MLA Format
The line spacing that is standard for MLA formatting.
What is double spacing?
Is the student text plagiarism? If so, explain why.
Original Text:
Until 1974, nobody knew that right below the people of northern China an enormous underground army had been standing guard, silently and watchfully, for more than 2,200 years.
Student Text:
No one knew that an army of terracotta soldiers had been buried underground in northern China for over 2,200 years, until 1974 (O'Connor 10).
No, it is not. The original text is paraphrased and the author is credited.
The title of the page where all citations are listed.
What is the Works Cited page?
Restates the main ideas of the entire original text in one's own words. It only captures the key points. It is shorter than the original text.
What is a summary?
The information that always accompanies the author's last name in an in-text citation.
What is the page number?
The font name and font size that is standard for MLA formatting.
What is Times New Roman, 12 pt.?
Is the student text plagiarism? If so, explain why.
Original Text:
Antarctica had never even been sighted before the nineteenth century. Until then it was a rumor, an undefined, unseen question mark shrouded in fog and surrounded by ice.
Student Text:
Prior to the nineteenth century, Antarctica was just a rumor, an undefined, unseen question mark shrouded in fog and surrounded by ice (Armstrong 2).
Yes, because it uses exact wording from the text without quotation marks.
The three website types that are typically reliable. (Hint: not .com)
What are .edu, .gov, and .org?
Restating the author's ideas on a single topic in your own words while keeping the same meaning.
What is paraphrasing?
The information listed first in every MLA citation.
Who is the author(s)?
The only piece of information that should be centered on the first page of your MLA paper.
What is the title?
Is the student text plagiarism? If so, explain why.
Original Text:
So why is it that most people don't think about fast food and don't know much about it? The simple answer is this: the companies that sell fast food don't want you to think about it.
Student Text:
A majority of people know nothing about fast food because fast food restaurants "don't want you to think about it" (Schlosser and Wilson 9).
No, because the source is cited and the student used quotation marks for exact wording.
The R in the CRAAP test stands for this word.
What is "relevance"?
Using someone else's ideas without giving them credit.
What is plagiarism?
Another name for in-text citations.
What is a parenthetical citation?
Placed in the upper right hand corner of the paper. (Hint: 2 pieces of information)
What is the author's last name and page number. Example: Morton 1
Is the student text plagiarism? If so, explain why.
Original Text:
Now a new study done in zebrafish suggests triclosan also messes with our gut—interfering with the community of bacteria that makes up our microbiome.
Student Text:
According to Sifferlin, triclosan "messes with our gut—interfering with the community of bacteria that makes up our microbiome" (13).
No it is not, because it cites the author in the signal phrase and uses quotation marks.
Kyla is writing a research paper on World War II. She wants to write a paragraph about how Americans' daily lives were affected by the war. She finds a newspaper article from 1942 that interviews American citizens on that exact topic. Kyla is excited that she has managed to find information from people who experienced the war firsthand.
Should Kyla use this article for her research project? Which part of the CRAAP test helped you determine your answer?
Yes, she should. The "currency" step of the CRAAP test tells us that if the information is relevant and will not change over time, then primary sources are preferable, even if they are old.
Using an author's exact words, surrounded by quotation marks, and giving the author credit.
What is quoting?
The publisher of the book named in this citation:
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.
What is Vintage-Random House?
The 4 pieces of an MLA heading.
What is student's name, teacher's name, class name, and date?
Is the student text plagiarism? If so, explain why.
Original Text:
But simply murmur the names "Dorothy and Toto," and it would be hard to find one living person who wouldn't immediately recognize the most famous products of L. Frank Baum's imagination.
Student Text:
Just whisper the words "Dorothy and Toto," and anyone alive will know who you're referring to.
Yes, because the student fails to cite the source.
Leo is writing a research paper on telescopes. He wants to write a paragraph about which telescopes are the best for people who want to start stargazing. He finds the website for the company who makes the StarFinder 3000, a new and expensive telescope. Their article claims that the StarFinder 3000 is the only telescope that can show you a clear view of Venus. Leo is excited that he has managed to find the best telescope to recommend to his readers.
Should Leo use this website for his research project? Which part of the CRAAP test helped you determine your answer?
No, he should not. The "purpose" step of the CRAAP test informs us that a website cannot be reliable if it is trying to sell you a product.
America's economy had worsened during the next year.
Excerpt from Robert Himmelberg on pg. 57.
Correctly quote the evidence without plagiarizing.
"America's economic condition had become desperate, and it worsened during the next year" (Himmelberg 57).
The title of the article named in this citation:
Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving/.
What is "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web"?