Using Databases/ Signal Phrases-MLA
Purpose of this Discussion: To help prepare you to integrate research into your paper, and to access the Library Databases to find acceptable critical, peer-reviewed sources and credit the sources correctly within your text.
Read: "How to Access Miami Dade Databases" in your Module 1 Resources folder. Another site to find what you need is Google Scholar, but too often access to those articles require payment. Do not use plain Google. The Miami Dade Databases is your best source. Contact a reference librarian at one of the campuses if you are having trouble logging on. Wolfson Campus library telephone number: 305-237-3144
Find Two Articles: In the Library Databases find two articles, one concerning Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee and one concerning apartheid or South African history.
Prompt: 1. Write a few sentences or a paragraph, integrating a quote, paraphrase, or summary from either of the articles. 2. Document your paragraph with either a signal phrase or a parenthetical in-text citation.
Example of signal phrase: "According to Joe Doe, from Liberal Arts University…" If it is from a print source, add the page number in parentheses. Web sources require no page number. When the author's name is not mentioned in the paragraph's signal phrase, add it in parentheses, as in the following example: Example of in-text citation: (Coetzee 102). Your MLA Resources folder also has information and a sample paper.
Subject Line: Your first initial, last name, Using Databases. Click on Create Thread to begin.
Rubric:Directly and completely post a response to the prompts in a minimum of 150 words or write as much as necessary to answer the prompt.30%Respond to two classmates. Please give a thoughtful response in more than one sentence. Give the reasoning behind your comment(s) and/or add to the information. 20%Use standard American English grammar and spelling, with adequate sentence structure, correctly punctuating, capitalizing, and spelling.50% Total100%
Reminder: Please make sure to comply with all Netiquette Guidelines listed in the Getting Started module.