In high school I was introduced to MLA format, but not as in depth as English 110. I now feel confident in my ability to write in this format and cite sources correctly. My works cited is an example of how to properly cite sources, but that isn’t the only place where citing is needed. Every time a piece of information is used from a source an in-text citation must be made. This is so the reader knows that it is someone else’s ideas and so there is no plagiarism. In my significant writing project I wrote, “Greenfield asks, ‘… might this new and different way of expressing yourself actually mean that you see yourself differently?’ (116).” Here I introduced that Greenfield was the person who said the quote, and at the end I only included the page number in parentheses. If I did not have ‘Greenfield asks’, the end of my paragraph would’ve looked like this: (Greenfield 116). Either way, the author’s last name and page numbers must be stated. Beyond my MLA skills, I have also improved my local revisions that address typical errors. Most of these problems have to do with grammar and wording. I tend to have problems with commas. I used to think I used too many, but after English 110, I have realized I don’t use enough! When locally revising my significant writing project I tried to look for places where commas needed to be added and I tried to make sure I didn’t have run-on sentences. My final draft may not have been perfect, but I definitely improved from my first few projects. I feel as though my spelling is spot on and I always make sure to use the correct homophone. Although I have grown more in other learning outcomes, I am still proud of the progress I have made in the fifth and sixth learning objectives.
