Transcript Formal Writing and Citation Powerpoint Quotes Presentation.ppt

Let’s write a synthesis
paper!!!
Or, how I learned to love writing essays!!!
FIRST THINGS FIRST!
 We need to read the prompt (duh), and figure out where we will
stand on it.
 When considering our position, we need to explore as many
positions we can think of.
 It is not only okay, but encouraged, to see things from many
angles. Your position is a position, not your necessarily your opinion.
FORMAL WRITING
 Academic and other types of formal writing take more than just
fancy language! Writing in a formal style shows a reader that you can
examine perspectives using facts, not bias!
 Formal writing is in present tense
 No Contractions!
 No More First Person
FORMAL WRITING
 Numbers: spell out when twenty or less (nine, 23, twelve, seven,
42, etc).
 Abbreviations & acronyms: must be clearly introduced first.
 Keep to the format: MLA or APA are the most common.
 Transitions: paragraphs connect to each other through transitional
statements.
 Do not make assumptions
Ready… set… choose!
 Choose a position and focus the rest of this essay on that position.
 Collect your evidence!
 Determine your position based on the evidence you have collected
Now let’s talk about citations
 MLA format
 Quotation sentences
 See handout for more information
Let’s take this example from “Two Kinds.” If I am arguing
that Tan uses imagery to emphasize conflicts, which
evidence would I choose?
And even worse, I never asked her about what frightened me
the most: Why had she given up hope? For after our struggle
at the piano, she never mentioned my playing again. The
lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was closed shutting out
the dust, my misery, and her dreams.
So she surprised me. A few years ago she offered to give me
the piano, for my thirtieth birthday. I had not played in all
those years. I saw the offer as a sign of forgiveness, a
tremendous burden removed. “Are you sure?” I asked shyly.
“I mean, won’t you and Dad miss it?” “No, this your piano,”
she said firmly. “Always your piano. You only one can play.”
Select the BEST PART of the segment that supports your
position. Selection should not be more than 25-30 words.
And even worse, I never asked her about what frightened me
the most: Why had she given up hope? For after our struggle
at the piano, she never mentioned my playing again. The
lessons stopped The lid to the piano was closed shutting out
the dust, my misery, and her dreams.
So she surprised me. A few years ago she offered to give me
the piano, for my thirtieth birthday. I had not played in all
those years. I saw the offer as a sign of forgiveness, a
tremendous burden removed. “Are you sure?” I asked shyly.
“I mean, won’t you and Dad miss it?” “No, this your piano,”
she said firmly. “Always your piano. You only one can play.”
Now we’re going to work our quote into a sentence. Put
simply, other people’s words do not hold their own in our
writing. You can introduce quotes, follow up quotes, or
surround quotes with our commentary…
This is one way to introduce it…
Amy Tan uses imagery to emphasize the conflicts, like when
she writes, “The lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was
closed shutting out the dust, my misery, and her dreams”
(24).
Now we’re going to work our quote into a sentence. Put
simply, other people’s words do not hold their own in our
writing. You can introduce quotes, follow up quotes, or
surround quotes with our commentary…
You can start with a quote and follow it up…
“The lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was closed
shutting out the dust, my misery, and her dreams,” is a
beautiful example of how Amy Tan uses imagery to
emphasize the resolution (24)
Now we’re going to work our quote into a sentence. Put
simply, other people’s words do not hold their own in our
writing. You can introduce quotes, follow up quotes, or
surround quotes with our commentary…
Surrounding quotes works very nicely as well…
When Amy Tan writes, “The lessons stopped. The lid to the
piano was closed shutting out the dust, my misery, and her
dreams,” she is using vivid imagery to emphasize the conflic
(24).
When you are using the author’s name in the sentence, you
do not need to put the name in the parentheses.
When Amy Tan writes, “The lessons stopped. The lid to the
piano was closed shutting out the dust, my misery, and her
dreams,” she is using vivid imagery to emphasize the
conflict (24).
If you do not put the name in the sentence, you need to put
it in parentheses.
“The lessons stopped. The lid to the piano was closed
shutting out the dust, my misery, and her dreams,” is a
beautiful example of how imagery is used to emphasize the
resolution (Tan 24).