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Here you can find all sorts of resources for writing, researching and citing your papers. Check out the links to find out more information.

Learn how to use TurnItIn.com to submit papers here.

View correct MLA Formatting with examples here.

Refresh your grammar by reviewing these grammar topics here.

Double check your editing and revising here.



Turn It In is a tool your teacher may ask you to use to turn in assignments online. While this tool checks for plagiarism, it also has many other features that your teacher may ask you to use. = = Before you can submit an assignment, you must create a user profile.
 * =Creating a User ID=
 * If you already have a user ID, you just need to enroll in a class.**

1. Go to [|www.turnitin.com].

2. Click **Create account** at the top of the main web page.

4. Under **Create a New Account**, click **student**.

5. In the **class ID** text box, type the ID number your teacher gave you.

6. In the **class enrollment password** text box, type the password your teacher gave you.

7. Type the remaining information on this page.

8. Click **I agree--Create Profile** at the bottom of the page.

If you have used turnitin.com before, you can continue using your previous account and just enroll in the new class.
 * =Enrolling in a New Class=

1. Go to [|www.turnitin.com].

2. Login with your email address and your turnitin.com password. If you do not have a user ID, [|create one].

3. On the top of the page, click **Enroll in a Class**. 4. In the **class/section ID** text box, type the ID number your teacher gave you.

5. In the **class enrollment password** text box, type the password your teacher gave you.

6. Click **Submit**. You can now submit assignments from your Classes Home Page.

1. Log in to Turn It In.
 * =Submitting Assignments=

2. Open your class portfolio by clicking a class name on your homepage. The class portfolio lists the assignments.

3. Click the **Submit** button next to the desired assignment. 4. Type a **submission title** for your paper.

5. At the bottom of the window, click **Browse** and locate the paper you want to submit.

7. Click **Upload**. The Preview Paper page appears.**NOTE:** The preview window "squishes" the text so that it looks like your MLA formatting is gone; the file will still go to the teacher as you saved it in Microsoft Word.

8. Click **submit** again to confirm the text of your submission. If the text “checks out,” click **yes, submit** to finalize your submission.

9. Double check that your submission went through by going back to your portfolio and making sure that assignment has a green icon next to it and says it has been successfully submitted. You should also receive an email confirmation.

See the comments your teacher made on your paper.
 * =Viewing the Grademarks=

1. Log in to Turn It In.

2. Open your class portfolio by clicking a class name on your homepage. The class portfolio lists the assignments.

3. Next to the assignment you would like see click **View**.

4. The turned in assignment will come up with comments from the teacher on the right. The similarity of the paper to others will be in a percentage at the top right with total points scored for the assignment, and the actual paper will be posted with grademarks.

5. Mouse-over the grademarks and comments to review them. A grademarked paper looks similar to the image below.



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//**Grammar**// There are eight parts of speech: __Adjectives__ - An adjective modifies a noun. It describes the quality, state or action that a noun refers to.
 * = Parts of Speech =

__Adverbs__ - Most adverbs in English are formed by adding -ly to an Adjective. An adverb is a word that modifies the meaning of a Verb; an Adjective; another adverb; a Noun or Noun Phrase.

__Conjunctions__ - A conjunction is a word like AND, BUT, WHEN, OR, etc., which connects words, phrases or clauses.

__Interjections__ - An interjection is a word or phrase used to exclaim, command, or protest. Interjections don't really fit any other part of speech -they often appear with their own punctuation mark.

__Nouns__ - A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events and feelings. Nouns can be a subject or an object of a verb, can be modified by an adjective and can take an article or determiner.

__Prepositions__ - A preposition is a word that links a noun, pronoun or gerund to other words. They can have a variety of meanings like direction location time and possession.

__Pronouns__ - Pronouns take the place of a noun. A pronoun is a word that we use instead of repeating the noun. Instead of "John went to New York where John went to the opera," we write and say "John went to New York where **he** went to the opera." By avoiding monotonous repetition of lengthy or compound nouns, //pronouns make language fast.//

__Verbs__ - Verbs are one of the major grammatical groups, and all sentences must contain one. Verbs refer to an action (do, break, walk, etc.) or a state (be, like, own).

The **active voice** is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the **object** receives the action of the verb: "Cats eat fish."
 * = Passive vs. Active Voice =

The **passive voice** is less usual. In the passive voice, the **subject** receives the action of the verb: "Fish are eaten by cats."
 * **Active Voice:** "Everybody drinks water."


 * **Passive voice:** "Water is drunk by everybody."

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the word to which the pronoun refers) in person, number, and gender. It is incorrect to write "Everyone should take off their hats"because "everyone" is singular and "their" is plural. They must both be plural or singular:
 * = Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement =

Colon or semi-colon? When should each be used. A semicolon replaces a period and a capital letter or a comma and a coordinating conjunction. It also replaces commas only in a long list if commas are used in the list items.
 * = Punctuation =

A colon introduces a list, a quotation,or an item intended to be emphasized after a complete sentence.

**Who** is a subject, and **whom** is an object. **Whom** did you invite to the square dance?
 * = Who versus Whom =

**Who** is invited to the square dance?

A trick to help you remember when to use whom is to note whether there is a noun or a pronoun between the "who/whom" and the verb. When there is a noun or a pronoun in this position, use **whom**.





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MLA **MLA** stands for the **M**odern **L**anguage **A**ssociation, which is a group composed of research and writing experts who, among many responsibilities, set standards for how papers should look, how they should be written, and how sources should be cited. These are the standards that not only help to make your formal writing look professional and sophisticated, but also ensure you avoid plagiarizing by citing properly. Additionally,following MLA style is an exercise in following specific directions, which is a skill you will need no matter where life takes you.

MLA style is also: *Writing in present verb tense *Writing in active,not passive voice

These instructions on how to format your document are for Microsoft Word 2007. Follow all parts of the instructions to correctly format your paper.
 * =Formatting Your Paper=

__**Fonts and Spacing**__ 1. In the **Paragraph** Quick Access Toolbar, click the **Line Spacing** button.

2. Select **Line Spacing Options**. The **Paragraph** window opens.

3. In the **Spacing** section, set **After** to 0, and then set **Line Spacing** to **Double**. Click **OK**.

4. Set the font to **Times New Roman**, **12 pt**.

**Show Me on Video!**

__**Header**__ 1. Click the **Insert** tab.

2. Select **Header** and click **Blank**. A header appears with the text **[Type Text]** highlighted. **Delete** that text.

3. Align the text on the right.

4. Type your last name, and press the space bar once.

5. Click the **Insert** tab.

6. Select **Page Number** and click **Current Position, Plain Number**.

7. Highlight your last name and the page number, and then set the font to **Times New Roman**, **12 pt**.

8. Double-click outside of the Header to return to the document.

**Show Me on Video!**

__**Heading**__

1. Make sure your font is **Times New Roman**, **12 pt.** 2. Type the following information, ensuring it is in this order: 3. Center your title on the line immediately after the heading (do not press **Enter** twice).
 * **First name Last name**
 * **Teacher's name**
 * **Class name, Period**
 * **Date** (day month year)

**__Formatting At-a-Glance__**
 * Double-space everything
 * Use 12 pt. Times New Roman
 * Leave only one space after punctuation marks
 * Set margins to 1 inch on all sides
 * Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch (recommended use of the Tab key)
 * Use a header with your last name one space and page number in the top right corner. Header should be one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Number pages consecutively)
 * Use a heading in the top left with your name, teacher name, class, date on the first page
 * Use italics for book and movie titles
 * Center your title, and use no special formatting
 * Use no cover or title page

For more information on formatting, click on the following link. [|OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab]

When you use a source, either by quoting it directly or by paraphrasing, you must give credit to that source by citing it. If you don’t do this, you may end up plagiarizing.
 * =Citing Sources=

When you use the source, cite it directly in your writing, called an **In-text** or **Parenthetical Citation**. This refers to putting pertinent source information in parentheses after a quote or paraphrase. After in-text citations are created there must be a **Works Cited Page** that lists all sources used within the paper at the end of the document. A more detailed explanation of how to cite sources within your document can be found at **OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab** [|In-Text Citations]. Another option is to visit **[]** for an example of each type of citation.

According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. The entries on the Works Cited page must correspond to the works that were cited in the paper.
 * =Creating a Works Cited=

__**Formatting Your Works Cited Page**__ 1. Copy and paste your source citations onto a blank page of your Microsoft Word document. If you don't have your source citations yet, create them using www.easybib.com.

2. Cut and paste individual citations so that they are in alphabetical order. 3. Highlight the citations. 4. Ensure the font is **Times New Roman, 12 point**. 5. Click on the **Line Spacing** button in the **Paragraph** section of the toolbar. 6. Set the **After spacing** to 0. 7. Set the **Line spacing** to **Double**, and click **OK**. 8. Create a hanging indent by dragging the bottom triangle of the **Ruler** (choose to show the ruler by clicking the box under the **View** menu) to .5 inch. 9. Title the page **Works Cited**, with no special formatting except for centering the title. **Show Me on Video!**

Your **Works Cited** page should look like this:



Research-based writing includes quotations from sources. When including quotations, you should not only cite the source correctly, but also integrate the quotation seamlessly into your own sentences. __**Integrating Quotations**__ When you use a quotation in your writing…
 * =Integrating Quotations=
 * Introduce your quotation.
 * Follow the quotation with your own explanation.
 * Read back the sentence, make sure it reads fluently and makes sense.

**EXAMPLE:** **The family remained hopeful that Mr.McCourt would “get a job soon” (30), so they instilled a sense of security in the children.** //The quotation (“get a job soon”) flows seamlessly within the writer’s own sentence.//

Paraphrasing is putting someone else's ideas into your own words. When you paraphrase, you are still using the information, usually the facts it provides, and you are putting it into your own sentences. Make sure to properly cite paraphrasing.
 * Paraphrasing**

Formatting quotations is dependent on the length of the quotation

A quotation is considered short if there are fewer than four typed lines of continous speech or three lines of verse. When formatting a short quotation place the quotation within double quotation marks. Also provide the author and page citation in the text within paratheses. Some examples include:
 * __Short Quotations__**



Quotations that are longer the four lines or three lines of verse, indent the quote one inch from the left margin without quotation marks. Continue to double space throughout the essay. For example:
 * __Long Quotations__**



All examples are from this website.
 * For more information on quotations within an MLA formatted essay please refer to the Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide.** [|Purdue OWL Website]

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Editing & Revising __**Revising Power Paragraphs**__


 * Can you identify every sentence in your power paragraph? If not, what do you have to add or subtract?


 * Do the sentences flow? Do you notice anything jarring or disconnected? Will a transition word or phrase, such as “therefore” or “however” help connect ideas?


 * Or, is it too wordy or repetitive? Do you need to eliminate some repetition?


 * Check your spelling and grammar. Did you spell the author’s name correctly? Did you use the present tense? Make sure you did not use personal (I or we) or second person (you) pronouns. Check for pronoun/antecedent agreement errors (someone/their).


 * Check your formatting. Did you use MLA Style? Are the margins, header, heading, title, spacing, and quoting formatted according to those specifications?


 * Did you make any necessary corrections that a peer or your teacher suggested?




 * Using the Writing Reviser **

To sign in to Writing Reviser enter **Student01** for the username and leave the password blank.

Before you turn your paper in,quickly run it through the Writing Reviser to catch grammatical errors. This tool will find more than the Microsoft Word grammar check, but it is not infallible—nothing is more important than proofreading yourself and getting someone else to proofread as well!


 * =4 Level Sentence Analysis=

Grammar is meant to be used as "the language of language." You cannot fix a car without knowing the parts of the engine, and in the same way, you cannot fix sentences without knowing the parts of the sentence.

4 Level Sentence Analysis is a method for working with grammar concepts in a holistic way. When you complete a 4 Level Sentence Analysis, you are documenting the following four components that make up a sentence's grammar:


 * **Parts of speech:** Shows what each word of the sentence is doing.


 * Parts of a sentence: Shows the architecture of the idea, asking "What is being said about what?"


 * **Phrases:** Shows the small groups of words in the sentences that pretend to be a single part of speech, asking "What part of speech is this group of words?"

* **Clauses:** Shows whether or not more than one idea is drawn into the sentence's design, asking"How many different ideas are connected in this sentence?"
 * =Transitions=

Transitions connect paragraphs together by referencing one another. A good transition ties two paragraphs together by referencing information from previous paragraphs. It is a good idea to continue a paragraph where the previous one leaves off. Continue on with the idea previously mentioned and build on it.



For more information on the mechanics of writing please refer to the Writing Resources on Purdue Owl. [] This site will go into great detail about MLA formatting, grammar, punctuation, transitions, sentence clarity, fragments, and so much more.

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