Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel Catching Fire from her adolescent literature series, The

Building Better Responses/MLA In-Text Citations

The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel

Catching Fire from her adolescent literature series, The Hunger Games

Jones 1

Joe Jones

Mr. Braam

CCR English 10, Bell 1

Ind. Novel Response #1

Nov. 6, 2015

Response #1 for Independent Novel (or appropriate title)

In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters. For

example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I

press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head, where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart.

Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that she always hears, then saying she hears

nothing, Collins makes readers want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to know whether or not Peeta survives.

Another example comes at the end of Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area where Katniss and her allies are

sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line [of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A

sickening sweet


The Example

This text – of which you have a copy in front of you – is an example of how to write a developed paragraph response to a prompt, while also using both MLA formatting and MLA in-text citations


The Example

Joe Jones

Mr. Braam



Nov. 6, 2015

• Response #1 for Independent

Novel (or appropriate title)•

First, remember that all text in your response needs to be in MLA format. That includes things such as: 1. Double-spacing2. Times New Roman font3. 12-point type4. 1-inch margins5. AND DON’T FORGET THE

HEADER AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE!!!

Joe Jones

Mr. Braam



Nov. 6, 2015•

That mandatory header includes:1. The writer’s name

2. The teacher’s name

3. Name of the class and bell #

4. Type of assignment

5. And date the work is handed in


The Example

Jones 1

The header (continued)

And don’t forget your last name and page number at the top right of the page

In Microsoft Word, use the “Insert Page Number” function and add the name


The Example

The titleNote that the title below

is centeredNote that the title is the same font

and point size as the rest of the text


In the novel Catching Fire, author Suzanne Collins

builds tension by using cliffhanger endings to her chapters.


The Example

(In other words, the title is not underlined or italicized.

It also is not bolder, or

larger than anything else that is on the page)

The text




Note that the text begins double-spaced from the title

Note that the text is indented 5 spaces


The Example

Responding to the Prompt

Let’s say that you are responding to a prompt that asks:

“How does the author build tension in the book?”

Note that the prompt, in this case, asks about the author and the book.

Note that it also asks you to offer an opinion about how tension is built in the book


The Example

The text




Note that the first sentence is my topic, or the thesis/claim statement

It rephrases the question “How does the author build tension?”

It also tells me the name of the book and the author


The Example

For example, at the end of Chapter 19, Katniss goes to check on Peeta

after her partner was zapped by a force field. The chapter ends with “I

press my ear against his chest, to the spot where I always rest my head,

where I know I will hear the strong and steady beat of his heart. Instead,

I find silence” (Collins 279).

The topic sentence/ claim is then followed

by an example from the book

The example includes a quote that provides

evidence for the claim about the topic

The in-text citation then gives the author’s last name and the page number that the quote was on in the book


The Example

Note that a transitional word or phrase is used

... Instead, I find silence” (Collins 279).

Note carefully (and remember!!!)

the following punctuation rules

for MLA in-text citations

Note that the quote ends with only a quote mark … and no period

The author’s last name and the page number

have no punctuationat all between them, and are surrounded by parentheses

The final punctuation (the period, in this case) comes after the

closing parenthesis

Building Better Responses/

MLA In-Text Citations The Example

TEACHER NOTE: This is one of the rare, rare moments when a period or comma does NOT go inside the quote mark

Voila!!! This is the punctuation style for MLA in-text citations

(Collins 279). By saying that Katniss expects to hear the heartbeat that

she always hears, then saying she hears nothing, Collins makes readers

want to turn the page quickly to relieve the tension caused by wanting to

know whether or not Peeta survives.

Then the citation is followed by an explanation of the evidence from the book


The Example

What you are doing here is saying why your evidence that you quote from the text supports your claim … or, in this case, explaining how Collins built tension with a specific cliffhanger chapter ending!

… whether or not Peeta survives. Another example comes at the end of

Chapter 20, when a seemingly innocent fog starts sliding into the area

where Katniss and her allies are sleeping.

Then the evidence is followed by a second example from the book about building tension. Note the transition “Another example …”


The Example

… are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line

[of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A

sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the

others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse

them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the new quoted

evidence also is an example of how the author

built tension

Note that the new textual evidence from the book

also has quote marks around it


The Example

… are sleeping. The chapter ends with “The progression of the front line

[of the fog] is too uniform to be natural. And if it is not natural ... . A

sickening sweet odor begins to invade my nostrils and I reach for the

others, shouting for them to wake up. In the few seconds it takes to rouse

them, I begin to blister” (Collins 297). Note that the quote is again followed by

an in-text citation

Note that the quote is again followed by no

period and then a final quote mark


The Example

… begin to blister” (Collins 297). Once again, by leaving Katniss and

her friends in danger and their fate unknown, Collins makes readers feel

the increased tension, pulling them further into the book to find out the

results.

Note that the quote and the in-text citation are again

followed by an explanation …


The Example

… that details how the quoted evidence shows that Collins built tension with another cliffhanger chapter ending

… out the results. These are just two examples of how Collins

masterfully uses cliffhanger endings to build tension, both in her book

Catching Fire and in the readers’ minds.

Then, at the end, there is a conclusion that ties

the evidence back to the topic sentence/

claim


The Example

Note that your conclusion should rephrase

(not merely repeat verbatim) the claim, drawing your

response to a satisfactory – and complete – close

Major Points to Remember:1. Type your responses2. Use MLA formatting (double-spacing, font,

point sizes, etc.)3. Have a topic sentence/claim expressing your

opinion that ALSO incorporates the original prompt (and probably the name of the book and the author’s name, too)


The Example

Major Points to Remember:4. Follow the topic sentence/claim with an

example from the book, plus a quote from the text provided as evidence that supports your original claim

5. Remember to use an in-text citation at the end of the quote, using the proper format and punctuation (author last name and page #)


The Example

Major Points to Remember:6. Next, explain how the quoted evidence backs

up your original topic sentence/claim7. Make sure you have the correct number of

requested examples within your response(ADDED NOTE: If no specific number

of examples is requested in the prompt, my suggestion is to find two examples

at minimum)


The Example

Major Points to Remember:8. Make sure that for every quoted example

from the text that you offer as support, that you also remember to use another in-text citation

9. End your response with a concluding sentence that refers back to the topic sentence/claim and to the cited evidence that you have provided from the text


The Example

Major Points to Remember:Confused? Not sure if you will remember all

of this, or not confident in the completeness of your notes?!?!? DO NOT PANIC

This PowerPoint will be posted online permanently on my class website, where it can be viewed and/or downloaded 24/7.

Plus – AS ALWAYS – you can always ask me for help!


The Example

Documents

Building Better Responses/ MLA In-Text Citations The Example Featuring Suzanne Collins’ novel Catching Fire from her adolescent literature series, The