paraphrasing link

https://quillbot.com/ 

 

Vocabulary Plan

Improving Vocabulary

One of the best ways to improve our vocabulary, as most of us know, is by reading, reading anything, really--novels, short stories, poems, articles.  We are exposed to new words while we read and can begin to understand them by looking at the context provided.  The next step is to look them up, getting a fuller definition.  Then, we can use the words, including them in our writing not only in the word form we originally learned but in different word forms as well. 

During the quarter, you will need to include at least THREE words new to you in each essay assignment.  Please underline or mark in some way.  You can gather these from our texts or other sources.

We will be keeping a vocabulary list in our binders, where you write down words you’d like to know more fully and the different word forms they come in.  We’ll spend some class time doing this, but the rest will be completed outside of class.  While annotating, circle these words to come back to.  Obviously, the more words you gather and define, the more you’ll learn, and the more you’ll have to pull from for the writing assignments.

 

YOUR VOCABULARY SECTION WILL LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS (You can gather words anywhere--our texts, ones from your other classes, etc.  Try to pick words that will serve you well in life and all your classes, so one that aren't too specific to a certain field.):

 

WORD                      WORD FORM                                            DEFINITION

Propulsive                              adj.                              having the power to propel or push forward

Propulsively                            adv.

Propel                                     verb

 

EXAMPLE:

            On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day for our 44^th President, Barack Obama, millions celebrated, turning Washington DC and cities across the US into propulsive places whose energy and hope could not be denied.  Aretha Franklin’s rendition of “America” created a palpable wave of emotion that lead to Poet, Elizabeth Alexander, who was commissioned to write and recite an occasional poem, a genre that began to honor leaders and commemorate ceremonies.  Obama seems to be bringing poetry back to the public through Alexander, who as a 1-year-old was carried to see Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech almost in the very same place.  Once Obama was sworn in and officially announced as President Obama, the crowd’s fervent cries rang out and he began his commencement speech.  He said a lot, thanking our progenitors, acknowledging the gravity of our economic situation, promising to work with nations in need, pointing out environmentally responsible energy alternatives, recognizing the hard work of Americans, ultimately calling upon us to endure with “hope and virtue.”

 

 

 

MLA Checklist

MLA Checklist

• Is the heading in the upper left-hand corner of the first page?
• Does the heading include the following information in this order:

• Your name
• Your Instructor's name
• The course name
• The date formatted correctly:  Day Month Year 21 September 2018

• Does the paper have an original title (other than something like "Final Paper" or a novel title, or someone else’s work)?
• Is the title presented without being bolded, italicized, or placed in quotation marks?
• Is the title correctly capitalized?
• Does the paper have 1" margins on all sides?
• Is the text justified to the left-hand side, with a 1” tab at the start of each paragraph?
• Is the paper written in Times New Roman and in 12-pt. Font?
• Is the entire paper double-spaced (including any notes and the works cited page)? Make sure to eliminate any extra spaces that are set to automatically appear when you hit enter. Make sure you don’t have any extra spaces between paragraphs. Set “Before” and “After” spacing to “0.”
• Is your header correctly done? Are your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page (0.5" from the top, or inserted using the "header" function in Word)? Is it in written in TNR 12?
• If you've used ANY sources, do you have a works cited page? Is it titled "Works Cited" (without the quotation marks)? Does it have a page number (that follows the last page of your paper) and your last name?
•  Does your works cited page conform to MLA format?

• Are the entries in your list of works cited in alphabetical order by the author's last name or other initial entry word(s)?
• Does each source have an entry on the works cited page?
• Have you italicized “containers” (novels, screenplays, journals, films, webpages)?
• Have you enclosed smaller pieces (articles, chapters, songs, poems) in quotation marks?
• Have you eliminated hyperlinks?

• Are your in-text references done correctly?

• Are all direct quotes in quotation marks?
• Do all paraphrases and summaries clearly indicate that they come from other sources?
• Does each in-text reference include a parenthetical citation that includes the author’s last name (unless the reference is obvious from the context of the sentence) and the page number from which the information was taken?
• If a quotation is 4 lines or more, is it block-quoted? (i.e. double-spaced, indented 1 inch from the left margin)
• Have you formatted dialogue from a film or play correctly?
• Have you clearly indicated where you found all outside information?