MLA format for citing and documenting your primary and
secondary sources, with a “Works Cited” page at the end (if you are just using one to three works
for your paper, you can simply put the “Works Cited” page at the end, with five or so spaces
between the text and the “Works Cited” list). No secondary sources required, but encouraged.
Keep in mind, though, that since this is a university course, you need to assume full
responsibility for the sources you use. In short, that means I roll my eyes very sarcastically when
someone cites Sparknotes.com or some other source along those lines! Crap that agrees with you
is still crap, and not much crap gets through peer reviewed journals and edited scholarly books.
The internet, however, doesn’t even require a good grasp of the English language for publication.
So keep that in mind when you are conducting research. I would rather see a well-argued paper
without secondary sources than a bland, badly written paper with a bunch of secondary sources.
Also, keep in mind that your sources should not argue your paper, but rather serve as
support for and/or against your own, central argument. That’s the most important thing: have an
argument. Notice that I am not asking you to simply rewrite what you read. In college, no credit
is given for grasping the completely friggin’ obvious, so don’t think that simply restating Plato’s
arguments or summarizing The Aeneid in a few pages is what I am looking for.
Finally, here’s what I want: a good paper. Here’s what I hate: 1) short, one or two
sentence paragraphs. They never explain or expand on anything, and make your paper look like
a third-grader wrote it. 2) I also hate papers without good titles. Don’t hand me a paper without
a title. Even emails get titles, so college papers definitely should. Titles help your argument
start before you even say a word. And, 3) I hate papers that can’t quote correctly. Here’s the
trick: remove the quotation marks. If the sentence is grammatically correct, then you have
quoted correctly. If not, fix it. By now you should be able to quote a source in anything you
write. And, any quotation that goes over, say, two lines in your paper should be put in a block
quotation. If you don’t know how to use a block quotation, find out.
Now, what kind of paper can you write? Since this course is cross-listed for both
literature and “thoughts, values and beliefs,” you can choose to write either a literary analysis, or
a philosophical analysis. That is, a literature paper or a philosophy paper. What’s the difference?
Well, that can’t be handled adequately in just a paragraph. I have provided samples of both on
Canvas, and I have advice for writing both styles on Canvas as well. Let’s just say that the
literary criticism paper relies on you to interpret and analyze figurative language and literary
elements. The philosophy paper is more straight forward in that you put forth the philosophical
system or part of a philosophical system of a thinker like Plato, and then analyze the pros and
cons of his system or ideas. Now, don’t be naïve and think, “gosh, all I got to do is summarize
Plato and then agree with him!” because that’s not a good paper by a long shot. Nor is it a good
paper to just summarize Plato and then say “he’s wrong.” While the philosophy paper is more
straight forward, it calls for some deeper, intellectual effort. “I don’t believe Plato” is not a
philosophical statement. Trust me. So, both paper styles require difficulty and deep thinking.
secondary sources, with a “Works Cited” page at the end (if you are just using one to three works
for your paper, you can simply put the “Works Cited” page at the end, with five or so spaces
between the text and the “Works Cited” list). No secondary sources required, but encouraged.
Keep in mind, though, that since this is a university course, you need to assume full
responsibility for the sources you use. In short, that means I roll my eyes very sarcastically when
someone cites Sparknotes.com or some other source along those lines! Crap that agrees with you
is still crap, and not much crap gets through peer reviewed journals and edited scholarly books.
The internet, however, doesn’t even require a good grasp of the English language for publication.
So keep that in mind when you are conducting research. I would rather see a well-argued paper
without secondary sources than a bland, badly written paper with a bunch of secondary sources.
Also, keep in mind that your sources should not argue your paper, but rather serve as
support for and/or against your own, central argument. That’s the most important thing: have an
argument. Notice that I am not asking you to simply rewrite what you read. In college, no credit
is given for grasping the completely friggin’ obvious, so don’t think that simply restating Plato’s
arguments or summarizing The Aeneid in a few pages is what I am looking for.
Finally, here’s what I want: a good paper. Here’s what I hate: 1) short, one or two
sentence paragraphs. They never explain or expand on anything, and make your paper look like
a third-grader wrote it. 2) I also hate papers without good titles. Don’t hand me a paper without
a title. Even emails get titles, so college papers definitely should. Titles help your argument
start before you even say a word. And, 3) I hate papers that can’t quote correctly. Here’s the
trick: remove the quotation marks. If the sentence is grammatically correct, then you have
quoted correctly. If not, fix it. By now you should be able to quote a source in anything you
write. And, any quotation that goes over, say, two lines in your paper should be put in a block
quotation. If you don’t know how to use a block quotation, find out.
Now, what kind of paper can you write? Since this course is cross-listed for both
literature and “thoughts, values and beliefs,” you can choose to write either a literary analysis, or
a philosophical analysis. That is, a literature paper or a philosophy paper. What’s the difference?
Well, that can’t be handled adequately in just a paragraph. I have provided samples of both on
Canvas, and I have advice for writing both styles on Canvas as well. Let’s just say that the
literary criticism paper relies on you to interpret and analyze figurative language and literary
elements. The philosophy paper is more straight forward in that you put forth the philosophical
system or part of a philosophical system of a thinker like Plato, and then analyze the pros and
cons of his system or ideas. Now, don’t be naïve and think, “gosh, all I got to do is summarize
Plato and then agree with him!” because that’s not a good paper by a long shot. Nor is it a good
paper to just summarize Plato and then say “he’s wrong.” While the philosophy paper is more
straight forward, it calls for some deeper, intellectual effort. “I don’t believe Plato” is not a
philosophical statement. Trust me. So, both paper styles require difficulty and deep thinking.