MLA Style Center

Summary: First, you learned about making useful research questions and categorizing notes for your upcoming essay. Then, I shared Synthesizing your notes on 3 pages of a Word doc to attach.

Afterward, you shared your research and gave feedback, and your pair asked questions and useful comments.

“Research is something that everyone can do, and everyone ought to do. It is simply collecting information and thinking systematically about it.” – Raewyn Connell

Remembering the sequence of your notes is similar to making your research questions, which are called ‘points’ in the Alex Essay Writing Tool videos:

1. Basic Information
2. Causes
3. More Examples or Cases
4. Effects
5. Solutions

An example of Synthesized Notes:

Homework due on Monday, 07/03/2023 by 7 PM:

1. Please write your four or five questions related to your topic that you are researching and categorize your three to four pages of notes in your Google Doc. Please include your references in the document MLA style Works Cited on your last page. Please provide the details of the author’s name, date published, the title, and the publisher (or organization). I have edited and given feedback in your Google Doc. 

You are not researching new articles, but categorizing the six readings you have read and taken notes on already with MLA in-text citations. Please see the PowerPoint attached instructions below. 

2. When you construct each section or ‘point,’ please keep in mind IDEA (Identify, Define, Examine, and Analysis) to make sure you have all four IDEA concepts to have outstanding paragraphs.

2. An option to do Write & Improve practice essay:

Five improved essays are due by 07/31/2023. You can choose the essays and the time of writing freely, but write and improve on no more than one essay each week.