I planned ahead of time, though I suppose thats what drafts are for. So I just need to learn how to convey my ideas in more detail in order for the reader to understand in a more thorough manner.

My second problem would be organization. When I first put down ideas, I tend to leave them where they are, instead of seeing which flow well with others and which don’t flow at all. I think my paragraphs sometimes lack transitions to each other and don’t develop a “meaningful” relationship. My last paper, citations and works cited were a problem, but I believe I have solved those problems in the newest paper. Woo!

 I solved my works cited and citations problem by using:

Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. (That counts, right?)

I helped my organization problems by using: http://www.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/paragraph_organization.htm (It had good tips)

And I learned how to develop ideas more clearly with: http://www.greatwriting.co.uk/content/view/71/116/ (also good tips)

Organization-Tommy Domingo November 2, 2007

I think that a problem that I usaully have when I am writing is my paper is not organized as good as it could be.  When the paper is not well organized is when I think the writing starts to get wordy.  This cuases the writing to get casual and even hard to understand.  So many of the problems I have with my writing can be contributed to the poor organization with my essays.  A way to fix this is before you even start writing you make an outline.  It does not need to be very complicated just a list of ideas on a piece of paper.  This gets the thought organized and you can see if the order the thoughts are in make sense or not.  Another way to get the paper more organized is to not focus on getting it a certain number of paragraphs such as five paragraph form but focus on getting a clear introduction, body, and conlusion.  The final way that I think would help when trying to organize an essay is to look at certain structures that has already been set up over the years to help in the process of writing.  Structures such as thesis and support, compare and contrast,  or cause and effect.  Some times when I am writing I forget that the paper should be following some kind of structure.  So to keep this in my mind may help when writing.

Now when I write I think I may write up an outline.  I think this could really help me because if I forget where I am going with the paper I can just look at the outline and get back on track.  With the intro, body, and conlusion my paper always contains these three things but sometimes they do not have enough information.  When writing a paper from now on I think I will focus on especially making the intro and conlusion longer with more information in them.  If I get my intro well established it will be easier to organize the rest of my paper.   The final thing that can help me in the future is following some kind of outside structure and sticking to it throught the entire paper.  If I have a certain stucture like compare and contrast in my mind the whole time while I am writing it will help me keep on track and more oganized becuase it is like rules that I will have to stick to.

My Sources

http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/writing/II_2.htm, http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/outline.html, and

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/74812/organize_your_essay_for_greater_effect.html