What Type of Material to Cite  This material must always be cited:  A direct quote  A statistic  An idea that is not your own  Someone else’s opinion  Concrete facts, not considered “common knowledge”  Knowledge not considered “common”

The ninth edition of the MLA Style Guide states that your in-text, or parenthetical, citations should do the following: Clearly indicate the specific sources also referenced in the works cited Specifically identify the location of the information that you used Carefully create a clear and concise citation, always confirming its accuracy Check out the video below for more discussion of your in-text citations.

Here are a few tips that will help you during the peer review process: Begin by reading the assignment instructions. Your instructor will likely have clear goals for the peer review process, and following the instructions will help you provide significant and meaningful revision ideas for your peer. Read your peer’s essay from the beginning to the end without adding any comments. This first read allows you to grasp your peer’s intentions and focus. Complete a second reading of your peer’s draft and start looking for strengths and weaknesses. Make comments on the margins of your peer’s essay. Later, you can further expand on these comments when you complete the peer review form. Stop when you feel stuck and ask yourself, “If this were my paper, how would I revise it?” Set aside time to review the organization of your peer’s essay. Read their thesis statement and make sure their body paragraphs have topic sentences that connect to their thesis statement. If there isn’t a clear connection, consider helping your peer revise their topic sentence so the connection between the thesis and body paragraph is easy to understand. Be honest. Your peers want to earn the best grade they can, and your advice during peer review will help them achieve this goal. Think of every piece of advice as constructive criticism. Your advice will help them to create a stronger, more focused writing sample.

Proofreading and Editing Checklist: These steps ensure your writing is polished and error-free. In addition to revising, you will also want

Two Formulas for Paragraph Structure We have looked at the basic parts of your essay, and now we have a sample formula to help you expand your ideas about your evidence. Between the Introduction (and thesis) and the Conclusion (and reflection on the thesis) comes the body of the essay. For your essay’s body to be solid and focused, it needs to have clear, well-developed paragraphs. Even paragraphs need to have a beginning, middle, and end. To help you think about paragraph organization, think about TEAR: T = Topic Sentence This is like a little thesis for your paragraph. It tells the reader what that paragraph is all about. If your reader were only to read the topic sentences in your essay, he/or she should have a general idea of what you’re talking about. Of course, he/she can’t get a complete picture unless you provide… E = Evidence This is the “how do you know?” part of your paragraph. Evidence comes from the real world. You may present your evidence in the form of statistics, direct quotes, summaries, or paraphrases from a source, or your own observations. Evidence is available to us all. What your reader needs is for you to make sense of that evidence so that s/he understands what all this has to do with your thesis or claim. That is why you provide… A = Analysis This is the ‘so what?’ part of your paragraph. You say what is important and why. This isn’t just personal taste or opinion. You have to provide good reasons to support your conclusions. And just to make sure you’re still on track, you… R = Reflection This sentence concludes the paragraph and relates to the topic sentence and the thesis. Ideally, it should also prepare us for the next paragraph. Note Transitions are like the mortar between the bricks. Transitions hold our ideas together and move us gracefully from point to point. Some common transition words or phrases may include although, therefore, because, in fact, for example, on the other hand, while, in addition, in contrast, then again, furthermore, but back to our main point… To help you think about TEAR, imagine your snarky little brother looking over your shoulder as you compose, asking you: T = “What’s all this about?” E = “How do you know?” A = “Why should I care?” R = “What does this have to do with anything?” You may be thinking, I’ve heard this before, but it wasn’t called TEAR. It was called…. PIE What does PIE stand for? P = Point. This is the point of the paragraph, or the topic sentence. I = Illustration. This is where you illustrate your point with evidence E = Explanation. This is where you explain how that evidence supports your point. This is your analysis. Why give you two ways to think of this? Because you may find that to fully develop your paragraph, you’ll need to add a little more evidence and analysis. And it looks a little funny to write TEAEAR. So, you can think of PIE-IE-IE will always love you.

Topic sentence: summarizes the main idea of the paragraph; presents a claim that supports your thesis. Supporting sentences: examples, details, and explanations that support the topic sentence (and claim). Concluding sentence: gives the paragraph closure by relating the claim back to the topic sentence and thesis statement.

Facts. Facts are the best kind of evidence to use because they  cannot be disputed and help build your credibility. They support your stance by providing background information or a solid foundation for your point of view. However, some facts may still need explanation. For example, the sentence “The most populated state in the United States is California” is a fact, but it may require some explanation to make it relevant to your specific argument. Judgments. Judgments are conclusions drawn from the given facts. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and examination of a topic. Testimony. Testimony consists of direct quotations from either an eyewitness or an expert witness. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; he adds authenticity to an argument based on facts. An expert witness is a person who has extensive experience with a topic. This person studies the facts and provides commentary based on either facts or judgments, or both. An expert witness adds authority and credibility to an argument. Personal observation. Personal observation is similar to testimony, but personal observation consists of your testimony. It reflects what you know to be true because you have experiences and have formed either opinions or judgments about those experiences. For instance, if you are one of five children and your thesis states that being part of a large family is beneficial to a child’s social development, you could use your own experience to support your thesis.

Be specific. The main points you make about your thesis and the examples you use to expand on those points need to be specific. Use specific examples to provide the evidence and to build upon your general ideas. These types of examples give your reader something narrow to focus on, and if used properly, they leave little doubt about your claim. General examples, while they convey the necessary information, are not nearly as compelling or useful in writing because they are too obvious and typical. Be relevant to the thesis. Primary support is considered strong when it relates directly to the thesis. Primary support should show, explain, or prove your main argument without delving into irrelevant details. When faced with lots of information that could be used to prove your thesis, you may think you need to include it all in your body paragraphs. But effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. This idea is so important, here it is again: effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. Choose your examples wisely by making sure they directly connect to your thesis. Be detailed. Remember that your thesis, while specific, should not be overly detailed. The body paragraphs are where you develop the discussion that a thorough essay requires. Using detailed support shows readers that you have considered all the facts and chosen only the most precise details to enhance your point of view.