MLA exercise

 Directions: Since all of your papers for this class must be completed in MLA format, it is essential that you masters its use. Toward that end, I have attached an exercise sheet designed to familiarize you with the process. Please use a writer’s reference or the

Purdue OWL

to complete the following MLA exercises, which must be saved as a PDF  

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Worksheet on MLA parenthetical citations

1) Steroids continue to be a major problem. In fact, reported cases of steroid use by
athletes skyrocketed last year by an amazing sixty percent (DeFord 33).
a) This example is considered incorrect. It’s incorrect because “reported
cases of steroid use by athletes skyrocketed last year by an amazing sixty
percent.” is a quote from a article. There also wasn’t a period at the end of
percent.
b) Steroids continue to be a major problem.”In fact, reported cases of steroid use
by athletes skyrocketed last year by an amazing sixty percent.” (DeFord 33).

2) Steroids continue to be a major problem. As sports journalist Frank DeFord has

pointed out, “Reported cases of steroid use by athletes skyrocketed last year by an

incredible sixty percent” (33).

This one is correct.

3) 3)Steroids continue to be a major problem. In fact, “Reported cases of steroid use
by athletes skyrocketed last year by an incredible sixty percent.” (33).
a) This one is considered incorrect because nowhere in this sentence does it
talk about DeFord. Therefore, you can’t trace it back to its source.

b) Steroids continue to be a major problem. In fact, “Reported cases of steroid use
by athletes skyrocketed last year by an incredible sixty percent.” (DeFord 33).

4) Steroids continue to be a major problem, with rrepored cases of use by athletes

rising sixty percent in the past year (Deford 33).

This one is correct

Steroids continue to be a major problem, with reported cases of use by athletes
rising sixty percent in the past year (DeFord 33).

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Works Cited

DeFord, Frank. “Steroids in Sports .” Sports Illustrated, 17 Aug. 2004, pp. 32–35.

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MLA Documentation Exercise 2:

Instructions: Listed below are five sources for an imaginary essay on youth gang members,
and a quote or fact from each source that will be used in the essay. You don’t need to write
the essay at all; instead, you have two tasks. First, write the works cited list for this essay,
correctly formatted in MLA style and in correct order, in the space provided on the second
sheet. Then, look at the excerpt on page two, which quotes or refers to each of these five
sources, and insert the correct parenthetical citation in the correct format for each. Here are
your sources:

1) A book by Carlos Reyes called The Gang Life. It was published in New York by Basic
Books in 1998.

You are going to use the following quote from Reyes:

The disturbing thing about gang culture is that it has moved beyond professional criminals and
into the everyday lives of too many young people. There is an urgent need to educate youngsters
about the dangers of associating with gangs.” The quote comes from page 266.

2) A book by William Bratton called Bad Boys: Gangs in the Modern American City. It
was published in New York by Regan Books in 2005.

You are going to use the following item from Bratton:
“I would estimate that at least 30% of urban teenagers, and maybe as many as 50%, are
themselves involved or know someone who is involved in some way with a gang.” The quote
comes from page 147.

3) Robert Smith’s article entitled “The Sad Truth About Gangs” which originally
appeared in the magazine Newsweek. The date of the magazine was August 24, 2004, and
the article appeared on pages 24-29. You retrieved the article at the BCC library using
the EBSCO database on April 10, 2006.

You are going to use the following quote from Smith:
“Increasing numbers of teenagers are associating with gangs, and this fact poses a grave threat to
the young generation in the U.S. today.”

4) An article, with no author listed, called “The Growth of Gangs,” from the March 4,
2005 issue of Time magazine. The article was on pages 16-23. You didn’t need to use a
database for this since you own the magazine.

You are going to use the following quote from the article:
“Gangs have already caused serious damage in the inner city, and now their influence has spread
to suburban areas across the United States.” The quote comes from page 16.

5) A page entitled “Facts About Gang Members,” with no specific author listed, that you found
on the American Criminology Association website. This page had a publication date of October
22, 2004. The address for the website is www.aca.org. You accessed this page on April 11, 2006.

http://www.aca.org

http://www.aca.org

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You are going to use the following fact from this website:
“Gang membership has been linked to serious problems, including highly inflated imprisonment
rates and life spans for gang members shortened to as little as half of the normal life expectancy.”

Essay excerpt

The recent congressional hearings over the spread of gang culture in the U.S. drew a
great deal of attention, nationwide. While some felt the hearings painted an exaggerated
picture of the influence of gangs on our young people, they did raise awareness of the
fact that gangs are a serious concern in our society today. Former New York City Police
Commissioner William Bratton recently suggested in his best-selling book, Bad Boys,
that as many as 50% of today’s urban teenagers have some connection to gang culture,
either directly, or indirectly through acquaintance with a gang member. (Bratton 147)

Although some might question Bratton’s estimate as too high, he is by no means the only
one raising alarms about the spread of gangs. Even Time magazine has claimed, “Gangs
have already caused serious damage in the inner city, and now their influence has spread
to suburban areas across the United States” (16-23 ). Even those not especially concerned
about the suburbs should care about the larger social effects of the gang phenomenon.

Researcher and leading expert on gangs Carlos Reyes has succinctly summarized the
truly frightening side of the rise of gang culture: “The disturbing thing about gang
culture is that it has moved beyond professional criminals and into the everyday lives of
too many young people. There is an urgent need to educate youngsters about the dangers
of associating with gangs” (Reyes 266 ). Now, more than ever, such education is vital,
since the popularity of gang membership among young people “poses a grave threat to
the young generation in the U.S. today” ( Smith 24-29 ).

Aside from the behavioral problems such as violence, drug dealing, and intimidation that
most people associate with gang activity, there are also potentially severe negative
effects to the young gang member that many are unaware of; these potential negative
effects, according to the American Criminology Association, include far higher rates of
imprisonment and a dramatically shorter life span for gang members. (“Facts About
Gang Members”) Clearly, it is time to take notice, as a society, of the dangers of gangs,
before they become even more integrated into our culture.

Works Cited

Bratton, William. Bad Boys: Gangs in the Modern American City. Reagan Books, 2005.

“Facts About Gang Members .” American Criminology Associations, 22 Oct. 2004, www.aca.org.

Reyes, Carlos. The Gang Life. New York, Basic Books, 1998.

Smith, Robert. “‘The Sad Truth About Gangs.’” Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2004, pp. 24–29. EBSCO.

“‘The Growth of Gangs.’” Time, 4 Mar. 2005, pp. 16–23.

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