Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I would like my upcoming 9th grader to start using (or getting comfortable with) MLA next year. Is there a easy way for both of us to start learning this? She needs to get used to writing in MLA, and I have to get used to evaluating MLA.... kind of a scary thought. We're going to use My Father's World AHL next year. MLA isn't required in AHL, but I might ask her to write extra reports across the curriculum which could include some research. This is when she could begin to practice MLA. If this student were to take any AP courses, it would be AP Language. This is her strongest subject. I have not really researched AP Language, yet this is another reason I want her to become familiar with MLA. Any comments concerning AP Language would be welcomed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I recommend looking at the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) site. Note sure if there is a course, but certainly oodles of resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 I recommend looking at the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) site. Note sure if there is a course, but certainly oodles of resources. Oh, yes! Thank you Jane! Any other suggestions? I want to break us both in easily and learn MLA slowly. I wouldn't try to grade it until we were both familiar with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 another vote for Purdue. and heads up... if you also end up using MFW in 10th grade, WHL, MLA will be taught and used. Writer's Inc is the resource. and I think in 12th grade the resource for research paper also has MLA in it... yep.. just grabbed that booklet and it has the style. even suggests for additional help.. to check out http://www.mla.org/style/style_index.htm I remember in my high school days (AP English), it wasn't done as a course or anything... it was "follow this format", or look it up in the book, to do your bibliography and footnotes (endnotes). Is there something else to it other than just standardized for those things? :confused: example... use a comma here (see example), use a period here. underline this... -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 another vote for Purdue. and heads up... if you also end up using MFW in 10th grade, WHL, MLA will be taught and used. Writer's Inc is the resource. and I think in 12th grade the resource for research paper also has MLA in it... yep.. just grabbed that booklet and it has the style. even suggests for additional help.. to check out http://www.mla.org/style/style_index.htm I remember in my high school days (AP English), it wasn't done as a course or anything... it was "follow this format", or look it up in the book, to do your bibliography and footnotes (endnotes). Is there something else to it other than just standardized for those things? :confused: example... use a comma here (see example), use a period here. underline this... -crystal I'm very inexperienced with this... (I can remember using either MLA or AP style in high school, :confused:)... but I think that's just it: knowing where to put a comma or period or when to indent. Also, I think MLA does end notes and a works cited page. I've used Owl before just for reference, and dd used The Writer's Reference in Comp I last year which includes some MLA instruction; but the class didn't use MLA for their essays. She and I can try to use both of these resources. Thanks, Crystal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Take a look at the Student's Guide to Writing College Papers (Kate Turabian) - http://www.amazon.com/Students-Guide-Writing-College-Papers/dp/0226816311/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340995582&sr=8-2&keywords=kate+turabian Your library probably has several copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Take a look at the Student's Guide to Writing College Papers (Kate Turabian) - http://www.amazon.com/Students-Guide-Writing-College-Papers/dp/0226816311/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340995582&sr=8-2&keywords=kate+turabian Your library probably has several copies. Thank you, Sherry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Yes. Most students will be required to buy a copy their freshman year, and it's great to be familiar with it ahead of time. That said, the most commonly used resource around here is the Purdue OWL pages for MLA. I love popping it open and finding the format for citing a magazine article with three authors or something obscure like that. :D As you are assigning her first paper, this is how I would handle it: Discuss the need to have a standardized format for papers. Read in the Handbook or on the OWL about the various requirements, including which are MLA and which are left up to the instructor. For instance, MLA says to use a standard font, but some professors might specify Times New Roman and some might allow Arial. Another example is that many instructors will require a cover page (I don't, because MLA already provides a heading on the first page.) Discuss plagiarism and the difference between common knowledge and information that needs a citation. Talk about paraphrasing versus direct quotation. Using the OWL or the Handbook, learn how to do in-text citations and how to create a Works Cited page. You don't have to memorize every possible resource's format; just have an idea of how to cite and where to find the specific formula for each type of resource. Read through the section on biased language (I think they took most of it out of the Handbook with this edition, but you can find more info online.) Students will need to know what is acceptable when they get to college. You can skip most of the information about adding tables and charts and so on until you need it. You don't want to overwhelm a student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Yes. Most students will be required to buy a copy their freshman year, and it's great to be familiar with it ahead of time. That said, the most commonly used resource around here is the Purdue OWL pages for MLA. I love popping it open and finding the format for citing a magazine article with three authors or something obscure like that. :D As you are assigning her first paper, this is how I would handle it: Discuss the need to have a standardized format for papers. Read in the Handbook or on the OWL about the various requirements, including which are MLA and which are left up to the instructor. For instance, MLA says to use a standard font, but some professors might specify Times New Roman and some might allow Arial. Another example is that many instructors will require a cover page (I don't, because MLA already provides a heading on the first page.) Discuss plagiarism and the difference between common knowledge and information that needs a citation. Talk about paraphrasing versus direct quotation. Using the OWL or the Handbook, learn how to do in-text citations and how to create a Works Cited page. You don't have to memorize every possible resource's format; just have an idea of how to cite and where to find the specific formula for each type of resource. Read through the section on biased language (I think they took most of it out of the Handbook with this edition, but you can find more info online.) Students will need to know what is acceptable when they get to college. You can skip most of the information about adding tables and charts and so on until you need it. You don't want to overwhelm a student. Thank you so much for these suggestions, Angela. I have enjoyed reading you posts about writing this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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