MLA Intensive Seminar

Assignment Sheet
Teacher Contact Information
Dr. Rachel A. Lott
Royal Fireworks Press Instructor
ralott526@[Link]
Class Meetings: June 4, June 18, July 2, July 16 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Note that this course meets every other Tuesday.
Required Text: Advanced Academic Writing I by Michael Clay Thompson

Pep Talk
This is an intensive course, and the workload may look daunting. Take courage! The more you
write, the easier it gets; and the rewards are great. Here are some tips to help you meet the
challenges below with panache:
 Always be writing. Set aside at least 15 minutes per day to write. If you struggle with
writing, you may need an hour. Don’t try to write a whole essay the day before it’s due.
Your brain works better if you space your writing out in small chunks over many days.
 Write before you’re ready. Start writing while you’re still doing your research. Write
even if it’s bad for the first draft. Once you have something on paper, you’ll find it’s
easier to go back and revise.
 Finish early! Plan ahead to finish your essay at least 2 days before it’s due. Set it aside
for one full day. Then, with fresh eyes, read it again. Catch all the typos, bad grammar,
and punctuation mistakes. Always turn in a polished draft!

Essay Grading Scale (each grade level presupposes the criteria for the one before it)
F Incorrect English or Missing Citations
D Good English and/or Incomplete Citations
C Correct MLA Format with Complete Citations
B Good Essay Structure
A A Good Idea with a Meaningful Thesis

Assignment Weights
30% Summary of a Disagreement
30% Annotated Bibliography + Thesis Statement
40% Capstone Research Essay
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else’s words without proper credit. The consequences
for plagiarism are serious:
 Automatic 0 on an assignment
 Possible failure of a whole class
 Possible suspension from school for repeated offences
 Possible expulsion for repeated offences.
To avoid plagiarism, follow these tips:
 If you copy/paste words directly from the internet, put quotation marks around them and
state where you got the quotation from.
 If you use someone else’s ideas, even if you put them in your own words, say where you
got the ideas from.
You’re welcome to use AI when doing research. However, watch out for these three problems:
 AI is string completion. That means it might give you commonly reported information
but not correct information. This is especially true of specialized research topics.
Specialist research is not often fed to AI algorithms, and an AI response to a prompt may
be wrong or misleading.
 AI doesn’t always tell you where its information comes from. If you use AI, always
check its original sources, verify their reliability, and cite them in your paper. Don’t cite
AI unless the AI response itself is a relevant topic in your paper. (For instance, you might
write a paper critiquing AI responses!)
 AI is predictable. Currently, AI algorithms won’t give you a unique thesis (an original
viewpoint you must argue for), and AI’s generic tone is easily identifiable. Most teachers
can tell at a glance whether an essay has been composed by AI.

Quoting from any source without credit counts as plagiarism. If you’re ever unsure whether
something counts as plagiarism or not, contact me directly.

June 4: Class Meeting 1

Class Topics: Introductions, class details, MLA format, resources, and thesis statements.

Homework:

Reading: Advanced Writing I, pp. 1–23 and pp. 38–56

 Especially note the section on the Works Cited page (starting p. 13).
 Due June 13: Summary of a Disagreement
The Gist: Choose a research topic from the course resources page. Read through
the links on the page and find something that people disagree about regarding that
topic. Then write a summary of the disagreement. Include at least two paragraphs
contrasting different viewpoints or interpretations.
Disagreements can be between scholars, between historical people (e.g., the
American colonists vs. Britain), and even between fictional characters. For
instance, readers disagree about the greatest detective (Sherlock Holmes or
someone else?), and fictional detectives disagree among themselves about the best
methods.
Length: 400-500 words, including a Works Cited page.
Format: Use MLA format for the heading, paper appearance, and citations.
Structure: You don’t need an introduction, a thesis statement, or a conclusion,
though you may include them if you wish. Each paragraph should focus on a
single sub-topic or viewpoint in the disagreement. Explain at least two different
viewpoints, and describe any nuances or distinctions in detail. Cite at least 4
sources in the summary, all with correct MLA citations, and include 1-2 direct
quotations. Include a Works Cited page.

June 18: Class Meeting 2

Class Topics: Thesis statements, primary vs secondary texts, reputable scholarly sources, and
annotated bibliographies.
Homework for next class:
Reading: Advanced Writing I, pp. 37–56
 Especially note the sample essays and grading rubric. They are a sneak peek at the
type of essay you’ll submit later in July.

Due June 27: Annotated Bibliography + Thesis Statement

The Gist: Choose a research topic for your capstone essay, and draft an initial
thesis statement to guide your research. Then find and read at least 6 reputable
sources. Put them into correct format in a bibliography and annotate your sources.
“Annotate” means give a short summary beneath each source, detailing its most
important information.
Length: 6 sources minimum, with a summary of 2-3 sentences per source.
 Format: Start with basic MLA formatting for a Works Cited page. Just beneath
each entry, you should include your 2-3 sentences summarizing that source.
Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is your reason for writing about a topic. It’s
the central point on which you want to change your reader’s mind. A thesis
statement should be debatable, meaning that opposing views are possible (and
your reader might already hold one!). Here are examples of questions that you
could answer with a thesis statement:
 Who is the better detective: Auguste Dupin or Sherlock Holmes? Or
perhaps Father Brown? Whose methods are more realistic? Who has the
better understanding of human nature?
 Which is the more important document: the Magna Carta or the
Declaration of Independence? Who had worse grievances: the barons
under King John or the colonists under Britain? Is the Magna Carta still
relevant today? Were the colonists right to declare independence from
Britain?
 Why should modern people care about ancient architecture? How
important is it to know about ziggurats? Why are the pyramids so famous?
How exactly were they built?

July 2: Class Meeting 3

Class Topics: Essay structure, review of thesis statements, reputable scholarly sources, and
MLA formatting.
Homework for next class:
Reading: Advanced Writing I, pp. 58, 69–72, 82, 99–101
 These pages all have sample essays on a range of topics. Study the formatting,
the pre-marked errors, and the fictional grader’s comments.

Due July 11: Capstone Research Essay

The Gist: Write a complete essay defending your thesis from the previous
assignment. (It’s OK to change your thesis as you do more thinking and
researching.)
Length: 700-900 words, including a Works Cited page.
Format: Use MLA formatting for the heading, paper appearance, and citations.
 Paper Structure: Write a short intro with a thesis statement, as many body
paragraphs as you need to support your thesis, and a conclusion. The conclusion
should begin with a restatement of the thesis. Cite at least 5 sources in the essay,
all with correct MLA citations. You should use summaries rather than quotations
where possible. If you do quote, make sure there’s a good reason to use the
author’s own words. Include a Works Cited page, but don’t include annotations,
since you’ll use your summaries in the body of your paper.

July 16: Class Meeting 4

Class Topics: Revising and proofreading a paper.

Homework as you revise your paper:

Reading: Advanced Writing I, pp. 24–37
 This is an overview of standard grammar and punctuation. Look up any issues
that are marked in the feedback on your assignments, and study the related
rules.

Due July 26: Revision

Your last assignment is to fully revise any previously submitted assignment, using
the guidelines we talk about in class. Make sure you correct everything marked in
the comments and the in-text changes. Also practice proofreading your
assignment to catch final errors. The revision will not be graded separately, but it
will raise the grade of the previous assignment.

Congratulations on finishing the course!