Writing Tips

  • Questions from Students,  Writing Tips

    How to cite a work in an anthology…

    Here’s another question from a student. “Could you remind me on how to cite a poem from a textbook, or do I just cite the chapter the poem is in for our poetry explication paper?” Usually, composition textbooks include some sort of appendix or a chapter on citation formatting. Here is the citation that our textbook (Exploring Literature) gives in Appendix C. Author Last, First. “Title.” Exploring Literature. Frank Madden, ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 1031-1039. Print. As with some older editions, this example does not include the latest MLA updates. I think that most teachers would accept this version as correct, but if you need the latest information on…

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  • Writing Tips

    Using First and Second Person in Academic Writing

    Many of us “older” folks have always been taught to refrain from using first or second person in academic writing. However, newer schools of thought are conceding that sometimes, it’s ok. (A great article from Duke here.) I usually ask my freshman composition students to simply refrain from using first or second person. This requires them to think more carefully about the language they use and prepares them for later course in which the professor may still be following tradition. However, there are times when NOT using I or you could be problematic. Here is a question I received from one of my ENG 101 students this summer, and my…

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