Sample, 1

Susie Sample Page 1 of Expository MLA Paper

Susie Sample

Ms. Alvarando

English 10B

8 October 2014

Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Introduction goes here. Be attention-grabbing! Make the reader WANT to read this paper! Your introduction should end with the THESIS SENTENCE, which is the promise about what content will follow throughout the rest of the paper.

Body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body Body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body Body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph body paragraph. Don’t forget to site unique information that you have borrowed from an original source (that is not considered common knowledge) with in-text documentation by providing the author’s last name and the page number the information can be found (Matthews, 38).

Susie Sample Outline

  1. Introduction
  2. Attention grabbing technique used:
  3. Introduction of the disease in general terms
  4. Thesis sentence: ______.
  5. Definition/Overview
  6. Clinical description from DSM V and Pipher (p.8)
  7. Who is most at risk (age, race, gender, culture, activities, etc)
  8. Statistics on prevalence in US
  9. Statistics on recovery outlook – most deadly psychiatric disorder
  10. History of the Disease
  11. First recognized in late 1800s in connection with other diseases (cancer, etc)
  12. First diagnosed in the 1960s
  13. ‘Twiggy’ the famous model of the time
  14. DSMV inclusion date
  15. Causes
  16. Biological theories
  17. Psychoanalytic beliefs about unresolved conflict
  18. Socio-cultural impact on patients’ perception of self
  19. Personality predisposition
  20. Physical Symptoms
  21. Body weight requirement and effects
  22. Gastrointestinal
  23. Circulatory and cardiovascular
  24. Immune system
  25. Reproductive system
  26. Body chemistry (electrolyte, vitamin, etc)
  27. Neurological Details
  28. Brain chemistry
  29. Physical brain atrophy (affects cognition)
  30. Processing errors
  31. Psychological Symptoms
  32. Body dysmorphia and perception of self
  33. Obsessions and compulsions about food and body
  34. Intense fear and weight gain
  35. Type A and control
  36. Comorbidity
  37. Depression
  1. withdrawal/isolation
  2. extreme sadness and/or apathy
  3. loss of motivation and sex drive
  4. Tourette’s Syndrome
  5. Anxiety disorders (OCD, GAD, panic attacks, etc)
  1. Treatment Methods
  2. Notes: 10% fatality rate: highest in the mental health landscape
  3. A ‘team’ is needed for comprehensive treatment:
  4. Psychiatrist: authorizes necessary prescriptions
  5. Psychologist: provides counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, etc.
  6. General MD: monitors health of patient’s body
  7. Nutritionist: works with patient to reintroduce food & create eating plan
  8. Social Worker: works with family and friends to help with acclimatization
  9. Conclusion
  10. Restate thesis (As one can see . . .)
  11. End with a ROAR (shocking fact, quote, personal story, etc) and (possibly) recommendations

Sample Works Cited Page

Works Cited

About Face. “Body Image”. 21 Nov. 2013. Web. [

Dying to Be Thin. Dir. Larkin McPhee. NOVA, 2000. Documentary.

Harris, Ty M. and Jessica Patterson-Lorenza. “Anorexia Unveiled: the Destruction of Our Best

and Brightest”. Newsweek. 7 Aug. 2011: 48+. Print.

Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York: Penguin Group, 1995. Print.

Shatler, Eileen. “Anorexia in the US”. New York Times. 3 May 2010. 3A. Print.

Zurich, Dr. Gwen. Personal interview. 23 Dec. 2013. Personal interview.

Guide to the Components of Your Paper

Your Introduction

Your introduction serves two purposes:

  • Introduces your topic
  • Grabs the reader’s attention

Think of something unique and interesting to begin your paper. A famous quote? A case study? A startling fact or statistic? A shocking detail? You decide.

The last sentence of your introduction should be your thesis sentence. This sentence is a promise to the reader about the content covered by your paper. You must fulfill your thesis in the paper’s body and revisit it in the conclusion. For example, a good thesis sentence for this paper would be: Anorexia Nervosa, a relatively new disease with specific causes and symptoms, is lethal without proper treatment. The reader could tell from this single sentence that the paper will focus on the short history, causes, symptoms, and treatments of Anorexia. The thesis is both clear and specific, and the overall scope of the paper is articulated succinctly.

Your Body

This needs to be well-organized and must match your outline PERFECTLY. There are two main things to keep in mind as you write your body:

  • Academic voice
  • Direct and indirect in-text quotes

Academic Voice:

A research paper is to be formal (no casual ‘sort of’, ‘kind of’, or b’cuz’ register). When you are writing as a formal academic or expert, you may not use any first or second person pronoun . . . except in a ‘direct quote’.

I

me

my

we

our

you

your

Instead of saying, “I believe lithium is an outdated treatment”, say, “Lithium is an outdated treatment”. Be credible and assertive. This may be a new way of using language, so be sure to carefully scan and edit your first draft for these pesky pronouns.

Examples:

Unacceptable Wording / Acceptable Wording
I think that the media is partially to blame for the anorexia explosion in the US and Europe / The media is partially to blame for the anorexia explosion in the US and Europe
Anorexia affects women in my age group / Anorexia affects women from ages 11-40
We must take better care of our adolescent girls / America must take better care of its adolescent girls

Direct & Indirect In-Text Quotes:

Within the text, you must use direct and indirect quotes. This means that you need to stop in the middle of writing and give parenthetical credit to the places from which you have borrowed information. The important question is always this: Is the fact COMMON KNOWLEDGE? Certain items, if they are not commonly known, warrant documentation:

Statistics/Percentages Borrowed or Technical Language

Controversial Ideas Definitions Key to Your Topic

Helpful Examples:

Statement: World War II ended in 1945.

Judgment: Doesn’t need documentation; most people know this & there isn’t argument about it.

Statement: The Vatican knew about The Holocaust during WWII and did nothing because of its

Anti-Semitism (Zuccotti, 48).

Judgment: Needs documentation . . . most people don’t know it and it is controversial.

Statement: 1 million Sudanese have been killed in the Darfur conflict (UN, 28).

Judgment: Probably needs documentation, as it is a recent event and death counts vary

depending on the organization from which you get the data.

Once you decide if information needs to be documented in the body of the paper, you must determine if you would like to do so as a direct or indirect quote:

Direct Quote / Indirect Quote
The researcher steals words and ideas from another source and uses them word for word in his/her paper. / The research steals ideas only from another source and puts them into his/her own words.

If the primary source (found on page 254 of a book written by Alan Rapaport) reads:

Anafranil can have many minor side effects, such as dry mouth, constipation, and drowsiness. However, tremors, impotence, and excessive sweating can be major problems.

A direct quote(which steals words and ideas) looks like this:

Anafranil, although not legal yet in the US, can be requested from other countries through a patient’s psychiatrist. Anafranil can commonly cause, “dry mouth, constipation and drowsiness. However, tremors, impotence, and excessive sweating can be major problems” (Rapaport, 254).

An indirect quote(which borrows ideas the writer puts into his/her own words)looks like this:

Anafranil, although not legal yet in the US, can be requested from other countries through a patient’s psychiatrist. Anafranil does have several unpleasant side effects for some patients, like: dry mouth, constipation, drowsiness, tremors, impotence, and sweating (Rapaport, 254).

Your Conclusion – putting a bow on your paper!

The Works Cited Page

This is the page in a research paper where the writer makes a list of the books, articles, videos, webpages, interviews, etc. that have been used to write the paper. The MLA format requires that this list be written in a very specific way . . . think of it as a recipe for writing!

Follow the MLA formulas below to the best of your ability. If information is missing (for example, you may not have been given the name of an author for an article, or a webpage might not have a title), simply skip over the missing information and continue.

Book:

Author’s last name, first name. Book title. City of publication: publisher, year of copyright ©.

Example: Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York: Penguin Group, 1995. Print.

Magazine or Newspaper Article:

Author’s last name, first name. “Article title”. Magazine/Newspaper name. Date published (day, month, year): page(s). (note: add a + after a page number when an article skips around).

Example: Shatler, Eileen. “Anorexiain theUS”. New York Times. 3 May 2006. 3A+. Print.

Video:

Name of video. Director’s name. Production company, year of release.

Example: Dying to Be Thin. Dir. Larkin McPhee. NOVA, 2000. Documentary.

Interview:

Interviewee’s last name, first name. Personal interview. date (day month year).

Example: Zurich, Dr. Gwen. Personal interview. 23 Dec. 2006. Personal Inverview.

Internet Resource:

Author’s last name, first name. “Article Title”. Online. URL. Date found (day, month, year).

*note: author online might be a person or an organization, like the CDC, APA, PBS, CNN, etc

Example: About Face. “Body Image”. Online. . 21Nov. 2007. Web.