102 MLA Style and Peer Review Professor Ramos Blog

102 MLA Style and Peer Review Quick Write Quick Write He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. – Edmund Burke Write for two minutes on this quote. MLA Style Why do we cite sources in academic writing? Establishes credibility. A road map. Scholarship is an ongoing conversation. It gives credit. Acknowledges those that contributed to your ideas. We will be going over the 8th edition MLA citation Style. You can look under our  resources page  for MLA or APA guides. There are three things to consider for each style guide you use: Page Formatting In-Text Citations /References Page In-Text Citation Also called parenthetical citations. One Author: (Ramos 1) Two Authors: (Smith and Ramos 1) Three or more Authors: (Ramos et al. 1) Peer Review Argument –  a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong. Remember, an argument uses reasons and evidence to persuade. Have you provided enough reasons and evidence to convince us that a) the problem is clear, and b) the proposed solution makes sense? This is the first of many peer reviews. Keep these things in mind. Peer edit the same way you revise your own work. Be specific in identifying problems or opportunities. Offer suggestions for improvement. Praise what is genuinely good in the paper. For the Proposal, make sure you: Define the problem Recognize an audience Create, explain, and justify a plan of action. Persuade readers of the problem and proposed solution. Problem Solution Example â€Å"The Danger of a Single Story† by  Chimamanda Adichie. To quote a  CNN article on the Danger of a Single Story: Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie believes in the power of stories, and warns that hearing only one about a people or nation leads to ignorance. She says the truth is revealed by many tales. She illustrates this with a story about coming to the United States, as a middle-class daughter of a professor and an administrator, and meeting her college roommate. Adichie says that her roommate’s â€Å"default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning, pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa. A single story of catastrophe.† Adichie also tells how growing up in Nigeria reading only American and English children’s books made her deaf to her authentic voice. As a child, she wrote about such things as blue-eyed white children eating apples, thinking brown skin and mangos had no place in literature. That changed as she discovered African writers, particularly the Nigerian Chinua Achebe. This is a great quote that highlights some of the moves we need to do in our article. It summarizes her topic, problem she is addressing, and solution; including examples she uses. Topic:  Many people do not realize that they are getting only one story. A single story is incomplete and she says dangerous. Problem:  Having a single story about an issue or group of people leads to stereotypes and incomplete information. Solution:  To look for multiple stories of whatever issue or topic you are hearing. She recommends we get our news and stories from multiple perspectives. Reasons and evidence:  She gives examples from her personal life to highlight that she has a personal connection. Background:  She gives background information, citing quotes and examples that place her issue in a historical context. She also uses current examples to place the issue in a contemporary context. Quick Write What is your plan of action for revising your essay?