Williston Northampton School Writing Manual

THE WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL

WRITING MANUAL R E V I S E D 2 014 © SARAH SAWYER, WRITING CENTER DIRECTOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS WRITING AT WILLISTON: A GENERAL GUIDE TO THE ANALYTICAL ESSAY Plagiarism..............................................................................................................................................................................................................2 What is an Analytical Essay, Anyway?.....................................................................................................................................................................4 How Do I Begin?....................................................................................................................................................................................................6 The Typical Format of the Analytical Essay.............................................................................................................................................................7

BASIC GUIDES TO WRITING IN THE HUMANITIES AT WILLISTON (English, History and Global Studies, Fine Arts, and Language Departments)

Writing an Essay for English Class......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Writing an Essay for History and Global Studies Class..........................................................................................................................................10 Writing in the Fine Arts Department.................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Writing in the Language Department................................................................................................................................................................... 11

THE SCIENCES Writing in the Science Department...................................................................................................................................................................... 12

GENERAL GUIDES Style..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Usage................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 MLA Citation....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Works Cited......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 The Editing Process..............................................................................................................................................................................................23 Evaluation of Papers.............................................................................................................................................................................................25 Sample Outline....................................................................................................................................................................................................26 Sample Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................................27 Sample Body Paragraph........................................................................................................................................................................................28 Sample Works Cited Page.....................................................................................................................................................................................29 List of Useful Sources...........................................................................................................................................................................................30

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 1

PLAGIARISM Neither a borrower nor a lender be…

– William Shakespeare, Hamlet

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

WHY DO STUDENTS PLAGIARIZE?

The word “plagiarism” comes from the Latin word plagiarius, which means “kidnapper.” Quite literally, plagiarism is the act of kidnapping someone else’s ideas or words and passing them off as your own.

In the academic world, ideas and words are known as “intellectual property”; just as you wouldn’t want someone to take your dog or your little sister without your consent, you wouldn’t want anyone to take your intellectual property. You should do everything in your power to avoid becoming a kidnapper yourself.

Many students do not completely understand the concept of plagiarism and therefore do not follow the proper procedures when they are writing their papers. But as in most cases in life, ignorance is not an excuse. It is your responsibility as a student to understand the concept and to avoid plagiarism. If you are not sure whether or not to cite something, you can always ask.

HOW DO I AVOID PLAGIARISM?

Avoiding plagiarism is very simple. You must cite language or ideas from other sources. If you have any doubts about whether or not an idea is yours, you should cite it. “Citing” a quotation or an idea means formally acknowledging the source of your idea within your paper. It is easy when you know the proper format; most of your questions can probably be answered in the section on citation in this manual, but if you have a question you can always ask your teacher or consult one of the many websites or reference books on the subject (see page 30 for a list of possibilities).

Students who plagiarize often do so because they feel that if they admit that their idea is not “original” it won’t seem as valuable or intelligent. On the contrary, citing your sources reveals that you are a careful and conscientious academic who has considered many different sides to your argument; it also shows that you have taken the time to do research. In your classes at Williston, you are not always asked to do research outside of the text(s) you are writing about. If you are not required to do research, you should focus only on the text you are writing about, but you should still cite all of the sources for your ideas (classmates, parents, etc.) as well as any direct quotations.

Finally, students who leave their work to the last minute can often become panicked and resort to shortcuts like searching on the Internet for “Joe’s Fabulous Term Papers.” Keep in mind that the easiest way to avoid this problem is to plan ahead:

writing takes time and is difficult for everyone, so it doesn’t make sense to leave it to the night before a paper is due.

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM?

• Quoting lines or bits and pieces of text without acknowledging their source • Rephrasing ideas into your own language without acknowledging their source • Using ideas from another source and passing them off as your own…this includes the spoken word as well as the written word, so if your best friend or your mom gives you an idea, you should acknowledge that the idea is not yours • Looking up papers or concepts on the Internet and using them as your own • Using another student’s paper as your own ETC….you get the idea.

WHAT IS NOT PLAGIARISM?

• Using information that is commonly known…generally speaking, if information appears in more than five sources it can be considered “common

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 2

knowledge” rather than the intellectual property of an individual. For example, I learned the Latin word plagiarius when I was in high school, it appears in several dictionaries, and its definition is commonly used to clarify the English word “plagiarism.” I don’t need to cite any of those sources because the word’s meaning is common knowledge.

• Sometimes, your teacher might say that any ideas that arise from classroom discussion can be considered “common knowledge.” This is not always the case, however, so you should consult with your teacher to be sure.

All of this boils down to one concept: don’t use other people’s words or ideas without acknowledging where you got them.

Williston’s policy on academic dishonesty can be found on page 8 of the Student Handbook.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 3

WHAT IS AN ANALYTICAL ESSAY, ANYWAY? A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.

– Thomas Mann

A DEFINITION:

An analytical essay, which is also known as a critical essay, is a formal, thesis-driven essay that develops an argument about a topic. If this definition sounds broad, that’s because it is: the analytical essay can encompass a variety of forms and can emphasize a wide range of concepts.

Unlike many other types of writing, like journalistic writing or persuasive writing, analytical writing is almost exclusively confined to the academic world. It is unlikely, therefore, that you will find very many published examples of the kind of analytical essay that you are expected to write in high school. At the Williston Northampton School and at most other academic institutions, the analytical essay is used as a way to train students to think logically and express themselves clearly.

The best way to solidify the concept of the analytical essay in your mind is through practice. The rewards are well worth the toil: writing about your ideas can make you a better thinker and reader, two essential skills for the world beyond high school.

The analytical, or critical, essay does not express your likes or dislikes, despite what its name might lead you to believe. Rather, it is a forum to express your ability to read with an analytical, or critical, eye. This means that you have developed an idea, or a thesis, and you are attempting to make your perspective clear to the reader through the use of evidence and analysis.

While there are many different forms and lengths for the analytical essay, including

everything from the five-paragraph essay to the research paper, all of them include these three elements.

“…it is a powerful form of communication that needs practice.” — Matt Spearing

Use this analogy to describe the process of analytical writing: imagine that you are a lawyer and you are trying to prove that John the Butler committed a murder. You wouldn’t simply say to the jury, “John the Butler committed murder in the kitchen with a candlestick.” You would bring in the murder weapon, witnesses, and DNA analysis. Then you would give a speech convincing the jury that your theory, or thesis, is correct. When you are writing an analytical essay, your argument must be supported with evidence: the murder weapon, the witnesses, and the DNA analysis become your quotations from the texts you are using or the statistics from your research. But you can’t simply let the jury draw its own conclusions from this evidence! You must present your analysis, or your speech about how the DNA proves that John the Butler is the murderer.

Otherwise, no one will be convinced that what you are saying is true.

“…a well-crafted thank you note or sympathy letter can mean to world to someone.” —Logan Brown

WHY ARE MY TEACHERS TORTURING ME? OR, WHY WRITE

“…it helps us process information and communicate our feeling and ideas.” — Peter Valine “…good communication is vital for a fulfilling life.”

—Matt Sawyer “…learning how to be a good writer is learning how to be a good thinker.”—Bob Hill “…no matter what occupation we end up in one day, the skill of written communication is one of the most essential and transferrable skills we will ever learn.” —Mark Conroy “…it provides each of us the opportunity to develop a uniquely human and wonderfully complex form of communication.”

—Jeff Ketcham

IN SCHOOL?

“…writing facilitates thinking (whether deeper, broader, or more creative).” —Jane Lucia

Here are some thoughts from your teachers, coaches, and advisors: “We write in school because…”

“…it helps us remember and understand content and concepts.” —Claire Frierson

“…it feeds the soul.” —Ben Demerath

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 4

“…we write for the rest of our lives…if we’re lucky.”

—Andrew Shelffo “…we want to express in words what is so difficult to express in words.” —Winston Miller “…it is a fundamental and integral way to express our thoughts, opinions, and ideas.”

—Tim Cheney “…you have to write a lot when you are out of school. It’s all part of the preparation to be successful.” —Derek Cunha “…it fosters self-awareness and boosts communication skills.” —Ryan Tyree “…effective writing is an important lifelong skill.”

—Doug Niedzwecki

“…we communicate in life/we write in life/life is communication.” —Tom Johnson “…no matter what profession you choose, you will need to express yourself on paper-and a lot will depend on how clearly and persuasively you do so!” —Beatrice Cody “…on the most practical level, we write in school because writing is one of the two main ways of communicating our ideas, and by writing in school, students develop and practice the skills to communicate information and ideas as effectively as possible.” —Emily Vezina “…the vast majority of us, in order to do all of the cool things we want to do in our lives, need to know how to write well to do them. Also, we write in school because when we get older, our friends are far more entertained by the emails we write to them

if we know how to use words effectively.

So, basically, our friends will think we are cooler, for our entire lives, if we know how to write well!” —Chris Dietrich “…we will need to write in “real life” (after school) and practice makes us better.” —Swanee “…a well-crafted thank you note or sympathy letter can mean to world to someone.” Logan Brown And my personal favorite: “We write in school because we have so much to say.”

—Greg Tuleja

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 5

HOW DO I BEGIN? Any structure that you dream up before actually getting your hands dirty is apt to be like a plan you work out for travel in an unfamiliar country: it usually has to be changed once you get there and see how things really work.

— Peter Elbow, Writing With Power

All good writing comes from good reading.

If you have read carefully, paying attention to detail and nuance, to the big picture and the small, you will likely have lots of great ideas for your paper. Make sure to take notes when you read for school so that you can find important moments in the text when you need them later! If you are having trouble with your reading, whether because you feel that you are missing important ideas or you read too slowly to keep up with your class, you should seek help from your teacher. There are many reading techniques that go beyond those normally taught in the classroom that are sure to help you.

Once you have read carefully and you are ready to start your assignment, the very first thing you should do is to make sure that you understand what you are being asked to do. Have you been given a specific topic or question to answer? Have you been asked to create your own topic? Do you feel confident about the materials you are being asked to cover? Often the most helpful thing you can do to prepare for a paper is to review the text(s) you are discussing. For example, if you are writing about Romeo and Juliet, you might go back through the play and review any of the passages you have marked. You might pay special attention to the passages that are the most perplexing to you: these mysterious spots are often the most fruitful ones to write about because they invite the

curious reader to exercise those creative muscles. The most important thing to do at this point is to make observations about the text(s). What was most interesting to you?

Now—start writing. Many writers come to dread the moment that they confront the blank page or the buzzing and empty computer screen. Though the temptation is strong to begin checking your Instagram or watching cat videos on YouTube, resist!

Writing is a time-consuming process, and the sooner you begin, the better off you’ll be. Find a quiet corner of the library, tell your roommate to take a long walk, or drag your pad of paper out onto the quad. Make some space for yourself and begin.

As you gain more experience as a writer, you will have a better idea of what “beginning” a piece of writing means for you. The list that follows contains some possibilities—combine them, add to them, or delete them at your will. You might have to do a little experimentation to find the method that works best for you.

This method involves laying out the structure of your entire argument before you begin and is particularly wellsuited to the long research paper. See page 26 for an example of a typical outline.

OUTLINE:

structure in order to generate ideas.

Simply write about your topic for some sustained period of time (ten minutes, for example) and allow your mind to wander.

After you have finished, look over your ideas to see whether you have generated anything worth pursuing.

This method involves focusing on your main idea and listing possible passages or connections you might be able to make. Look for the connections between ideas and try to write a sentence or two about the ways that the various elements of your list connect together.

LIST:

This method includes idea webs, flow charts, storyboards, or any other drawing-based method that works for you. Ask your teacher for more ideas if you like this type of outlining.

VISUAL OUTLINE:

Remember that you shouldn’t be too concerned about the form of your paper when you begin: the important thing at this point is to formulate an idea that is interesting and clear. Eventually, this idea will become the core of your paper, so it is important to take your time developing it.

This brainstorming method involves writing without a defined FREE-WRITE:

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 6

THE TYPICAL FORMAT OF THE ANALYTICAL ESSAY “Begin at the beginning,” the King said, gravely, “and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”

– Lewis Carroll

Many of you have already encountered the five-paragraph essay (an introductory paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph). This type of essay is the most basic form of the analytical essay and can be a very helpful blueprint for your growing ideas about writing analytically because it includes all of the important elements of the more complex essay: a thesis, evidence, and analysis. Once you are comfortable with the basic five-paragraph format, it makes sense to move forward by increasing the length and intricacy of your argument.

Still, this basic form will remain: I. INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

The introduction serves a variety of purposes: as its name suggests, it introduces your main idea or thesis, but it also sets the tone for your argument and creates a blueprint for the way your argument will proceed. A thesis will usually appear towards the end of the introductory paragraph, and the beginning of the introductory paragraph should provide necessary and engaging context for your idea. There is no need to be general, however: I would lose my audience right away if I began a paper about Romeo and Juliet by writing, “Shakespeare’s love poems have been adored by generations of readers.” Who cares? Your reader only cares about what

you think: be specific and clear right from the beginning.

II. BODY PARAGRAPHS

In an analytical essay, you might have two or three body paragraphs or you might have fifteen, depending on how many points you want to make. Each of your points should have its own separate paragraph: this is partly to ensure that you back up each of your points with evidence.

The body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, which is a kind of minithesis that introduces the argument of the paragraph to follow. Just like the thesis of your paper, your topic sentence should never be a fact. It should be an idea that you can support with evidence and analysis. For example, the first topic sentence in my Shakespeare paper might be, “The rigid rhyme structure of the Prologue creates a sense of confinement and control.” This sentence gives me a lot to work with: I have to show my reader where my idea came from and I have to prove its truth.

Each body paragraph must also include evidence, which means that you must include a quotation that supports your argument. Find a quotation that means something: this is a central piece of your argument, and you can ruin your point

by choosing an irrelevant or tangential quotation. In my Shakespeare paragraph, I might say, “By rhyming ‘scene’ and ‘unclean,’ Shakespeare immediately exposes the tragic outcome of the play: the ‘scene’ that the audience is about to watch will be ‘unclean,’ and there is no way to escape the play’s written outcome.”

Next I would give thorough analysis of my evidence and connect it to my larger thesis. Pay attention also to the way that you end each paragraph so that it will flow smoothly into the next: this is known as a transition. Usually this is done naturally and is only noticeable when it is unsuccessful.

III. CONCLUSION

The conclusion’s job is to wrap up your argument. Do not repeat your introduction or your thesis in your

if you haven’t articulated your idea clearly before now, that’s a bad sign, and if you have, your reader doesn’t want to hear it again. The conclusion is a place to tie up loose ends and, if possible, push your argument into new and interesting territory. Don’t force it if you don’t have anything else to say. concluding paragraph:

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 7

WRITING AN ESSAY FOR ENGLISH CLASS THE THESIS: WHY OR HOW?

This is the hardest part of analytical writing, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right away. The thesis presents the argument of your essay in a sentence or two in the introduction. You really can’t go wrong if your thesis connects observation to analysis. What did you notice in your reading or research? What do these observations prove or reveal? Your goal is to strike a balance between expressing your idea clearly and not “spilling the beans” of your argument.

A thesis should NEVER be fact. For example, “Shakespeare was a poet” is not a good thesis and would certainly not pass the test of asking “why is this important?”

Neither would “Shakespeare wrote many poems about love.” Your thesis should reveal your individual insight about what you are reading. For example, “In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses the rhyme scheme of the Prologue to express fate’s control over the events of the play” might work as a thesis for a paper that intended to discuss the way that the Prologue’s form relates to fate, a major theme in Romeo and Juliet. If this were my thesis, I would be expressing my view without going into it in too much detail. I would also be connecting an observation (I have paid careful attention to the rhyme scheme of the Prologue) to analysis (I have an idea about the purpose of that rhyme scheme).

This is the “butler committed murder in the kitchen with a candlestick” part of my paper.

Remember that a good thesis will likely shift over time as you refine your argument. The more thinking you do, the more complex your ideas will become.

Don’t be afraid to alter your thesis accordingly.

EVIDENCE: FLOUR, NOT ICING

Quotations, quotations, quotations! You cannot write an analytical paper without them. If I were writing about the Prologue in Romeo and Juliet, I would need to include it in my paper, along with any other relevant passages. I would also need to cite them properly since I didn’t write them myself. Quotations are the “murder weapon” in our courtroom analogy. Or, if you tire of murders, think about cake…

Choose your passages according to their usefulness and their relevance to your argument. The passages should be long enough to contain useful evidence for your argument, but not so long that they overwhelm your own writing. Usually, one or two passages per paragraph works well.

You can think of this analogy: the passage should be the flour, not the icing, to your “thesis cake.” In other words, they are there to provide the essential element of evidence to your argument, not to make it look pretty.

ANALYSIS

Analyzing your evidence means connecting your quotation back to your main idea. You should never leave a quotation to stand by itself: your reader might not make the same connections that you do. It is your job to make your idea as clear as possible to your reader. This is where you convince the jury—your reader—that what you are arguing is true.

Using words like “show,” “prove,” “reveal,” “illuminate,” or “connect” after your quotation can help ensure that you have connected the quotation to your thesis.

You should write at least two or three sentences that attempt to directly connect your quotation to your topic sentence/ thesis.

SOME GENERAL CONVENTIONS FOR FORMAL WRITING IN ENGLISH

• Do not use “I” or “you.”

• Write about the texts in the present tense.

• No contractions.

• Do not summarize the plot of the story.

• Use MLA format for citation.

OTHER POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS IN ENGLISH CLASS

The study of literature is really the study of human beings and how we express ourselves through writing. To that end, there are many angles your teachers may use to help you see how stories work. Here are some examples: • Analytical Paragraphs These paragraphs ask you to write a single body paragraph, without worrying about developing an entire argument. The key to these assignments is to pick a great passage to discuss.

• Comparison Essays These essays ask you to hold two works of literature side by side. The key here is to remember that you need to use the comparison to reveal a new idea. Your reason for comparing them can’t simply be “because my teacher told me so.” The structure for these types of essays can be tricky. Try to

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 8

avoid going back and forth like a long rally in a tennis match.

• Response Papers In these papers, you are recording your responses to a prompt or a reading. Your response might range in topic from the text itself to how it made you feel or what it made you think about; in response papers, you may use “I” and less formal or more speculative language (“maybe the author is trying to…”).

• Creative Assignments These assignments might range from poetry to the short story. You are free here to experiment and become an author yourself!

• Storytelling Check out themoth.org for some fabulous examples. If you have to perform your story for your class, make sure to practice.

• Online Writing This type of writing is hugely varied and includes everything from blog posts to creating Facebook profiles or Twitter feeds for authors. Stay tuned for your assignments!

• Journalism Assignments These types of assignments are generally part of one of our journalism classes and follow their own conventions and set of ethics. Sign up for a class to find out more about them!

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 9

WRITING AN ESSAY FOR HISTORY AND GLOBAL STUDIES CLASS THE RESEARCH PAPER

Writing an essay in history will usually involve some kind of research. Research is the process of finding and examining sources that are relevant to your topic and then choosing the items that are most useful to you as you create an argument.

In history, often your thesis will connect CAUSE and EFFECT (“The two most important causes of the French Revolution were lower-class unrest and unfair taxation policies.”).

HERE ARE SOME KEY STEPS TO FOLLOW AS YOU WRITE YOUR HISTORY PAPER:

1. Choose your topic carefully. Sometimes you will be given a specific direction for your research or a specific prompt to answer. Other times, such as in your United States History class, you will be required to choose your own topic. Be sure to choose a topic that is interesting to you and that you can adequately research.

It is better to pick a specific topic (“Ella Fitzgerald’s role in the male-dominated jazz world of the 1950s”) than a broad one (“Women in the 1950s”). Be flexible and allow yourself to alter your topic as your research leads you down new and interesting paths. It is often helpful to consider a question that is interesting to you: “How did Ella Fitzgerald become famous in the 1950s?”

2. Find and evaluate sources. You should absolutely use the many resources that Williston has to offer. The librarians are excited to help you locate the best sources, and your teachers have great ideas too. If you find yourself beginning your research

paper on the Dust Bowl by Googling “Dust Bowl,” head straight to the library instead!

For your paper, you need sources that are rich and reputable. You also need sources that truly support your argument (flour, not icing!).

3. Keep track of your sources. As you research, keep your sources organized so that you can properly cite them in your paper. Citation is a time-consuming process, and it can become a real headache if you have to find the sources again.

4. Develop your thesis. Remember that a topic is not a thesis: if you forget to make a thesis, you will end up with a twentypage encyclopedia entry on Ella Fitzgerald rather than a research paper. You need an IDEA that will drive your paper. Think about OBSERVATION and ANALYSIS, or CAUSE and EFFECT. Again, don’t be afraid to alter your thesis as your idea develops over the course of the writing process.

5. Outline. Outlining is the process of sorting your information into an order that highlights the argument you are making.

You may not need all of the information that you have found, or you may need to find more about a particular topic. Often, longer research papers in history include an introduction with a thesis, a brief section on historical context, the body of the argument, and then the conclusion.

hungry, that’s for sure.

7. Write. Find a quiet space and dig it out!

8. Edit. Another pair of eyes can really help here! Bring your draft to the Writing Center and/or your teacher. Make sure you leave yourself ample time for this process and for making any necessary changes.

SOME GENERAL CONVENTIONS FOR FORMAL WRITING IN HISTORY

• Use past tense when speaking about the past.

• Use endnotes or footnotes (listen to your teacher!) for longer papers.

• Never use “I.” • Use MLA format for citation.

OTHER POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS IN HISTORY CLASS

• Document-based Questions, a.k.a.

“DBQs”: These questions, based on those frequently asked on AP history exams, require you to evaluate primary documents and write a thesis-driven essay in response to the provided question.

• Less formal response papers • Newspaper articles • Biographies

6. Plan. Give yourself ample time to write your paper. One good rule of thumb is that it takes an hour to write a page. When do you write well? In the morning? The evening? No one writes well when tired or

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 10

WRITING IN THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT Writing in the Fine Arts Department might take a variety of forms, such as journal entries, artist’s statements, reviews, response papers, or formal art history papers. However, just as in your English or history classes, the main idea is the same: your teachers are interested in developing your skills of observation and analysis so that you can become more engaged in the world around you. In the case of the arts, you are working with your visual and auditory senses, so don’t be afraid to be specific, and don’t forget to express an argument/idea: “The color yellow in the left corner causes the viewer’s eye to…”

If your assignment is less formal, such as a journal or a response paper, you should feel free to use “I,” “maybe,” and other language you might avoid in a formal paper.

Some items you might discuss include your personal reaction to the piece of art, what you think it means, how it was made, or what it makes you think about.

More formal assignments in the Fine Arts Department include artist’s statements and art history papers. An artist’s statement might be hung up as part of an exhibition or performance and therefore needs to be suitable for public viewing. An artist’s statement should include your purpose,

your techniques, and any necessary additional thoughts or acknowledgements.

Art history papers, like analytical papers in English and history, are thesis-driven papers based on your observations about a piece of art. You can refer back to those sections for information about the structure and purpose of the analytical paper. Use MLA format for all citations in the Fine Arts Department.

WRITING IN THE LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT Writing for your Language Department classes might take many of the same forms as your other humanities classes, but usually with an added wrinkle: writing in a foreign language! You can refer to information throughout this manual for structure and MLA citation.

When you are asked to write in a foreign language, your teacher is asking you to demonstrate your facility with the language you are learning. The use of any translation mechanism, such as Google Translator, is expressly forbidden and is a form of aca-

Remember, mistakes are expected and help you learn. demic dishonesty.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 11

WRITING IN THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT The sciences, including everything from physics to psychology, use the APA format for citation rather than the MLA format. A good resource for this citation method is the Purdue OWL website’s section on APA formatting, which can be found here.

The two most common assignments in the sciences are the research paper and the lab report. For the research paper, you can consult the section on research in this manual on page 11, but be sure to use APA citation. For the lab report, you can usually follow the basic format below. Each topic heading can be a separate, named section in your final lab report.

State the goal and context for the lab. What question are you seeking to answer? What do you think will happen?

Purpose:

This section requires that you analyze the results of your experiment and must be completed individually. How did your results compare to your initial hypothesis? Were there flaws in your experiment? What conclusions, if any, can you draw from your results?

Analysis/Conclusion:

Be sure to follow the more specific instructions you will receive from your teacher.

SOME GENERAL CONVENTIONS FOR WRITING IN THE SCIENCES:

• • • •

No “I” or “you” in a lab report.

Cite all sources.

Be as concise as possible.

Relate all conclusions directly to data.

State the equipment and materials for the lab and the steps you took to complete your experiment.

Procedure:

In this section, record the results of each stage of your experiment.

This section might include graphs, tables, and other visuals that should be neatly and carefully completed.

Observations/Data:

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 12

STYLE Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can.

That is the only secret of style.

– Matthew Arnold

For some people, a natural and easy writing style simply appears, as if from nowhere, with very little effort. The rest of us have to work at it. The goal is to find a voice that sounds just like you, except clearer, more confident, and with the added benefit of a few hours of preparation. Surprisingly enough, there are a few specific things you can do to take a shortcut to this kind of writing voice:

This applies to all aspects of your writing. If the sentence above read, “Something bad happened to someone,” we would have no idea about the drooling alligator. Be careful of your pronouns (“he,” “she,” “it,” etc.); make sure that they have clear antecedents. (In the sentence “The boy screamed but no one heard him,” the antecedent for “him” is “the boy.”)

Be specific.

Try to find a new way to begin your

Thousands of students before you have begun papers with the fatal words, “Webster’s defines ‘revenge’ as…” or “Shakespeare was a man…” Be original! paper.

Avoid telling your reader what you are

In the immortal words of that Nike ad, “just do it.” Do not write, “In this paper I will tell you about…” about to do.

Be especially wary of the words “it” Pay close attention to the verbs in your

They give sentences their force, so they should be descriptive but not overly exuberant. Your verbs should also be consistent in their tense: don’t shift around from present tense to past tense and back again. Even more important, verbs should almost always be active, not passive sentences.

(laboratory science is an exception to

Sentences that begin, “It is important…” or “That means…” are almost always vague and unclear. and “that.”

Use the present tense to describe events

this can apply to the argument itself or to more specific phrases. Also, do not overuse single words (especially verbs and words like “however”).

Although it sounds bizarre, you should write, “In The Odyssey, Homer writes…” or “Odysseus sails past the Sirens” even though Homer is long gone and Odysseus is just dust in the wind.

We English students are a gullible bunch: every time we open a book, the world inside it lives again.

Vary your sentence length and structure.

In almost all cases, avoid using “I” in

Ten sentences in a row that begin, “After having read this book,” will make the reader very sleepy.

your most formal papers.

Do not repeat yourself:

in literature.

this rule):

The young boy was eaten. (Who ate him? What’s going on here? This sentence uses a passive verb, “was eaten,” and does not give the reader some very essential information.)

Do not hand in papers without checking

Do not rely on your computer to catch all of your errors. them thoroughly.

v.

The drooling alligator ate the young boy.

(Aha! It is all clear to me now because the active verb, “ate,” has a subject: the drooling alligator. What a way to die!)

Some elements of style apply more

Here are some style tips for your English or history papers: specifically to analytical essays.

This guideline might seem a bit strange since everyone knows that you are writing your own paper, but there is a sound argument behind it: the use of “I” (as in, “I think that Huck Finn symbolizes the plight of the liberal South”) tends to invite some lazy arguing. If you think that you’re right, how can anyone argue with you? If you present your argument as well-supported fact rather than personal opinion, it will sound all the more convincing.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 13

If you are writing about Romeo and Juliet, you should not call your paper Romeo and Juliet. Find something that expresses a little bit—not too much—about your paper’s topic: “The Friar’s Cowardice” might work.

Find a good title for your paper.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 14

USAGE From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.

– Sir Winston Churchill

The English language is quite complicated, so complicated that it has its own little category of “common errors.” But why be common? A quick perusal of these rules will make your writing clearer and more effective.

Write in complete sentences.

Avoid

sentence fragments: I like you because you have a wonderful sense of humor.

Correct:

I like you. Because of your sense of humor.

I wrote my paper on “The Ax-Helve”; unfortunately, I got a C-.

Updike writes, “Jade and cinnamon: do you deny that such things exist?”

(119).

Incorrect: Use a comma between items in a series:

I went to the store and bought apples, bananas, and lighter fluid.

Join independent clauses with a

Watch out for dangling or

These can make your sentences sound a little bit ridiculous: misplaced modifiers.

conjunction (“and,” “but,” “nor,” “for,” etc.). Use a comma if the subject changes from the first independent clause to the

Tripping on my shoelaces, I felt embarrassed.

Correct:

You can remember that old song: “One of these things is not like the other; one of these things just doesn’t belong…”

Use parallel construction.

Updike’s stories are concerned with love, betrayal, and old age. (“Love,” “betrayal,” and “old age” are all nouns.)

Correct:

next.

Tripping on my shoelaces, the crowd laughed at me. (This sentence makes it sound like the crowd tripped on the narrator’s shoelaces.)

Incorrect:

I went to buy some chicken, but the store only had roast beef.

Correct:

I went to buy some chicken, the store only had roast beef.

Incorrect:

Updike’s stories are concerned with love, betrayal, and how people get old. (The clause “how people get old” does not fit in with the established pattern of nouns.)

Incorrect:

Periods and commas go inside quotation marks.

Titles of plays, magazines, novels, and books are underlined or italicized.

She ran around the block and found her friends.

I have read a poem by Philip Larkin called “High Windows.”

She ran around the block, and found her friends.

Philip Larkin wrote “The Whitsun Weddings,” “High Windows,” and “Aubade.”

Correct:

Incorrect:

Semi-colons must be used to join two

The semi-colon is interchangeable with the colon.

Titles of stories, articles, essays, poems,

independent clauses.

Exclamation points, question marks,

not

semi-colons and colons go outside the quotation marks unless they are part of

I saw that movie last week; I liked the special effects.

Although underlining and italicizing are interchangeable, you should italicize if you have the capacity to do so (i.e., if you are writing on a computer).

the material being quoted.

I loved the poem “Aubade”!

songs, and chapter titles are “quoted.”

In general, parts of a whole are in quotation marks, while the larger work is in italics. For example, the poetry collection called Sailing Alone Around the

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 15

Room, by Billy Collins, contains many single poems in quotation marks.

The title of your own essay should NOT be “quoted,” italicized, underlined, or bold.

It should be in the same size (12pt) and font as the body of your paper.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 16

MLA CITATION I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.

– Seneca “Citation” is the process of acknowledging the sources of your ideas or quotations. Most academic institutions use the MLA citation system, which can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, for citation in the humanities. The MLA format changes regularly but its basic principle remains: you must cite the sources of your ideas and quotations with their author, source (book, article, etc.), and page number. While you should use footnotes or endnotes for longer essays such as research papers, shorter essays use the form of citation called “parenthetical citation.” For more information about citation, you should consult the incredibly useful Purdue OWL website.

HOW TO USE PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS 1. COPY THE PASSAGE YOU ARE USING INTO YOUR PAPER.

The passage below appears on page 3 of Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger: Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.” That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.

2. INCORPORATE THE PASSAGE INTO YOUR PARAGRAPH SO THAT IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE ARGUMENT YOU ARE MAKING.

Use only the portion of the passage that applies to your point. There are a number of ways to incorporate a quoted passage into your text: •

The Colon:

The narrator’s tone is flat and unemotional: “That doesn’t mean anything” (3).

Note that there is a space between the closing quotation marks and the parentheses. There is no space between the parentheses and the period.

•

The Comma:

•

Incorporating the Quoted Passage into Your Own Text:

Camus writes, “Maybe it was yesterday” (3).

The narrator seems unemotional; the statement “that doesn’t mean anything”

contributes to the sense that he is unfeeling (3).

•

Adding the Ellipsis:

If you don’t need the entire quotation and you would like to remove certain words, use the ellipsis to replace the

words you took out: The narrator’s tone is flat and unemotional: “Maman died today… That doesn’t mean anything” (3).

3. CITE THE PASSAGE YOU ARE USING.

There are three possible basic formats for parenthetical citation, each of which depends on the placement of the quoted passage in your essay.

•

If the passage you are citing is the first passage you have quoted from that particular work, you must include all of the relevant information (author, title, page number). Follow this formula exactly: The First Quoted Passage or One of Two or More Sources:

Meursault’s commentary on his mother’s death seems detached, especially when he says, “Maybe it was yesterday” (Camus, The

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 17

Stranger 3).

Note the format of this citation: there is a comma between the author and the title, but there is no comma between the title and the page number. Note also that the period of the sentence goes after the citation, not within the quoted sentence.

Incorrect: Camus writes, “Maybe it was yesterday.” (Camus, The Stranger 3).

•

After you have cited your first passage with all of the required information, you may use the abbreviated form of the parenthetical citation for the quoted passages to follow.

The Second (or Third, or Fourth, etc.) Quoted Passage from a Single Work:

Camus writes, “Maybe it was yesterday” (3).

Note that the period of the sentence is still after the parenthetical citation.

•

If the passage you plan to quote takes up more than four lines in your paper (not in the source from which you are quoting), indent the entire quotation one inch from the left margin and type it double-spaced. Do not use quotation marks in this case; the indenting will act as quotation marks. Usually this type of quotation is introduced by a colon.

A Quoted Passage of More Than Four Lines:

Setting the scene for Meursault’s discontent, Camus writes: I caught the two o’clock bus. It was very hot. I ate at the restaurant, at Celeste’s, as usual. Everybody felt very sorry for me, and Celeste said, “You only have one mother.” When I left, they walked me to the door…I ran so as not to miss the bus. It was probably because of all the rushing around, and on top of that the bumpy ride, the smell of gasoline, and the glare of the sky and the road, that I dozed off. (3-4) Through claustrophobic physical detail, the description conveys the narrator’s essential unease.

Note that the citation appears after the period in this case, and that the text of the essay continues on the original left-hand margin. Also note the format of the page numbers.

SOME OTHER COMMON VARIATIONS OF THE PARENTHETICAL CITATION FORMAT: QUOTING POETRY

When quoting poetry, retain all of the punctuation and capitalization. Indicate the line breaks (if you are quoting fewer than three lines) with a slash (“/”).

Philip Larkin’s “Next, Please” uses delicate and exact rhymes throughout the poem: “Watching from a bluff the tiny, clear, / Sparkling armada of promises draw near” (5-6).

Note that in this case, the page number is replaced with the line number of the poem.

If you are quoting more than three lines of poetry, indent the passage one inch from the left margin and reproduce it exactly as it appears in the text:

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 18

Philip Larkin’s “Next Please” ends with a change in rhythm that contrasts with the beginning of the poem: Only one ship is seeking us, a blackSailed unfamiliar, towing at her back A huge and birdless silence. In her wake No waters breed or break. (21-24) Quoting Drama

If you are quoting from a single character, follow the rules for prose quotations. If you are quoting from more than one character, indent the quotation one inch from the left margin and reproduce the passage as it appears in the text.

In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Stoppard mocks the conventions of the theater with this conversation between Rosencrantz and the Player: ROS: Let your imagination run riot. They are beyond surprise.

PLAYER: To take part?

ROS: To watch.

PLAYER: Watch what?

ROS: A private performance.

PLAYER: How private?

ROS: Well, there are only two of us. Is that enough?

PLAYER: For an audience, disappointing. For voyeurs, about average. (24) Stoppard says that there is no real difference between an audience and a voyeur.

THAT WILY OLD GOAT, WILL SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare’s plays were printed in a variety of versions called quartos and folios, some of which contain different line numbers and even different lines. To be as clear as possible about the location of your lines, you should include the act, scene, and line numbers. You should also consider whether or not the lines you are quoting are written in blank verse, which is a form of poetry and therefore follows the rules for citing poetry, or in prose, which follows the rules for citing prose.

In his death soliloquy, Romeo revisits the imagery of fate that he has followed throughout the play: “Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on/The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!” (V.iii.117-118).

Note that the act is in CAPITAL ROMAN NUMERALS and the scene is in lower case Roman numerals. Also remember that if you are quoting more than three lines of poetry or four lines (within your text) of prose, you must indent the passage one inch from the left margin and change the format of the parenthetical citation.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 19

USING ENDNOTES AND FOOTNOTES

For longer papers, you will use endnotes or footnotes. Endnotes, as the name suggests, are numbered citations that direct the reader of your paper to a list of citations that appears at the end of your paper. Footnotes are numbered citations that direct the reader to a citation that appears at the bottom of the page on which the citation appears.

AN ENDNOTE WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Kashiwagi’s voice is both engaging and oddly vacant when he explains, “That’s why I made a clean break of it and said: ‘I don’t love you.’”i At the end of the paper, you would find a list of notes that use the following format: i. Yukio Mishima. The Temple of the Golden Pavillion (New York: Vintage International) 97.

After the first endnote from a source, you can use a shorter format: ii. Mishima 99.

If your citation comes from exactly the same place, your endnote would look like this: iii. Ibid.

FOOTNOTES

You might also be asked to use footnotes in your research papers. A footnote looks this this: Kashiwagi’s voice is both engaging and oddly vacant when he explains, “That’s why I made a clean break of it and said: ‘I don’t love you.’”1 Look at the bottom of this page for the format of a footnote…

All of this information appears in more detail in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, which can be found in the Writing Center and behind the library desk, and at the Purdue OWL website. Your best resource is your teacher: do these references in the way that your teacher requires.

1

Yukio Mishima. The Temple of the Golden Pavillion (New York: Vintage International) 97.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 20

WORKS CITED The last page of your research paper or analytical essay is a page titled “Works Cited,” which is an alphabetical list of all the sources you have used for your paper. Your teacher might not require a “Works Cited” page if you are only working with a single text, but you should always ask to make sure.

There is a specific format for the entries on the “Works Cited” page; a number of different examples appear below. Take note of the form for each entry and copy it exactly. If you need to include a different type of text or entry than those that appear below, consult the MLA Handbook or the Purdue OWL for the format you should follow.

SOME IMPORTANT TIPS:

• • •

The entire “Works Cited” page is double-spaced The entries appear alphabetically.

Each entry begins at the left margin and is indented 1 ⁄2 inch (10 spaces) if the entry runs over one line.

A BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR:

Author’s Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publishing House, Date of Publication.

Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. New York: Grove Press, 1967.

A SECOND BOOK BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems. London: The Marvell Press, 1989.

---. A Girl in Winter. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1976.

A BOOK BY TWO OR MORE AUTHORS:

Welch, Joanne, and Robert Brasher. The Anatomy of the Body. Amherst: The College Press, 1943.

Note that the name of the second author is not reversed.

AN EDITION:

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992.

This type of entry is especially relevant to editions of Shakespeare.

A WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY:

The following is a sample entry for an Allende story, “Toad’s Mouth,” that appeared in the anthology A Hammock beneath the Mangoes on pages 83-88:

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 21

Allende, Isabel. “Toad’s Mouth.” Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas

Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88.

AN ONLINE SOURCE:

Editor or Author Name (if available). Name of Site in Italics. Name of publisher, date of creation of website.

Web. Date that you accessed the site. <www.site address if your teacher requires it>.

It is especially important to include the date that you accessed the page. Remember to be cautious about the academic authenticity of web sites.

AN ARTICLE REPRINTED IN A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES OR ESSAYS:

Griffith Jr., Kelley. “Form in the Blithedale Romance.” American Literature. Vol. XL, No. 1, March, 1968: 15-26. Reprinted in Nineteenth

See

Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Mullane. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1988. 17: 133-36.

page 29 for a sample “Works Cited” page.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 22

THE EDITING PROCESS OR, HOW TO MAKE YOUR PAPER (ALMOST) PERFECT Now that you have spent a lifetime creating your first draft, it’s time to rip it apart! Most writers dread editing their work because the process of creating that first draft can be so exhausting, but editing is the most important—and the most often overlooked—part of the writing process. Here is your chance to hone your argument, clarify your analysis, and catch all those little errors that your computer blithely ignores. More importantly, it is your chance to make sure that you’ve said exactly what you wanted to say in a clear and engaging way.

Editing a paper takes a lot of time, so it is important that you plan ahead. You should NOT edit late at night or while you are watching television; find a quiet spot and plan on concentrating for an hour or so at a time. Your ideas deserve the best attention that you can give them!

HOW DO I START?

1. Good news: the first thing to do is to set aside your paper for a while. It’s best to ignore it for at least a day, but a few hours will do. This step will allow you to return to your paper with a fresh, new perspective.

2. Print out a copy of your paper and write the draft number at the top. This step will allow you to keep track of the changes you have made, just in case you like an earlier version better or you want to show your teacher the evidence of your editing genius.

3. Read your paper out loud. You may feel like a lunatic, but this method will allow you to catch errors more easily and help you to identify awkward or otherwise confusing sentences. If you stumble over a sentence when you are reading it out loud, chances are your reader won’t be able to follow you either.

4. Mark your errors and the changes you want to make. When you go back to your computer, you want to be able to find the places you want to work on.

5. If possible, at this point you should give your paper to someone else to read. Your teacher, a tutor at the Writing Center, your roommate, your parents or your siblings would all make good audiences.

You need to make the changes yourself, but they might be able to suggest places that need more work. Ask them to tell you what you argued in the paper: if their answer is wildly different from what you intended, you know you need to go back to the drawing board.

6. Make your changes and start again at step 1.

REMEMBER: YOUR WRITING IS NOT CARVED IN STONE. Any sentence can be changed (and, perhaps, changed back again).

“you’re,” “there” for “their,” etc.

2. Sentence flow and structure. Reading aloud will help you hear some of these problems.

3. Logic. It is useful to make an outline of your own paper after you have finished so that you can be sure that you said what you intended to say.

4. Analysis. Did you include evidence to prove your ideas? Did you discuss that evidence thoroughly?

5. Transitions. Do your sentences and paragraphs flow smoothly into each other?

TRY THIS PROOFREADING CHECKLIST: MY PAPER HAS:

a title that indicates the topic and thesis a clear thesis statement that presents the central argument of the paper topic sentences at the beginning of each body paragraph one main idea per body paragraph

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR?

textual evidence to support each point

1. Errors in grammar, punctuation, citation format, or spelling. Your computer will not catch errors such as typing “your” for

specific analysis of the textual evidence

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 23

proper citation format: “quotation” (#). smooth transitions between sentences and between paragraphs variety of sentence structure use of the proper verb tense (present tense when discussing literature) correct spelling excellent grammar MY PAPER DOES NOT HAVE:

passive voice imprecise words (especially the pronouns “it” and “this”) slang sentences that discuss your paper within the paper (“In this paper I will prove…”)

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 24

EVALUATION OF PAPERS These are the general standards by which analytical essays are evaluated:

• use creative, vivid language to express that understanding

A C (AVERAGE) PAPER WILL:

A D PAPER WILL:

• fulfill the assignment

• lack a clearly developed central thesis

• have a fairly clear thesis and a logical argument

• lack evidence and analysis • make more than a few mechanical errors

• have body paragraphs that attempt to use specific evidence and analysis to support the thesis • have few errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, or analytical citation format

AN F PAPER WILL:

• fail to fulfill the assignment • lack a central thesis • lack evidence and analysis

A B PAPER WILL

• have many mechanical errors • meet all the requirements of the C paper • articulate its thesis and develop its argument precisely and fully • make each sentence clear and logical • show diligent attention to detail • be engaging and easy to read

AN A PAPER WILL:

• meet all the requirements of the B paper • develop a particularly imaginative, insightful idea

Teachers have many different systems to evaluate papers. Some might use a new system for each assignment in order to focus on particular aspects of your writing and your argument. You might receive a formal rubric (a sheet that breaks down the categories of the assignment into point values) and/or you might receive a holistic grade with comments throughout the paper and a longer comment at the end.

Remember that the comment is the most important part! You are on a continuum of learning, and maybe you worked hard but didn’t get the grade you wanted.

Consider this moment a challenge, not a life sentence.

• show a superior understanding of the central issues and texts under study

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 25

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR AN ESSAY ON ROMEO AND JULIET I. Introduction: The Prologue in Romeo and Juliet A. Thesis: The Prologue’s rhyme scheme mirrors the power of fate in Romeo and Juliet.

II. Rhyme pattern: the sonnet A. Significance of the sonnet for the Elizabethans 1. Harmony 2. Love B. The sonnet’s form 1. Rigid, controlled 2. Rhymes are separate and then join together in the final couplet C. The connections between the sonnet’s form and the events of the play 1. Romeo and Juliet are separated by fate 2. Their families are separated and then join together 3. The Prologue describes events that the characters in the play cannot escape, just as the sonnet cannot escape its form.

III. The significance of the rhyme pairs A. “dignity” and “mutiny” 1. dignity will turn to mutiny B. “scene” and “unclean” 1. The scene of the play is unclean because of the tragic events.

C. “Life” and “strife”/”love” and “remove” 1. The lives of Romeo and Juliet will be marked by strife 2. Love cannot sustain itself in the face of fate D. “attend” and “mend” 1. This is the final couplet: If the audience listens to the lesson of the play, the tragedy will not be in vain?

2. Other possibilities?

IV. Conclusion: Does Shakespeare present himself as the “fate” of the play because he controls the outcome of the story?

A few things to notice: • This outline is formal but by no means complete. Notice that the possibility of new ideas is not excluded; the outline is not so detailed that it cannot be altered easily. An outline is meant to be a guide for your ideas.

• The conclusion brings in a new idea that is related to the argument of the paper. If you were to write this paper, you might find that the idea you originally decided to talk about in your conclusion is the main concept that interests you. Do not close yourself off to possibility.

• Outlines are not useful for everyone. Experiment until you find a system that appeals to you.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 26

SAMPLE INTRODUCTION FOR A PAPER ON “THE LOTTERY” Will Writer Ms. Teacher English 9 4/1/14 Hints of Destruction in “The Lottery”

Shirley Jackson’s use of extensive foreshadowing creates a sense of imminent doom in “The Lottery.” The story seems to begin in

an ideal, although bland, world, but there are strange and unnerving forces at work. Jackson peppers the opening pages of her story with multiple suggestions of destruction, from the weather and the stones gathered by the children to the old black box. Each of these symbols works together to drive the plot to its inevitable conclusion, the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson. By choosing ordinary objects and events to foreshadow a tragedy, Jackson reveals the mundane nature of evil in this nameless town.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 27

SAMPLE BODY PARAGRAPH FOR A PAPER ON “THE LOTTERY”

The description of the weather in the opening scene of the story creates a false sense of security and contentment. The

description is self-consciously ideal: “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (51). Jackson’s extensive use of descriptive yet common adjectives (“clear,” “sunny,” and “green”) makes this scene seem more like a movie set than the setting for a murder. The date, June 27th, gives the illusion that the setting is definite and precise, but the bland adjectives reveal the truth: this town could be anywhere, and the events that take place there could happen to anyone. In “The Lottery,” evil becomes more insidious because it is so ordinary.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 28

SAMPLE WORKS CITED PAGE Works Cited Allende, Isabel. “Toad’s Mouth.” Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88.

Dawe, James. Jane Austen Page. 15 Sept. 1998 http://nyquist.ee.ualberta.ca/~dawe/austen.html.

Griffith Jr., Kelley. “Form in the Blithedale Romance.” American Literature. Vol. XL, No. 1, March, 1968: 15-26. Reprinted in Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Mullane. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1988. 17: 133-36.

Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems. London: The Marvell Press, 1989.

---. A Girl in Winter. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1976.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992.

Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. New York: Grove Press, 1967.

Welch, Joanne, and Robert Brasher. The Anatomy of the Body. Amherst: The College Press, 1943.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 29

LIST OF USEFUL SOURCES FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT CITATION FORMAT:

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. (any edition after 1999) Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. (any edition) The Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL ESSAYS:

Booth, Wayne, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams. The Craft of Research. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1995.

Roberts, Edgar. Writing About Literature. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999.

The Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

FOR GENERAL WRITING QUESTIONS:

O’Connor, Patricia. Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English. New York: Riverhead Books, 1996.

Strunk, William and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.; London: Collier MacMillan Publishers, 1979.

Williams, Joseph. Style. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.

The Williston Northampton School Writing Manual 30