MLA Position Paper



MLA Research Paper

A formal, completely researched documented essay demonstrating student’s mastery of investigation, documentation, and argumentation. Students will show evidence of pre-writing, rough drafts w/revisions highlighted, and final draft with cover page.

Due Dates of Individual Parts:

Thursday, April 5: Precis due (See example) 20 points

Tuesday, April 10: Outline due 20 points

Tuesday, April 17: Rough Bibliography due 30 points

Monday, April 23: Rough Draft due 50 points

Monday, April 30: Final Copy due 100 points

Paper length: Minimum 4-6 pages

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spaced

Topic: Use to research potential topics.

Use for MLA formatting.

Requirements: Must include at least TWO citations per page; Must use at least FOUR different cited sources in the essay.

Order of final project:

1. Title Page

2. Precis

3. Outline

4. Final draft

5. Bibliography

6. Rough draft with revisions

7. Blank Grade Sheet

Precis

Must be typed on single sheet of paper.

Choose three possible topic choices that you have found on the provided website.

1. Teenage Pregnancy & the media

2. The Beatles

3. NASA and the space program

Now create a thesis for each. The thesis, your argument, should be written as a statement, not a question.

1. Television shows like “Teen Mom” glorify teenage pregnancy and have long-term effects on society.

2. The music group the Beatles have influenced modern-day music in many ways.

3. The United States government should continue to fund space programs such as NASA.

Choose one which you find most interesting, most compelling.

Final thesis choice:

Cover Page Example

Must include the following in the CENTER of the page.

Name Sarah Smith

Class and Period English III – Period 4

Date February 24, 2012

Name of Assignment MLA Research Paper

MLA General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are recognizable one from another. The font size should be 12 pt.

• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor).

• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.

• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times.

• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.

• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.

• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"

• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style:

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Outline

Thesis: Television shows like “Teen Mom” on MTV glorify teenage pregnancy and have long-term effects on society.

I. Introduction:

a. Statistics on current teenage pregnancies

b. MTV and other programs that show lives of pregnant teens

II. Body

a. Current info on teen pregnancies

i. Statistics

1. Age ranges

2. Race

3. Locations

b. Media

i. MTV – “Teen Mom” - explain

ii. Short-term effects of shows like this

iii. Long-term effects of shows like this

c. Solutions

i. What can the media do to help prevent, rather than promote?

ii. What can families/schools do to help?

III. Conclusion

a. Restate thesis

b. Final thoughts/quote/statistics

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