English 101

Writing an essay begins with understanding your prompt. What type of paper are you writing and what are the expectations. There are several types of essay: Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, and Argumentative. Once you understand the expectation, create an outline, write an introduction, start all body paragraphs with a topic sentence, write your conclusion, and include all citations and references. 

ProQuest Research Companion

Choosing a topic can be hard for some. Before you begin your research, it is important to find a good topic and make sure you are able to find research information to support your writing. The perfect place to start is with ProQuest Research Companion: How do I Choose a Topic?. This resource will help you understand the importance of a good topic and how to get started. 

Depending on the type of paper or essay you are writing, there are several databases that can help you identify and research information on your topic:

Gale Opposing Viewpoints: Browse Issues

AVL: Points of View Reference Source: Explore Topics

Credo – Browse Topics

Alabama Virtual Library - Free to access anywhere in the state of Alabama

Associates Programs Source Plus - Full-text journals on a broad variety of topics

Credo - Reference and Encyclopedic information. A great place for background information on your topic.

Opposing Viewpoints - Great resource for argumentative essays with sources to support every side of an argument, statistics, journals, etc. 

Points of View Reference Source - Great resource for argumentative essays with sources to support every side of an argument. 

ProQuest - Full-text journals on a broad variety of topics

General Formatting Guidelines:

Students should follow the 9th Edition Publication of the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines when writing academic papers. 

Perdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a great resources to aid in citing different materials and understanding general layout and citation requirements.  

The MLA Style Center also offers a variety of resources for formatting your research.

1. General Paper Format:

• Font: Use a legible font like Times New Roman with a size of 12-point.
• Margins: Set 1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, right).
• Spacing: The entire paper, including any works cited page, should be double-spaced.
• Indentation: Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches (usually one tab).
• Page Numbers: Include page numbers in the top right corner of each page, aligned with the margin, with your last name before the number (e.g., "Smith 1").
• Alignment: Left-align the text and do not justify the lines (text should have a ragged right edge).

2. Header:

• In the upper left corner of the first page, include your:
  • Your Name
  • Instructor’s Name
  • Course Name
  • Date (in day-month-year format, e.g., 14 October 2024)
• This information should be double-spaced.

3. Title:

• After the header, on a new line, center the title of your paper.
• The title should be in regular font (no bold, underline, or italics unless referring to another work).
• Use Title Case (capitalize major words, not prepositions, conjunctions, or articles unless they are the first word).

4. In-text Citations:

• Parenthetical citations should include the author’s last name and the page number (e.g., (Smith 23)).
• If you mention the author's name in the sentence, only include the page number in parentheses (e.g., Smith argues that… (23).).

5. Works Cited Page:

• Begin the Works Cited list on a new page.
• Center the title "Works Cited" at the top (no bold or underline).
• Use a hanging indent for each entry (the first line is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inches).
• The list should be alphabetized by the authors' last names.

6. Quotations:

• For short quotations (fewer than four lines of prose or three lines of poetry), enclose them in quotation marks within the text.
• For long quotations (more than four lines of prose), format as a block quote:
  • Begin on a new line.
  • Indent the entire quote 1 inch from the left margin.
  • Do not use quotation marks.

7. Capitalization and Italics:

• Capitalize all major words in titles of works (books, articles, etc.).
• Use italics for titles of longer works (books, plays, films).
• Use quotation marks for shorter works (poems, short stories, articles).

Works Cited Examples:

1. Book (One Author):

Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Example:
Smith, John. The Art of Writing Fiction. Penguin, 2018.

2. Book (Multiple Authors):

Format:
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Example:
Johnson, Susan, and Robert Lee. Modern Literature Studies. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Note: If there are more than two authors, list only the first author followed by et al.

Example:
Brown, Laura, et al. Advanced Writing Techniques. Cambridge University Press, 2021.

3. Journal Article (Print):

Format:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article." Title of the Journal, vol. number, no. number, Year, pages.

Example:
Lee, Margaret. "Exploring Narrative Styles in Modern Fiction." Journal of Literary Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2019, pp. 134-150.

4. Journal Article (From an Online Database):

Format:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article." Title of the Journal, vol. number, no. number, Year, pages. Name of Database, DOI or URL.

Example:
Jackson, Emily. "Women’s Rights in the 21st Century." Feminist Studies Review, vol. 45, no. 1, 2023, pp. 101-123. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1234/jst012345.

5. Website:

Format:
Last Name, First Name (if available). "Title of the Webpage." Title of the Website, Publisher (if different from the website title), Date of publication, URL.

Example:
Davis, Michael. "Shakespeare's Influence on Modern Drama." Literary Insight, 12 June 2022, www.literaryinsight.com/shakespeare-modern-drama.

6. YouTube Video:

Format:
Author or Creator. "Title of the Video." YouTube, uploaded by Uploader (if different from the author), Date, URL.

Example:
TEDx Talks. "The Future of Innovation." YouTube, uploaded by TED, 5 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcd1234

If you need extra help with your writing, try some of the links below to better understand how to choose relevant sources, use AI ethically and responsibly, and confidently re-writing information obtained from research. 

Paraphrasing

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Writing Skills Practice Sets

Information Literacy and Research Skills

AI Literacy Skills