Timothy L Pagaard: MLA, evaluation, and college services
MLA conventions,
writing evaluations,
and college services
Sample student writing
Mechanics
"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime."
--Ernest Hemingway
Style, standards, and support
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Tools for MLA format and documentation
The writing you submit for my classes must be formatted precisely according to the conventions prescribed by the MLA. This page provides you with some useful tools to use as you format and document your work. For details and explanations, consult the MLAHandbook for Writers of Research Papers.
MLA format overview
A very basic illustration (with explanatory call-outs) of general
format, "Works Cited" format, and annotation for your "Works Cited" page.
Microsoft
Word template fully formatted to MLA specifications
Download this Word file for each of your assignments, replace
the generic stuff with yours, and the format of the work you
submit will be perfect.
Instructions
for formatting your MS Word file.
This slideshow will walk you through the steps for formatting
a document from scratch.
MLA
citation
How to cite various types of materials
(use the gold-colored link, "Citing sources," in the menu
at top left of the site).
Citation
Machine
This is a great tool for setting up your citations of various
types of material: An easy fill-in-the-blank form will walk you
through your citations (both "Works Cited" and in-text
parenthetical). Hit "Submit," and your ready-to-use citation
can be copied and pasted right into your page.
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Instruments I use for evaluating your writing
Paragraph evaluation
slips
For all my basic-composition courses. Please
print a page or two of these, cut them into separate slips, and
staple them to the upper left-hand corner of paragraphs you submit.
Leave the slips blank except for your name,
section number, and assignment number.
Literary analysis
evaluation slips
For all my literature courses. Please
print a page or two of these, cut them in half as noted, and staple
them to the upper left-hand corner of analyses you submit. Leave the
slips blank except for your name, section number, and assignment number.
Essay evaluation
form
For all my composition courses, basic
through advanced. Please print these and staple them
to the upper left-hand corner of essays you submit. Leave them
blank except for your name and section number. On the reverse side find
a checklist for MLA documentation. Your goal will be not to
check any boxes—signifying
that all your documentation is correct according to MLA convention.
Correction symbols
I
respond to your writing in the margins and between the lines of your
draft, making comments and suggestions for revision. I also mark
mechanical errors, using both standard English-teacherly grammar
notation and the familiar correction
symbols used
in industry. These are explained in this document. If you have any
questions as to my meaning, please see me or consult your usage handbook.
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Where to go for help and resources
The writing
center
The Reading and Writing Center at Cuyamaca
College, open to students at all levels, beginning through advanced,
offers learning assistance in writing, reading, ESL, research, paper
formatting, and other communication-arts skills. At the Center, you
can get friendly, personal tutoring help with your course work or
take a variety of mini-courses to supplement your regular college
curriculum.
Cuyamaca College library (LRC)
Cuyamaca has an impressive library for a college of our size.
The library site provides useful information for all the research
you'll need to do: using physical on-campus resources, Web
resources, and our own wide array of research databases, such
as Infotrac and
the Literature
Resource Center (you'll be asked to enter your college
username and password if you're accessing these links from
off-campus).
Computer help desk
Part of the college Teaching and Learning
Center (TLC) site,
the help desk provides extensive information about using both
Macintosh and Windows platforms, as well as several common applications
for both. When you need help with anything computer related,
you're likely to find it on this page.
Copyright Wiley Miller 2003. All rights reserved.
