EN 1101 - College Writing I (Malloy)

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Research Assistance

Library staff members are always willing and eager to help you with your research.  You may schedule a meeting in advance, or simply stop by whenever the library is open.  Feel free to email, call, or text the library with your questions as well.  (See the left column of this page for contact information and texting instructions.)

Off-Campus Database Access

If you're doing research from home, click on the name of a database and then enter the same username and password you use for your DelVal email. If you have any problems or questions with this step, please call the Help Desk at 215-489-4357.

Book/DVD Circulation

Most books may be checked out for three weeks.  If no one is waiting for the titles, you may then renew them for another three weeks.  There is no limit to the number of books you may check out.  DVDs are available for three-day loans.  Did you know that the library has more than 1,500 popular movies and TV series?  You may check out a maximum of three DVDs at a time

 You many pick one of the two options below.  You will be required to find at last two outside supports in an outside source from the college databases; therefore, your works cited will have three sources, your anthology and your 2 outside sources.  Parenthetical citations are expected throughout.  This essay will be three pages in length:

According to Deane, males are more prized in the Chinese culture for a number of reasons including perpetuation of the family name and the ability to support their parents in their old age.  Likewise, Kincade’s depiction of her mother’s conveyance of the roles of women is bleak in her piece.  Your job is to use both pieces as a jump off point and determine whether or not these pieces are a loose depiction of what our society perpetuates here in the U.S.  Again, if it’s not a direct correlation, how does the connection still present in modern society. 

McCourt’s piece depicts the importance of familiarizing one’s self with one’s culture from an early age to foster the values and morals of that culture.  In the same way, ElSaaadawi discusses the ritual, cultural practice of circumcision of women in her article.  As we’ve discussed, this is a practice that has been practiced for generations and is embedded in the culture.  Although our author’s native Egypt banned the ritual in 2007, people still practice it there and in many of other countries around the world including the U.S.  Is it important to have a cornerstone of ritual and culture, or can one attain “success” just as easily without it.  Like with the former option, use both pieces as a jump off point for your position.

WRITE IN PHASES…

As usual, the first phase will be the pre-writing.  You may use any methodology you like as we’ve discussed in class, such as freewriting, questioning, listing, mapping, etc.

After prewriting, you should prepare your outline.  It should follow the persuasive/argumentative pattern or the five paragraph essay patter and should be in complete sentences.  The outline should be typed and contain four complete sentences, one for your thesis and three others for your primary support points.  Although secondary supports are not required, I encourage you to add them as this will facilitate and foster organization in your writing.

The third step it to write your first draft. 

Finally, you need to revisit your writing for the “complete” phase.  Remember, this is the phase in which you are checking the four phases of your paragraph: the structure, the body, the sentences, and the words.  Don’t forget to use transitional words and phrases for flow and cohesion, and remember to check for grammatical correctness and college level writing, which is not conversational.  You may refer to the worksheets that I’ve handed out in class

As discussed in class, it is very important to do your writing in phases giving yourself time to walk away and reflect in between sessions.  This will yield a better work product than waiting until the night before it’s due. 

Please make sure that when you hand in the final draft all of the above phases are in the other side of the folder for my review.  Also, when you bring your essay in for peer review, all of the components should be in the folder at that point.

You may email with any specific questions; and I encourage you to visit the learning center during your drafting phases. 

Please review your syllabus for due dates for this assignment.

This is just an example to demonstrate how to search the databases.

Question: "Are males more highly regarded in American society?"

Important things to remember...

• Try multiple databases
• Try multiple search terms in each database
• Use quotes around any phrases you want to stick together (i.e. "American culture" and males)
• Use pieces of the question. There might be no studies on exactly your question. You might have to use one study on American patriarchy and one on males in society. You can use some data from each article. It's not all or nothing.
• If you aren't finding any/many results, is it because your topic is so new that people aren't conducting studies on it yet? Is it new terminology? If so, what was the old terminology?

Keyword searches to try in databases:

gender roles in America

United States and male importance

American society and genders

American culture and genders

Chinese culture and males

female circumcision and culture

ritual and culture female circumcision

female circumcision in America

If you aren't getting the results you had hoped for, try changing the keywords. Use similar terms and synonyms.

• Try America AND United States. Maybe one provides more results.

RefWorks is a new way to collect, manage, and organize research.  You can read, annotate, organize, and cite your research as well as collaborate by sharing collections.

From simple bibliographies to papers formatted with in-text citations or footnotes, RefWorks handles it all. ​To learn more about RefWorks, use our RefWorks research guide.

RefWorks screencasts are available 24/7 on ProQuest's YouTube Channel. 

Click here to begin watching.

NOTE: MLA treats quotations and paraphrasing the same. 

(Last name Page)

Example:

(Dorris and Erdrich 23)

More than two authors

(Last name et al. Page)

Example:

(Burdick et al. 42)

 Last name, First name. "Article Title." Journal Title, vol., no. if available, year, pages. Database, if available. Stable URL, if available. 

Example: 

 Borroff, Marie. "Sound Symbolism as Drama in the Poetry of Robert Frost." PMLA, vol. 107, no. 1, Jan. 1992, pp. 131-44. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/462806.

Journal article with multiple authors

When a source has more than two authors, include Last name, First name, et al.

 Last name, First name, and First name Last name. "Article Title." Journal Title, vol., no. if available, year, pages. Database, if available. Stable URL, if available. 

Example: 

 Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdich. "The Crown of Columbus." PMLA, vol. 120, no. 3, May 1997, pp. 182-44. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/462806.

Last name, first name. Book Title. Publisher, abbreviated as appropriate, year. 

Example:

Borroff, Marie. Language and the Poet: Verbal Artistry in Frost, Stevens, and Moore. U of Chicago P, 1979.

Book with multiple authors

When a source has three or more authors, reverse the first name and follow it with a comma and et al.

Last name, first name, et al. Book Title. Publisher, abbreviated as appropriate, year. 

Example:

Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital Humanities, MIT P, 2012. 

Chapter in edited book

 Last name, first name. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor, Publisher, abbreviated as appropriate, year, pp. pages. 

Example:

 Bazin, Patrick. "Toward Metareading." The Future of the Book, edited by Geoffry Nunberg, U of California P, 1996, pp. 153-68.

 Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title, First name Last name of any other contributors, Version, Numbers, Date of publication, Location.

Example:

Tumola, Cristabelle. “NYC Developers Seek to Justify High Prices with New Amenities.” Metro [New York City], 9 Aug. 2016, p. 4.

Sometimes, websites do not clearly state who wrote the information on the page. When no author is listed, omit the author information from the citation. Start the citation with the title.

 Last name, First name. “Article or Page Title.” Website Title, Name of the publisher, Date of publication, URL.

Example:

 White, Lori. “The Newest Fad in People Helping People: Little Free Pantries.” Upworthy, Cloud Tiger Media, 3 Aug. 2016,
www.upworthy.com/the-newest-fad-in-people-helping-people-little-free-pantries?g=2&c=hpstream.

WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations. What makes it different from a Works Cited or standard Bibliography is that each citation is followed followed by 1-2 paragraphs which inform the reader about the source. You should reflect on how you plan to incorporate a source into your paper. 

1. The citation

In MLA format. Arranged alphabetically by author's last name.

2. The summary

Provide a brief overview detailing what your article or book is about. You can discuss the authority of the author, the intended audience, or how this fits into the literature in that field.

3. The analysis

Explain why this article or book is important to your argument. Show how it supports and/or refutes your argument. You might also discuss its limitations or biases. Be as specific as possible.

Contact the Library at library@delval.edu to request a new example and citation help!

The Writing Center is staffed by DelVal undergraduate peer tutors who help with writing assignments in all your courses. We view writing as a process that involves planning, reading, drafting, revising, and editing—writing with substance involves discovering your meaning through brainstorming, sharing, and getting lots of feedback.

Tutors help you gain a fresh perspective on the writing process, and can assist with any stage of the process:  choosing a topic or working through writer's block, generating ideas, creating an outline, sharpening a thesis, arranging and organizing paragraphs, citing correctly and fluently, editing grammar and mechanics, and more.

Instructors receive a copy of the tutor report completed during the session, to illustrate your engagement with the writing process and meeting the demands of writing across disciplines.

Services are on a walk-in basis, so no appointment is necessary. Schedules are posted in the Writing Center, on Inside DelVal, and on professors' Blackboard course pages.

Tutors look forward to working with you!