Directions: Read the following passage. Then decide whether the student sample at the right (or below) cites the passage acceptably in MLA style or whether the citation could be considered plagiarism. If the citation is acceptable, choose “OK.” If the citation is plagiarized, choose “Unacceptable.” ORIGINAL SOURCE . . . There is no such thing as a literary work or tradition which is valuable in itself, regardless of what anyone might have said or come to say about it. “Value” is a transitive term: it means whatever is valued by certain people in specific situations, according to particular criteria and in the light of given purposes. It is thus quite possible that, given a deep enough transformation of our history, we may in the future produce a society which is unable to get anything at all out of Shakespeare. His works might simply seem desperately alien, full of styles of thought and feeling which such a society found limited or irrelevant. In such a situation, Shakespeare would be no more valuable than much present-day graffiti.

From page 11 of Literary Theory by Terry Eagleton (U of Minnesota P, 1996).

Student sample

Eagleton foolishly considers Shakespeare “no more valuable than much present-day graffiti” (11).

a)OK

b)Unacceptable

which one is correct option

Explanation:

This post will provide the answers for the other questions posted (please see the included links for information).

According to the formatting guidelines under the Modern Language Association (MLA) style of writing, in-text citations must include the author's last name and page number of any paraphrased or directly-quoted text.  It is essential to give credit to the source of material or literary work in our writing, as it establishes our credibility as a writer.    

Student sample:  

Eagleton foolishly considers Shakespeare “no more valuable than much present-day graffiti” (11).

This is an acceptable citation since the student included the author's last name and the page number in his direct quotation. However, the student should have used an ellipsis (...) at the beginning of his direct quotation. The purpose of adding an ellipsis is to let the reader know that the quoted text is a phrase, or a sub-part of a complete text.  The correct formatting is as follows:

Eagleton foolishly considers Shakespeare “... no more valuable than much present-day graffiti” (11).

Student sample:

As Eagleton observes, “value” is a transitory word that describes something appreciated by particular people in particular times and places, judged by certain standards for certain reasons (11).

This is not an acceptable citation. The paraphrased text closely resembles the source, despite using different words. Regardless of citing his source, the student essentially plagiarized Eagleton's text. The purpose of paraphrasing text is to convey the author's ideas using your own words. A great way to prevent plagiarism is to ask oneself, "How can I explain my understanding of Eagleton's text to others?"  

Student sample:

As Eagleton points out, the value of a work of literature changes depending on its audience—literary value is a subjective idea, not a fixed one (11).

This is an acceptable citation. The student succinctly used his own words in expressing how he understood the author's text, without closely resembling the original source. He also provided the page number of the paraphrased text.  

gregor could have been bullying her

elie wiesel is a holocaust survivor

explanation: