Previous by Date | Next by Date | Date Index
Previous by Thread | Next by Thread
| Thread Index
| LM_NET
Archive
| |
Thanks to all the people who responded! APA was the winner. Comments follow. Monika We have adopted the MLA style for the school. Peter Milbury, Co-owner of LM_NET pmilbury@ericir.syr.edu For elementary and high school I'd recommend MLA style and make sure you stick with it for all assignments, mixing and matching only confuse the students. We did this in a small college I taught at, years ago.... we watched the writing skill increase and the test scores were even higher... because the students became confident in one style form, for all of their papers, for all of their classes. When they took their major subject area, technical writing class that was the only area that may change the style form. In most cases the instructor would ask students to redo a previous favorite paper in a technical writing style and develop a mature publication style ... The students did very well and wrote some wonderful papers. Jeannette M. Croft Library Consultant - Gardner's Book Services - Phx, AZ We teach MLA it is used by most Freshman College English classes in Missouri. Of those two we use MLA. Additionally, our History Department uses Turabian. Diane H. Albosta, Director We use MLA in our high school, and a simplified version locally created for our middle school. We used adapted MLA. There's electronic citing sources in this listserv monthly FAQ. I have the Li & Crane: _Electonic style: A Guide to citing electronic information_ book which is very thorough and accepted nationally. Richard Librarian Why just teach one or the other? Students must be taught that there are many ways of citing sources in the various disciplines. We use both APA and MLA, with the school having decided which subject is to use which format. Date sensitive materials are more significant in the sciences, for instance, so APA is prescribed. The arts subjects require MLA format. This way, students become aware that no one format is the correct format. All subjects require correct documentation in one of the formats, with a student handbook being issued defining the requirements and presenting examples of the documentation. The freshman students each receive a copy of Writer's Inc. and learn how to use it in Orientation class. The students are then expected to use this style throughout high school. Wendi Colby Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Northwood, NH 03261 wcolby@coebrown.k12.nh.us In my school I headed a committee of teachers. We used MLA has a base and put together our own research manual for students. Junior high students got the basics for citations and high schoolers got a more detailed listing. Teachers were given all the examples for the odd items that students seem to find. Our biggest problem was internet citations. Those addresses are ridiculous. If you have better suggestions, please forward. Hope this helps, Sue St. Ann When I first arrived at my high school 14 years ago, there was almost open warfare between three departments about which style to use. I suggested that we choose one and stick to it. I even volunteered to write up a student guide and do all the work. No luck. So I let the animosity (which almost led to physical violence) calm down for a year or two. Then I went ahead and put together a tri-fold, 1 page guide for students whose teachers did not give them any guidance or who didn't care what form they followed. Mine was based on MLA. Little by little, teachers began to use my form as the standard. I did not coerce them--I just let them know it was available whenever they needed it. We still have a few teachers who prefer what they used in college (including footnotes!) and a few who want students to use APA, but on the whole, the guide I provide is the dominate species. Our English Dept. teaches MLA style. I put together a two-sided, one-page sheet with examples of the most commonly used MLA citations (magazines, encyclopedias, books, Internet, Infotrac, SIRS) and keep copies at the desk for students to take. This has been a big help teachers from other departments (e.g., SS) who are trying to integrate English skills into their curriculums. They just tell their students to pick up a sheet in the library. In a few instances, I have had students who were required to use APA for their citations. I found a site on the Internet for quick reference and keep an APA manual in reference for them to use. I am at the middle school level and we only teach MLA style. The students use this through high school. I have not seen APA except when I was in Grad school. I hand out a sheet with bibliographic information and examples that include printed works, electronic data and Web sites the first time a class comes in for research orientation. I collaborate with teachers on this during their very first research project and this helps put the information in a context. The teachers are more than willing to have me jump in with helping teach researching strategies and a bibliography is just part of that effort. I have every student three hold punch it and keep it in their notebooks. We share information on styles between several of the elementary schools, middle and high school. This way we are all doing the same thing. I will be interested in hearing what other schools are doing. We use MLA. It seems to be the most popular. I am a media generalist at Valley View Middle School in Edina, MN We use MLA as a school district. It took me years to get an answer from our high school language arts teachers to reveal what they use. As a school, we have agreed to use forms for kinds of resources. Students fill them out and keep them for their lists of works cited for different projects. I designed the forms and we print them in bright colors. The kids like this. They are available at our media center to be handy for students as they work. To view these forms go to www.edina.k12.mn.us/southview/media My colleague at the other middle school in our district has them online. I ask for corrections if you find errors. TIA. Wendy Larson, Media Generalist Valley View Middle School I teach bibliography/webliography to our sixth grade students using MLA. Monika, When I taught English, I taught both. I taught MLA one year; APA the next. Students need both. English and some humanities majors will use MLA in college. Psychology and many other fields use APA. Students should have a familiarity with both. If English departments used MLA, the Social Science or other departments could use APA. Good luck, Jim Monika, I just wanted to let you know that SIRS Mandarin's Web site, www.sirs.com, allows students to link to MLA and APA sites. Go to the Web Guide button, and under Reference Material, you will find a complete list of interesting Reference links, among which are included MLA and APA. Also, if your library has our databases, they come with a How to Cite reference tool using Turabian, MLA and APA guidelines. Our Curriculum Committee asked that we have a school wide standard, and our English Department chose MLA. One of our librarians prepared a two page summary handout, based on the MLA Bibliography. There is also a chapter on the MLA bibliography in a book called The Practical Writer, which we require for Sophomore English classes. We attached a reprint from Classroom Connect magazine October 1998 p. 23 on how to cite internet resources. We give out the handout to classes that visit the library, and have them available for students. In addition, the school purchased copies of Timmer, Joseph F. A Guide to MLA Documentation 5th edition 1999 Houghton Mifflin (0-395-93851-1) for every faculty member. The idea was that students would learn one style, and be held to one standard. It's generally thought that the librarians and English teachers are responsible for teaching it, but now everyone will grade on the proper application of MLA style. This is our first year under this system, so I can't tell you the results. I teach MLA because our local high school has adopted it as a standard, but I show kids other styles. -- Monika Sisbarro, librarian Forked River Elem. School Forked River, NJ 08731 (School) lacey7@injersey.com (Home) monika@vitinc.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-= All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law. To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST 3) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv For LM_NET Help & Archives see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=