Enhance Your Writing Skill: Writing Presentation

Steps to Follow to Present a Written Work:

• Organize the written text in a structured manner.
  • Title/heading – Appeal to the readers and connect to the main idea.
  • Introductory Paragraph – Hook, background, thesis statement.
  • Body Paragraphs – Main idea sentence, evidence, analysis and elaboration, and transitions.
  • Concluding Paragraph – Restatement of the main idea and concluding transitions.

(Note – In a story, elements of the plot form the structure.)

Follow formatting guidelines – As per MLA (Modern Language Association) Style

• • Font type – Times New Roman. Font size – 12.
  • 1” page margins.
  • Double line spacing.
  • ½” indent for new paragraphs.
  • Title case capitalization for headings.
  • Skip a line between the header and the title.
  • The title should not be in bold, underlined, or italicized. Keep it as per the font size and style of the text.

Use the Following Standards of Formal English

• • • Write in third-person
    • Exceptions:
      • Second-person – in direct quotations, in directions, in the text that addresses the reader.
      • First-person – in direct quotations, personal writing, text written from the first-person point of view.
    • Avoid the use of contractions. Example – don’t, can’t, wouldn’t, won’t.
    • Avoid abbreviations. Exceptions – Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., A.M., P.M., Rev.
    • Do not use slang or colloquial words.
    • Avoid ‘etc.’ and exclamation marks except in direct quotations.

Use of Numbers in the Text –As per MLA style

• • Always use numerals:
  • In front of units of measurement. Example: 5 miles
  • with abbreviations and symbols such as 6 lbs., 4:20 p.m., $9, 2”, 4%.
  • In dates: Example: April 1, 2014.
  • In decimal fractions: Example: 9.2

Exceptions:

• For large numbers, you may use a combination of numerals and words. Example: 4.5 million
• In general use numerals with % signs, however, you may spell out percentages or amounts of money if you can do so in three words or less. Example: five dollars, forty-five percent, sixty-eight cents.
• Spell out numbers that can be expressed in either one or two words.

Examples:

• One million
• Ninety-nine
• One hundred
• Fifteen hundred
• Incorporating Quotations
  • Words/sentences directly taken from a source, need to place them quotation marks and cite source information
  • Brackets ([])– Additional information to be given inside a quotation.
  • Single quotation marks (‘’)– Enclose a quotation within a quotation.
  • Use ellipses to indicate that you have omitted words from the quotation. (…) three-spaced dots.
• In-text citations – Referring to the work of others in own text is done by using parenthetical citations. It places relevant source information in parentheses () after a quote or a paraphrase.
  • When to use in-text citations
• A direct quote from a source.

Example: Doctor Who “has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series” (Smith 43).

• A paraphrase or summary of a source’s ideas

Example: Much of Britain’s television continues to be impacted by Doctor Who to this day, as many of those who are employed by television stations cite Doctor Who as a major influence (Smith 43).

• A specific figure or number, which will often be:

Statistics

Example: About 38% of the Doctor Who episodes made in the 1960s are not available in the BBC Archives (Smith 42).

• How to use in-text citation
• Option 1: Introduce the author before his or her quotation and include the page number(s) in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The period follows the parenthesis because the in-text citation is considered part of the sentence.

Example:  As Charlotte McDonald-Gibson, journalist and author, notes, “It was only when there was nothing else left–when there was no income, education, shelter, food, or safety–that people put themselves and their families in a boat and took that last gamble” (3).

• Option 2: Include the author’s name and page number(s), separated by a comma, within the parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase.

Example:  While most people wanted to remain in a familiar culture, hopeful to be able to return home eventually, “it was only when there was nothing else left–when there was no income, education, shelter, food, or safety–that people put themselves and their families in a boat and took that last gamble” (McDonald-Gibson 3).