Name ______Date ______Period ______

Guide to Accompany Mrs. Baker’s Powerpoint:

Citing Textual Evidence UsingMLA Format

Directions: The following notes will assist you as you write your character analysis of Touching Spirit Bear. Fill in any missing information during the presentation.

  1. MLA stands for ______.
  1. Cite the following using MLA format:

Cole Matthews illustrates his selfishness and lack of empathy when he thinks to himself this wouldn’t have happened if Peter had kept his mouth shut

  1. Within the parentheses, there is a space between the author’s last name and the ______.
  1. Provide an example of how to cite a quote within a quote.
  1. Exact quotations should be used when . . .

Example:

Cole realizes he wants to live: “To be alive was to have choice. The power to choose was real power, not the fake power of making others afraid” (Mikaelsen 83).

When introducing a quotation, choose a verb that best reflects the author’s attitude toward the material you have chosen to quote. The following is a list of alternatives to the word states:

adds / defends / maintains
argues / demonstrates / objects
aspires / derives / offers
assumes / differs / presents
believes / disagrees / reasons
calculates / disputes / remarks
challenges / establishes / shows
claims / exaggerates / specifies
compares / feels / stresses
concludes / illustrates / suggests
contends / introduces / questions
contrasts / justifies
  1. Paraphrasing should be used when . . .

Examples:

After Cole is mauled by the bear and is lying in complete agony, he realizes his powerlessness to change his predicament and is overcome by loneliness (Mikaelsen 73).

When Cole realizes the baby sparrows have died, he is overwhelmed with emotion and feels they did not deserve to die. He then begins to contemplate what their final moments of life were like (Mikaelsen 82).

When paraphrasing from a text (book), choose lead-ins that expound upon the point you are trying to make:

according to… / contends that… / finds/found… / recognizes…
accounts for… / compares… / hypothesizes… / reports…
acknowledges… / correlates…with… / reveals… / admits…
criticizes… / insists… / sees…as… / affirms…
distinguishes… / interprets… / says… / analyzes…
declares… / lists… / shows… / assumes…
defines… / locates… / states… / argues that…
agrees… / attempts to… / attributes…to… / believes…
challenges… / claims… / feels that… / questions…
clarifies… / describes… / maintains… / raises…
concludes that… / determined… / mentions… / relates…
confirms… / disagrees… / notes… / stresses…
considers… / discusses… / observes… / suggests…
extends… / doubts… / outlines… / supports…
explains… / emphasizes… / points out… / theorizes…
explores… / established… / proposes… / thinks…
evaluates… / fails to… / provides… / verified…
underscores… / views… / writes…