Session_06: The MLA Academic Essay -Gathering Research
Summary: We worked on gathering research and MLA formatting. We also carefully considered and followed the activities of Alex Essay Writing Tool, steps 1 -3. This writing tool is sponsored by the Royal Literacy Fund, a charity, and created by Dr. Anna Barker, the speaker in the videos.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2026: 4:00
Thursday, May 28th, 2026: 1:00, 1:30, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026: 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026: 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
-Anaïs Nin
Alex Essay Writing Tool Step 01 -Before you begin
Alex Essay Writing Tool Step 02 – Your Essay
Alex Essay Writing Tool Step 03 – Brainstorming
Documents
Quick Guide to Citing in MLA 9th Edition
How to Find an Issue to Research
Instructions for Homework Content:
1. Please choose and complete one new Write & Improve essay and improve it by several submissions as part of the five essays for the quarter. This piece of writing is your 5th Write & Improve essay and is due the day before Session_07 at 1:00 p.m.
2. Homework is due the day before Session_07 at 1:00 p.m., when you take photos of your notes and insert all the images in your online document under the title Research Articles #1 and #2.
Other students get to see your work and share it., research your self-selected Internet, book, newspaper, or journal articles about a topic that you are passionate to write about. Please select general information or a wide reading on the issue.
Then take two to three pages of notes on Article #1 and #2 using the keywords on the pages. Remember to write the author’s name(s), the date, and page or paragraph numbers if you use direct quotations.
Try to summarize your work and concentrate on the basic information. Could you include the details of your typed MLA Work Cited next to your notes, including the URL? Please type in your Google Document above your Research Article #1 notes. There are MLA quick guides you can download and view below.
Note: Please choose your issue carefully. You should not change the topic. Changing the issue will require you to do a lot of extra homework!
MLA Works Cited Sample and MLA Note Taking Sample A on Media Manipulation:
Bradshaw, Sarah and Phillip N. Howard. The Global Disinformation Order 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation. Oxford Internet Institute: University of Oxford, 02 2019, https://demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/93/2019/09/CyberTroop-Report19.pdf
MLA Note-taking Sample B on Gender Equality:
UNICEF. “Gender Equality.” UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality
Free Database Engines to collect research for your MLA Paper:
New! Zenbird Media: Topics & Issues: Do you often think about researching issues related to your local community, or Japan in general, but find the data in the Japanese language? Then, Zenbird Media is for you!
“Japan has its unique set of solutions and problems when it comes to sustainability. Zenbird Media has witnessed how Japan’s ancient knowledge are widely untapped, while persistent problems continue its grip its society and environment. Of course, no country is perfect.”
zenbird.media
Carrot 2 Carrot helps you find topics related to your search term. After entering the term and clicking ‘search,’ you can choose to view the results as a list, treemap, or pie chart to help you visualize your issue and narrow your search at the same time.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): DOAJ is a community-designed and maintained online journal directory that provides access to robust, open-access, peer-reviewed journals. This search engine is independent and free, including being indexed in DOAJ. Please use this engine for topical issues and authors; you might find research that supports your academic essay. DOAJ is an educational outreach search engine focusing on high-quality applications and submissions.
Google Scholar: Google Scholar helps you do a broad or narrow search of articles. It also lets you cite your “references” for APA and “works cited” for MLA!
CORE Research Engine UK: This research search engine claims to be the largest open-access research database in the world, giving free access to this website is very informative and easy to understand, where you might find research on your issue from Professor Andy Barfield:
Learning About Global Issues—This is specifically related to Chuo University Faculty of Law English courses and provides 18 core global issues. I got permission. Thank you, Chuo U, for the Sadai students.