a parenthetical citation after quotes
Overall Instruction:
· For any of these topic choices, you must quote directly from your chosen works and include page numbers in a parenthetical citation after quotes. Instructions for in-text, parenthetical citations are attached (see pages 3-5 of this handout).
· Choose quoted passages that function as strong evidence and help you communicate your main message about the works of literature you are analyzing. Once you quote a passage, be sure to USE it: that is, interpret what it’s saying and tie it back to your main point about the text. Through your interpretation (analysis) of each and every quote, you should advance your paper’s main argument (thesis).
· Avoid summary! In none of these assignment choices do I ask you to summarize or retell the storyline. Assume your audience has read the pieces that you’re writing about. Instead of summary, I want your creative-analytical response to the literature.
Topics:
1. Put any character in conversation with a character from another work by a different author. Createthe dialogue they might have. Note that your dialogue should capture an important aspect of each character and should be focused on one main theme. You might, for example, have two characters discuss their views about their adversaries or lovers, their plans for dealing with a similar problem they have (e.g. unfaithful spouses or low social status), their different encounters with the underworld, and so on. Write a dialogue (of any length) between the two characters and attach it to an essay of 4-5 pages explaining the reasons you chose to write this particular dialogue and the message you wanted to get across about the role these characters play in their respective works and the burdens or successes they represent. Keep in mind that you don’t have to choose a work’s main characters; it would be very interesting to choose minor characters who play a smaller but critical role in the text. The best essays will illuminate a surprising intersection between the character and texts, as well as an important message about both your characters and the works they represent. Be sure to quote from the original texts in your dialogue and accompanying essay. An alternate approach to this essay choice would be to put two different authors from our syllabus into dialogue with each other.
2. Imagine that you’re planning a film based on a pairing or group of works from the syllabus. Write a description of your film, making sure to answer the questions: why make a film on your chosen works? What message, drawn from the original texts, are you trying to get across, and why do you think it’s important for a contemporary audience to hear this message? Also, think about the stylistic decisions that a film director makes and explain how you would like to see your film made, and why. (Is it a big- budget action film, a romance with recognizable stars, a musical, a comedy, or a “quieter” family drama?) Write an essay of 6-8 pages in which you discuss the main message of your film and what impact you hope the film will have on the audience. You might consider writing your essay in the form of a proposal to a producer. How would you “sell” the idea of your film to a producer? What makes it important and interesting? Alternatively, you can make a short film, post it somewhere your readers can view it (e.g. YouTube), and write an accompanying essay of about 4-5 pages explaining what you’ve done and why. In any case, be sure to quote from the texts you’re using in the development of your film concept.
3. Write your own contemporary epic poem. Remember,the great epics of early civilization, likeThe Odyssey, Baghavad-gita, or The Book of Songs, were meant to reflect the values and beliefs of a society—how a civilization wished to see itself and represent itself to the world and future generations. What would your contemporary epic be about? What part of our society—what values and beliefs—would it represent and what would your message be? Write 3-5 pages of your epic (more is okay but not necessary) and then, in an essay of 4-5 pages, compare your epic to The Odyssey and The Book of Songs. In what ways were you inspired by Homer and/or the ancient Chinese poets—their characterizations, details, imagery, voice, and poetic conventions? In what ways did you diverge from the style Homer and the ancient Chinese poets? Why? What were you trying to accomplish by writing your epic in the style you chose and with the details you highlighted? Be sure to give specific examples (direct quotes) from The Odyssey or The Book of Songs in your analysis of the relationship between those texts and your epic.
4. Your own creative / analytical essay idea or variation on one of the above. Your idea need stocombinea creative interpretation of course texts with an explanation of what you were trying to do and why. PLEASE SEE ME BEFORE PROCEEDING.
Texts from syllabus:
Enuma Elish, Genesis
Theogony
Odyssey
Bhagavad-Gita
Classic of Poetry, Daodejing
Antigone
Montaigne & Cortes
DOCUMENTING YOUR SOURCES: A GUIDE FOR COLLEGE WRITERS
In any essay that uses outside sources—even just one source—you are drawing on the work of other writers, which you must document. Documentation is required (1) when you quote from a source, (2) when you summarize or paraphrase a source, and (3) when you borrow facts and ideas from a source. We will be using the MLA IN-TEXT CITATION FORMAT for this class. Directions follow:
I.
1. 2. 3. 4.
AS YOU WRITE, DOCUMENT SOURCES USING A CONSISTENT SYSTEM.
The MLA in-text citation format works in the following ways:
The source is introduced by a signal phrase that names the title or author of the work or the speaker (which in literature is the character who is speaking in the quoted passage).
A page number in parentheses follows the material being cited. Punctuation goes AFTER the parenthesis.
At the end of the paper, a list of Works Cited, arranged alphabetically according to authors’ last names, gives complete publishing information about the source(s).
In certain cases, it may not be entirely clear which work you’re quoting from (especially
true if you’re writing about multiple texts or poems by one or more authors). In such cases, your parenthetical citation should include the author’s last name followed by the page number, with no punctuation between the name and page number: (Bonnin 813). If you have two or more texts by the same author, use an abbreviation of the title of the work to clarify which source you are using: (School Days 813).
Sample in-text citations: ••
Even as a young child, Bonnin was a fighter, insisting “I will not submit! I will struggle first!” (813) when Judéwin tells her that the “paleface woman” was planning to cut the girls’ long hair. Signal phraseAfter the tragedy has passed, Winterbourne can only concede, “I was booked to make a mistake. I have lived too long in foreign parts” (320),Quoted source detaching himself from any responsibility in Daisy’s fate. According to his logic, his time spent in “foreign parts” has clouded his judgment and justifies his (in)action.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. DOCUMENT ALL QUOTATIONS AND BORROWED IDEAS. AVOID PARAPHRASES THAT CLOSELY RESEMBLE YOUR SOURCES.
II.
Your academic writing represents a collaboration between you and your sources—an ongoing intellectual discussion. To be fair and ethical AND to allow your readers to easily find your sources should they want to, you must acknowledge other writers’ ideas and language by documenting your sources fully.
There are four kinds of plagiarism that are especially common; all are equally tragic. They are: (1) borrowing someone’s language, or even just their ideas, without documenting the source, (2) documenting the source but paraphrasing the source’s language too closely, without using quotation marks to indicate that language has been borrowed, (3) copying material from the web, and (4) using material that has been written by someone else— even a well-meaning friend or family member.
III. LIMIT QUOTATIONS, INTEGRATE THEM AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE, AND USE THEM WELL.
It is tempting to insert many long quotations in your paper and to use your own words only for connecting passages. Do not give in to this temptation! Long series of quotations give readers the impression that you cannot think for yourself or that you don’t have an interesting, original voice and point. Use direct quotations only when they help you illuminate your interpretation of the work and the argument you want to make.
Integrating quotations smoothly with signal phrases:
Integrate quotations smoothly enough for readers to move from your words to the words of a source without feeling a jolt. Avoid dropping quotations into the text without warning; instead, provide clear signal phrases, usually including the author’s or character’s name, to set up the quotation.
To avoid monotony, try to vary your signal phrases. The following models suggest a range of possibilities:
In the words of Gertrude Bonnin, “ . . .” AsJoséMartíhasnoted,“…” Daisy’s mother points out that “ . . .” “ . . .,” intones poet Charles Simic.
The young visitor offers an odd argument for this view: “ . . .”
Silvia reconciles her decision with the following analysis: “ . . . ”
always necessary to quote full sentences from a source. At times you may wish to borrow only a phrase or to weave part of a source’s sentence into your own sentence structure:
• Jewett juxtaposes the shy, reticent Silvia at the beginning of the story with the more enlightened Sylvia at the end, who still “cannot speak” (701), but keeps her silence out of choice and a sense of “dear loyalty” (710).
In the above example, the brief quoted phrases are highlighted as particularly important— something the writer will go on to explore or somehow use in his/her analysis.
Handling longer quotations (block quotations):
When you quote more than four or five typed lines, you should set off the quotation by indenting it ten spaces from the left margin; this is called a block or nested quotation. Use the normal right margin. You may single or double-space your block quotes; it’s up to you—just be consistent. Long quotations should be introduced by an informative sentence, usually followed by a colon. Quotation marks are unnecessary because the block or nested format tells readers that the material has been quoted from a source. At the end of a block quotation the parenthetical citation goes outside the final period. No punctuation follows the parenthetical citation.
Analysis of quoted material
You should use quoted passages to grapple with and/or help explain your interpretation. If your thesis is good, it isn’t obvious. That’s why you need to grapple with it or explain it through well- chosen evidence such as quoted sources. So you quote from one of your source texts to really think about and defend why and how your claim is both valid and interesting. Here’s an example:
Sample thesis statement: Figures of authority generally play a positive role in society. For instance, if we do not collectively agree to endow the government and police with authority, how can these institutions enforce the law? I believe in social
It is not
authority; however, the power we bestow on our authority figures can lead to corruption. Thus, society as a whole must be on the lookout
for the corruption of power. When we see it, we must make every effort to fight against power-hungry, corrupt authority figures.
Sample use of a source text that is analyzed and used to support part of the above thesis: In Ralph Ellison’s gripping story, “A Party Down at the Square,” we see many symbols of corrupted power. Perhaps most glaringly, “The statue of the general standing with one leg before the other and leaning back on a sword” (2033) symbolizes military and political force that has lost its power. The general leans back almost nonchalantly, as if to arrogantly mock the victim whose lynching takes place at his feet. Further, the general leans on a sword: phallic symbol and weapon used by gallant knights and ancient warriors. The sword suggests that the general belongs to a long line of masculine authority, yet he relaxes on his sword and silently witnesses the horrible scene before him, doing nothing. Of course, he’s just a stature—what could he possibly do?—but earlier the general is described as looking “like something alive” (2032), subtly underscoring the inaction of the town leaders who could do something. It seems that, similar to the statue, the town’s masculine authority is merely “like something alive” but ultimately dead and impotent. Thus, the mute statue becomes a parody of the masculine power it represents. Also, the entire lynching plays out “right in front of the courthouse” (2031), a vivid symbol of democratic law. Democracy relies on some essential convictions: innocence until proven guilty, trial by jury, and protection from unfair persecution. All of these convictions are saliently represented by the courthouse that looms in the background and—in normal, uncorrupted circumstances—has the authority (and responsibility) to uphold the law.
