MEL-Con Reminders

With A.P.A. Citations

Main Idea

• Take some words from the question and put them into your main idea. Then add the comment you will be linking back to.
• Question: Is Foreman’s uniform policy effective?
• Main Idea: Foreman’s uniform policy is ineffective because too many people abuse it.

Evidence and links must relate back to the comment in your main idea.

• Main Idea: Foreman’s uniform policy is ineffective because too many people abuse it.
• Evidence: For one thing, people are constantly walking around here without a uniform.
• Link 1: (quote, detailed example, statistic, paraphrase): Yesterday, I saw a bunch of band kids wearing street clothes and there wasn't even a concert.
• Link 2: These kids are abusing uniform the policy and making it ineffective.

Where should you put information from sources in a MEL-Con?

• Main Idea?
• Evidence Sentence?
• Link 1? 
• Link 2?
• Concluding Sentence?

Conclusion

• Starts with a transition.
• Restates your main idea in different words and recaps your three pieces of evidence.

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Clearly, kids who walk around in their street clothes, kids who wear gang colors under their uniforms, and kids who constantly change in and out of their uniforms all abuse the policy and make it ineffective.

In Text-Citations for Frankenstein

In the era that Frankenstein was written in, people believed they could achieve amazing things. To begin with, Robert Walton wanted to reach the North Pole. On page two, he says, "Ever since I was a child, this expedition has been a favourite dream of mine" (Shelley, 1993). Though Walton didn't actually reach the North Pole, it wasn't out of range of people's belief that he could do it. . . . .

In-Text Citations/How to Use Proof From a Novel

• If it is a quote, tell who said it. Sometimes a character is talking. Other times it is the narrator. It is never the author!  
• If it is a paraphrase you still need to cite! 
• Cite with the author's last name, the year of publication and the page. 

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Okonkwo doesn't listen to good advice. We can see this when Ogbuefi Ezeudu tells him not to get involved in Okonkwo's death. Ogbuefi Ezeudu says, "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death" (Achebe, 1997, p. 49). Okonkwo doesn't listen and strikes him down anyway (Achebe, 1997, p. 52).  

Using Proof from an Article, Website, etc.

There are two parts to citation in text and list of references.

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In text citations go right in your paragraph.

• Introduce your source information with a signal phrase.
• Follow the source information with a page number in parentheses.

Example: Barringer (1999) states that  "the . . . ." (para 3)

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List of References

• At the end of the paper, put an alphabetized list of references that gives the source's complete publication information.
• Barringer, F. (2009, Sept. 14). Hawaii tries green tools in remaking power grid. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

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List of References

Each Paper Needs a List of References

This is a separate page where you list the books, newspapers, videos, or websites you cite in the body of your paper.

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List of References

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Shelley, M. (1993). Frankenstein. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

Quote or Paraphrase?

• Statistics--Use the statistic, but paraphrase the words around it. It's the number that impresses not the way it was stated.
• A fact from a newspaper article. Paraphrase-The fact is important, not the way the writer said it.
• The action of a play. Paraphrase this. You don't need to repeat all the lines to explain the meaning.
• What writers say when they was expressing their feelings. Quote this if it specifically backs up your main idea. This will impress your reader. (Paraphrase it if it is too long!)
• An important line of a play or novel? Quote if it specifically backs up your main idea. This will impress your reader.

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List of References

Hacker, D. (2007). A Writer's Reference. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin's