Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel...
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Transcript of Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel...
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel
Catching Fire from her adolescent literature series, The Hunger Games
Jones 1
Joe Jones
Mr. Braam
CCR English 10, Bell 1
Ind. Novel Response #1
Nov. 6, 2015
Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title)
In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. For
example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I
press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head, where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart.
Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that she always hears, then saying she hears
nothing, Collins makes readers want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to know whether or not Peeta survives.
Another example comes at the end of Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area where Katniss and her allies are
sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line [of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A
sickening sweet
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
This text – of which you have a copy in front of you – is an example of how to write a developed paragraph response to a prompt, while also using both MLA formatting and MLA in-text citations
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Joe Jones
Mr. Braam
CCR English 10, Bell 1
Ind. Novel Response #1
Nov. 6, 2015
• Response #1 for Independent
Novel (or appropriate title)•
First, remember that all text in your response needs to be in MLA format. That includes things such as: 1. Double-spacing2. Times New Roman font3. 12-point type4. 1-inch margins5. AND DON’T FORGET THE
HEADER AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE!!!
Joe Jones
Mr. Braam
CCR English 10, Bell 1
Ind. Novel Response #1
Nov. 6, 2015•
That mandatory header includes:1. The writer’s name
2. The teacher’s name
3. Name of the class and bell #
4. Type of assignment
5. And date the work is handed in
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Jones 1
The header (continued)
And don’t forget your last name and page number at the top right of the page
In Microsoft Word, use the “Insert Page Number” function and add the name
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
The titleNote that the title below
is centeredNote that the title is the same font
and point size as the rest of the text
Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title)
In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins
builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters.
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
(In other words, the title is not underlined or italicized.
It also is not bolder, or
larger than anything else that is on the page)
The text
Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title)
In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins
builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters.
Note that the text begins double-spaced from the title
Note that the text is indented 5 spaces
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Responding to the Prompt
Let’s say that you are responding to a prompt that asks:
“How does the author build tension in the book?”
Note that the prompt, in this case, asks about the author and the book.
Note that it also asks you to offer an opinion about how tension is built in the book
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
The text
Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title)
In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins
builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters.
Note that the first sentence is my topic, or the thesis/claim statement
It rephrases the question “How does the author build tension?”
It also tells me the name of the book and the author
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
For example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta
after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I
press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head,
where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart. Instead,
I find silence” (Collins 279).
The topic sentence/ claim is then followed
by an example from the book
The example includes a quote that provides
evidence for the claim about the topic
The in-text citation then gives the author’s last name and the page number that the quote was on in the book
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Note that a transitional word or phrase is used
... Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279).
Note carefully (and remember!!!)
the following punctuation rules
for MLA in-text citations
Note that the quote ends with only a quote mark … and no period
The author’s last name and the page number
have no punctuationat all between them, and are surrounded by parentheses
The final punctuation (the period, in this case) comes after the
closing parenthesis
Building Better Responses/
MLA In-Text Citations The Example
TEACHER NOTE: This is one of the rare, rare moments when a period or comma does NOT go inside the quote mark
Voila!!! This is the punctuation style for MLA in-text citations
(Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that
she always hears, then saying she hears nothing, Collins makes readers
want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to
know whether or not Peeta survives.
Then the citation is followed by an explanation of the evidence from the book
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
What you are doing here is saying why your evidence that you quote from the text supports your claim … or, in this case, explaining how Collins built tension with a specific cliffhanger chapter ending!
… whether or not Peeta survives. Another example comes at the end of
Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area
where Katniss and her allies are sleeping.
Then the evidence is followed by a second example from the book about building tension. Note the transition “Another example …”
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
… are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line
[of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A
sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the
others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse
them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the new quoted
evidence also is an example of how the author
built tension
Note that the new textual evidence from the book
also has quote marks around it
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
… are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line
[of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A
sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the
others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse
them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the quote is again followed by
an in-text citation
Note that the quote is again followed by no
period and then a final quote mark
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
… begin to blister” (Collins 297). Once again, by leaving Katniss and
her friends in danger and their fate unknown, Collins makes readers feel
the increased tension, pulling them further into the book to find out the
results.
Note that the quote and the in-text citation are again
followed by an explanation …
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
… that details how the quoted evidence shows that Collins built tension with another cliffhanger chapter ending
… out the results. These are just two examples of how Collins
masterfully uses cliffhanger endings to build tension, both in her book
Catching Fire and in the readers’ minds.
Then, at the end, there is a conclusion that ties
the evidence back to the topic sentence/
claim
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Note that your conclusion should rephrase
(not merely repeat verbatim) the claim, drawing your
response to a satisfactory – and complete – close
Major Points to Remember:1. Type your responses2. Use MLA formatting (double-spacing, font,
point sizes, etc.)3. Have a topic sentence/claim expressing your
opinion that ALSO incorporates the original prompt (and probably the name of the book and the author’s name, too)
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Major Points to Remember:4. Follow the topic sentence/claim with an
example from the book, plus a quote from the text provided as evidence that supports your original claim
5. Remember to use an in-text citation at the end of the quote, using the proper format and punctuation (author last name and page #)
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Major Points to Remember:6. Next, explain how the quoted evidence backs
up your original topic sentence/claim7. Make sure you have the correct number of
requested examples within your response(ADDED NOTE: If no specific number
of examples is requested in the prompt, my suggestion is to find two examples
at minimum)
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Major Points to Remember:8. Make sure that for every quoted example
from the text that you offer as support, that you also remember to use another in-text citation
9. End your response with a concluding sentence that refers back to the topic sentence/claim and to the cited evidence that you have provided from the text
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example
Major Points to Remember:Confused? Not sure if you will remember all
of this, or not confident in the completeness of your notes?!?!? DO NOT PANIC
This PowerPoint will be posted online permanently on my class website, where it can be viewed and/or downloaded 24/7.
Plus – AS ALWAYS – you can always ask me for help!
Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations
The Example