Thursday, February 1, 2018

February 1 and 2 ... Webquesting for MLA Form and Other Research Necessities


  • Answer the questions from the webquest on the copies provided to you in class ... however, to keep life simple, use the online text below to click on the links (rather than retype them).

  • You may work with a partner - but you will need your own copy of the information and will be responsible for all the information individually.  We will work on this in class today and tomorrow.


Name: ____________________                Period: __________       Date: ____________


You are going to embark on an online scavenger hunt. Your objective is to understand the rules of how to set up your papers, and how to cite resources properly. You will be searching for information on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). You will work in the MLA portion of the website. The web URL is: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.

Please fill in the blanks with the information found on the website. You will have to rely on your ability to navigate webpages, and to look for information under the appropriate headings. Today’s mission is primarily focused on two areas: MLA guidelines for paper set-up, and the proper MLA instructions for using research in your writing. This web quest will later serve as a valuable tool of reference for the research paper we will do in this course.

MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Go to General Format for the first two sections (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/24/)

1. “________-space the _______ of your paper, and use a ____________ font (e.g. _________ _____
_______________).”
2. “The font size should be ____ pt.”
3. Leave only ____ space after __________ or other punctuation marks.”
4. Set the ____________ of your document to 1 inch on _____ sides.”
5. Create a __________ that _____________ all ___________ consecutively in the ________ _________ - __________
corner.”

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper
6. In the upper ______ - ________ corner of the first page, list ________ name, your ___________ name, the _______,
and the __________.”
7. “Double space again and _________ the ___________. Do not _______________, ______________, or place your title
in ____________ ____________.”
8. “Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your _________ name, followed by a __________ with a
________ _____________.”

MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/)
9. “Any source of information that you provide _____ - ________ must correspond to the source information on the
________ __________ ________.”
10. “In MLA style, referring to the _________ ____ _________ in your text is done by using what is known as
_________________ ______________.”

In-text Citations for Print Sources with Known Author
11. “For print sources like _________, ______________, scholarly _________ ___________, and ____________,
provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s _________ ________) and a page number.”

Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet
12. “Include in the text the ________ item that appears in the ________ ___________ entry that _________________ to
the ________________ (e.g. _________ name, ____________ name, _____________ name, ________ name).”


Works Cited Page how and why? Go to>>>http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
13. Begin your Works Cited page on a _______________ page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same
one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper.
14. Label the page ____________________(do not underline the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks)
and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
15. ___________ space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
16. _______________ each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not capitalize articles, short prepositions,
or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is
Nothing Left to Lose
17. How do you cite books with one author?
18. How do you cite electronic resources?
19. What are the three ways of incorporating other writer’s work into your own writing? Q____________, p______________, and s__________________.
20. Take a quote or paraphrase from Purdue Owl’s website. Insert that quote or paraphrase below, and include an in-text citation. (Hint: The authors are listed as “contributors” in a yellow-shaded box at the top of Purdue’s page.)


Here are your questions:
21. What is plagiarism?
22. What is unacceptable paraphrasing?
23. What is acceptable paraphrasing?
24. What is common knowledge?
25. How do I detect plagiarism?
26. What, in your opinion, is the single best method of avoiding plagiarism?
27. When should the rules against plagiarizing be taught to students?