Paragraph Formation and MLA Parenthetical Citation
Slide 3
Youve already been given an outline of the paragraphs needed in
your research paper: English Literature Research Paper: The World
and Works of _______________ The Poet The Poets Life (1 paragraph)
Biographical Information The Poets World Historical Period What
important historical events occurred in England during the poets
life? (1 paragraph) Literary Period In what literary period did the
poet write? What are the general characteristics of literature
during that period? (1 paragraph) The Poems The Poets Words
Themes/Subjects/Types of Poems (1 paragraph) Word Choice, Syntax,
Tone, and Mood (1 paragraph) Meter, rhythm, rhyme scheme, stanza
length (1 paragraph) Figurative language comparative literary
devices (metaphor, simile, symbolism, imagery, personification,
apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy) (1 paragraph) Figurative language
poetic sound devices (repetition, alliteration, assonance,
consonance, onomatopoeia, parallelism) (1 paragraph) Rhetorical
language irony, hyperbole, allusion, paradox, oxymoron (1
paragraph) The Poets Voice Paraphrase one of your poets poems
(include a coy of the poem remember minimum 20 lines; however, the
completed poem is required (1 paragraph)
Slide 4
Now its time to write the paragraphs themselves
Slide 5
Paragraph Setup A topic sentence Sentences of your own
Quotations and/or paraphrases from your sources that support the
ideas in your own sentences A concluding or transitional sentence
When writing a paragraph for a research paper, it is important to
have the following:
Slide 6
How do you set up a paragraph?
Slide 7
Here is a basic paragraph plan: Topic Sentence: Sentence #1:
(can be more than one sentence of your own!) Quotation #1 :
Sentence #2: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) Quotation
#2: Sentence #3: (can be more than one sentence of your own!)
Quotation #3: Ending/Transitional Sentence: (can be more than one
sentence of your own!)
Slide 8
Lets say youre writing your research paper on Geoffrey Chaucer.
According to your outline, your first paragraph is on the poets
life. Start your paragraph with a topic sentence. Topic Sentence:
Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the most important writer of
the Medieval Period.
Slide 9
Next, write a sentence of your own about an idea that relates
directly to the topic sentence. (You can use more than one
sentence.) Sentence #1: Chaucer was born in 1340.
Slide 10
Now you need to insert a quotation or a paraphrase that
supports Sentence #1 or adds information to your paragraph.
Quotation #1 : He was the son of a merchant whose apparent success
at this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved
the familys standing (Geoffrey Chaucer Encyclopedia of World
Biography 68). What is the information in the parentheses at the
end of the sentence?
Slide 11
Its PARENTHETICAL CITATION! Parenthetical citation contains
selected details from your bibliography cards. In order to use the
information that you have taken from your sources, you have to
acknowledge where you obtained that information. Parenthetical
citation gives the reader enough information so that he/she can
look at your Works Cited page (your bibliographic listing of
sources used) and figure out where the quotation or paraphrase came
from.
Slide 12
Here is the notecard where your quotation was originally
written: Poets Life A son of a merchant whose apparent success at
this trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved
the familys standing 68
Slide 13
Here is the bibliography card for the quotation: Geoffrey
Chaucer. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd
ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. 67-70 A
Slide 14
To cite the quotation in your paper, take the first entry from
your bibliography card and the page number from your notecard and
put it in parentheses. (Note: If two or more sources have the same
first entry, add the second entry as well.)
Slide 15
Poets Life A son of a merchant whose apparent success at this
trade gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the
familys standing 68 A Geoffrey Chaucer. Encyclopedia of World
Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1998. 67-70. (Geoffrey Chaucer, Encyclopedia of World
Biography 68)
Slide 16
After your first quotation, write your second original
sentence. Sentence #2: Chaucer fought in France and was captured
there.
Slide 17
Add your next quotation or paraphrase. Quotation #2: Poets
LifeB King Edward of England paid his ransom 76 Whitford, Sam. The
Big Book of Chaucer. New York: Random House, 2001. B King Edward of
England paid his ransom (Whitford 76).
Slide 18
Fill in the rest of the plan and you have a paragraph! Sentence
#3: (can be more than one sentence of your own!) He later worked
for King Edward as a messenger. Chaucer later worked in import and
export. Quotation #3: Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but
asked for a new job when his position took him to places where he
kept being robbed and beaten up (English Literature 83).
Ending/Transitional Sentence: (can be more than one sentence of
your own!) His last years were spent in Kent. Chaucer died in
1400.
Slide 19
Now, lets type it up! Check to make sure your margins are 1 all
around! Use only Times New Roman, 12 point. Start with your heading
in MLA format. Be sure to center your title. Dont forget to indent
at the beginning of your paragraph!
Slide 20
Type Your Heading: John Jones Ms. Dale English
Literature/Composition 27 March 2007
Slide 21
Type your title. Dont forget to center it! John Jones Ms. Dale
British Literature and Composition 3 December 2007 The World and
Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
Slide 22
Then type your paragraph! John Jones Ms. Dale English
Literature and Composition 3 December 2007 The World and Works of
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer is considered to be the most
important writer of the Medieval Period. Chaucer was born in 1340.
He was the son of a merchant whose apparent success at this trade
gave him contacts with the royal court which improved the familys
standing (Geoffrey Chaucer, Encyclopedia of World Biography 68).
Chaucer fought in France and was captured there. King Edward of
England paid his ransom (Whitford 76). He later worked for King
Edward as a messenger. Chaucer later worked in import and export.
Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but asked for a new job
when his position took him to places where he kept being robbed and
beaten up (English Literature 83). His last years were spent in
Kent. Chaucer died in 1400.
Slide 23
Paragraph Checklist! Be sure your topic sentence is general
enough to cover all the ideas youll be including in your paragraph.
Make sure quotations/paraphrases are separated by sentences of your
own. Have some type of conclusion or transition at the end of each
paragraph.
Slide 24
John Jones Ms. Dale English Literature and Composition 27 March
2007 The World and Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer is
considered to be the most important writer of the Medieval Period.
Chaucer was born in 1340. He was the son of a merchant whose
apparent success at this trade gave him contacts with the royal
court which improved the familys standing (Geoffrey Chaucer
Encyclopedia of World Biography 68). Chaucer fought in France and
was captured there. King Edward of England paid his ransom
(Whitford 76). He later worked for King Edward as a messenger.
Chaucer later worked in import and export. Robert C. Carlsen,
editor of English Literature A Chronological Approach, writes that
Chaucer then worked for King Richard II but asked for a new job
when his position took him to places where he kept being robbed and
beaten up (83). His last years were spent in Kent. Chaucer died in
1400.
Slide 25
After you type your paper, include a Works Cited Page. Works
Cited Carlsen, Robert C., and Ruth Christoffer Carlsen eds. English
Literature A Chronological Approach. Treasury Edition. NY:
McGraw-Hill, 1985. Print. Geoffrey Chaucer. Encyclopedia of World
Biography. Ed. Paula K. Byers. 2 nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1998. Print. Geoffrey Chaucer. The Medieval Page. 20
October 2008. Web. 6 February 2013.. Whitford, Sam. The Big Book of
Chaucer. New York: Random House, 2001. Print.
Slide 26
Congratulations! Youve written and typed your senior research
paper!