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Small Theory Papers

MLA Format Criteria:

  • Review the Formatting Tutorial for proper formatting
  • Font-type: Times New Roman
  • Font-Size: only 12 point
  • Indents: first line of each paragraph of the body indents 1/2" (not five space bar clicks)
  • Spacing: Double space every line in the paper (no more, no less)
  • Margins: 1" from all sides (page number header will be within that inch, and that is ok.) From the top, your masthead must be 1"
  • No Bold
  • No Underlines
  • No exclamation marks--EVER!!!!!!!!
  • A paragraph should be no less than 1/3 the size of a page and no larger than 1/2 the size of a page.
  • Word sets extra spacing after paragraphs; highlight all, right click, choose paragraphs, and set spacing after paragraphs to zero

General Guidelines

  • One page in length.
  • Do not exceed one page.
  • Page 2 is for the Works Cited page only
  • You can use Purdue's Online Writing Lab (Owl) or my color-coded abridged version on Inverseintuition.org:
  • If you use a citation maker, or any other source than the two listed above, and the citation does not match one of the two sources above, the citation is incorrect.
  • If I mark something wrong on your Works Cited, but you think it is correct, your only defense is to show me how you followed a page on OWL or on InverseIntuition.org

Sources

  • Sources cannot have a publication date older than Jan 1, 2021.
  • If you cannot find one that new, ask me for help. If we cannot find one, I will allow older articles.
  • Do not use the sources that are hyper linked on the assignment page.
  • Do not use dictionaries or encyclopaedias or quote aggregators. If you are unsure, ask.
  • Sources must be scholarly (but not necessary peer-reviewed).
  • You can find a list of good scholarly sources on Arts & Letters Daily
    • On Adaily.com, look along the left margin under the heading Magazines for a list of scholarly sources, or if on a phone click on Alternate view, to find the heading Magazines.
    • You can search the theory name or the theorist's name in Aldaily.com.
    • Aldaily.com does not search all of the left side list, so you may need to select various sources on that list, and then search on those websites.
  • If you find an article through Google or other search engine, make sure the magazine/journal name is on the Aldaily.com list.
  • If you use EFSC's databases and find a popular article on the databases, make sure the magazine/journal is on the list on Aldaily.com.
  • If you use a peer-reviewed journal article, it must be from the EFSC's databases. Peer-reviewed journal names do not need to be on the Aldaily.com list.

Pus Words

  • List of Pus Words
    • You only can have 2 pus words in each paper.
    • Must highlight pus words in yellow.
    • Be mindful of contractions that hide pus words, such as it's or he's.
    • Do NOT use becomes or remains as a pus replacement; they do NOT mean the same as the pus words

Structure of the Theory Papers

  • Paragraphs should be each 1/2 the length a page.

1st paragraph: Immediately discuss the theory

  • Do not use the words "defined" or "definition"
  • Include who created the theory or to whom the theory is attributed
  • Quote a scholarly work (see above in the Sources sub-head) to help you discuss what the theory means (See below for how I want you to set-up quotes).
  • Give some examples of the theory (but not in regards to your film); the aim is to have your reader understand the theory in relationship to some part of life.

2nd paragraph: Analysis Paragraph

  • Think that what you are doing in this paragraph is to help someone understand the theory better by showing that person how the theory relates to your film
  • Also, depending on the theory, you might be using a specific scene as an example, or perhaps the whole film, or possibly the audience's relationship to the film.
  • Avoid 1st person discussions; if the theory and film connect to you in a personal way, then assuredly a few others have felt that same connection, so say "some people" instead of "I" or "me"

Using Quotes in a paper

    below, the bold and underline is merely to show parts; do not use bold or underline in your papers.
  • A full sentence giving the first word, usually the author's name, from the works cited citation and the general idea of the quote that will follow: "the actual word-for-word quote"
  • Alan Crowe in his article "Doggy Friends" suggests that when dogs first meet, they should do so in a place new to both of them: "Introduce the dogs in a neutral location that is unfamiliar to both dogs, such as a park."
    Note: there is no need for the author's name in (parentheses) after the quote since you will say that author's name in your lead-in sentence.
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