Order 407306: Write an analysis of the influence of the internet on American politics. This may include looking at the influence of the blogosphere, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc), YouTube advocacy, fundraising, calls for action, etc.

If you would like a review focused on your grammar, usage, and mechanics, in the future, please request a grammar review in the comments box.

I have made in-text comments on grammatical errors. Here is a general discussion of these errors. The discussions on each issue will tell you how to correct the grammatical errors in the essay:

Review the rules of capitalization

You should capitalize proper names (Internet, Susan). Names of general things do not take capitals (dog, street, or house). In a title, the first and last words are capitalized, along with all the other words except for the articles, prepositions, and conjunctions in the title. (This is known as title case.) Book and film titles are also italicized. (From Russia with Love; There and Back Again). A good rule of thumb is that if you do not know if you should capitalize a word in a sentence, look it up in a good dictionary. If it is not capitalized in the dictionary, then don’t capitalize it in the sentence, unless it is the proper name or in the title of a person/place/thing. If it is, then it takes a capital letter: From Far Away (the title of a manga).

Review the rules on how to use commas:

1. Use a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) that links two independent clauses. For example: “Henry is going to be late, and that is not okay.”

2. Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence. For example: “Because Henry is late, we are going to have to wait.”

3. Use commas to offset appositives from the rest of the sentence. An appositive is the little descriptive phrase about certain words in a sentence. For example: “Do you think that Henry, who is always late, will be on time for once?”

4. Use commas to separate items in a series. “I am really angry at Henry. He is always late, never calls to let us know, and just laughs at us when we complain.”

5. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

A comma cannot do the job of a semicolon.

· Use a semicolon when you need to separate clauses which themselves contain commas.

· Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses. An independent clause is a clause/section that can stand as a complete sentence.

A paragraph in an academic paper must have only one topic. The first sentence of a paragraph indicates the paragraph’s topic. Each sentence in the paragraph must support the paragraph’s topic. If it does not, you must omit the sentence entirely, begin a new paragraph, or revise the sentence so it clearly supports the paragraph’s topic. Keep in mind that you might understand how a sentence supports the paragraph’s topic, but you must make sure the reader also understands this.

Do not use scare quotes in an academic paper as they are considered informal language. Quote marks are used to indicate specific information. Quote marks indicate a quotation, a title, or a term to be discussed. If you use quote marks when you are not quoting or indicating a title or term, then you are using scare quotes. Scare quotes are quote marks around a word or phrase to indicate it is not being used in the usual sense. Scare quotes also may imply doubt or skepticism about the word. We often use scare quotes in casual or informal writing. This is fine, since the reader can often work out what the writer means. However, academic writing is formal writing; do not use casual or informal language in an academic essay.

Part 8 – Formatting

You indicate you must use MLA formatting. Keep in mind that MLA formatted essays generally do not use headings. If you have been specifically instructed to use headings, then you must follow your professor’s instructions. In addition, many of the in-text citations do not follow MLA guidelines. Also, the Works Cited section does not follow current MLA guidelines. Here is a current MLA style guide for you to use:

Please use the Brainfuse Style Guides for information on citation formatting.

MLA http://www.brainfuse.com/curriculumupload//1473787192350.doc

I have copied it here for easy access:

MLA Style Guide (8th edition 2016)

General Layout

Title Page: 

MLA does not require that you have a title page. (In fact, you should not make one unless you are specifically told to do so by your instructor.)

Instead, on your first page, you should list your name, your instructor's name, the course title, and the date. This material is placed in the upper left-hand corner of the first page using double-spaced text.

Double space again and center your title using Title Case (standard capitalization). Do not underline, italicize, bold, increase the font size, use a different font, or place your title in quotation marks or in all capital letters. However, if your title references other works, you should use quotation marks and/or italics the same way you would reference them in your text (see below).

Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

Page Numbering:

Using the header feature, add page numbers to the top, right-hand corner of each page beginning with the first page of text. This information should include your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Number all pages consecutively using Arabic numbers, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: You may be asked by your instructor to omit this information on your first page. You would then begin the headers on page 2.)

Text Style:

Use a readable font (Times New Roman is the recommended standard); font size should be 12 pt.

In the text, longer works such as books and journal titles should be italicized. Shorter works such as articles and chapter titles should be in quotation marks.  

Capitalize only true proper nouns. Apply a “minimalist” principle when determining what constitutes a proper noun or what should be capitalized.

Spacing:

Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

Indent: The first line of a paragraph should be indented by a half inch.

Headings: Headings are not required in MLA.

Double-space text throughout.

Long quotes of more than four lines should be block indented one inch from the left margin, double-spaced, and printed without quotation marks. The parenthetical citation for block quotes appears after the final period, as in this example. (32)

Citations and References

The MLA style for providing citations consists of in-text citations and a Works Cited page. In-text citations are citations within the body of the paper that point to a Works Cited entry on a list at the end of the paper.

In-Text Citations:

Include the author of each source followed by the page number.

At the time, "he reflected on the decision" (Smith 100).

If you include an author's name in a sentence, you do not need to repeat it in your parenthetical statement: As Smith said, "he reflected on the decision" (100).

Please note the placement of the period. The quotation is concluded, the citation is listed, and then the sentence ends.

In MLA style, these in-text references need to be clear and brief. They are a way to link the cited material directly to the works cited page. The in-text citation should be at the end of the sentence where the material is quoted -- unless there are two quotations from different sources within the same sentence in which case your in-text citation should appear at the end of the clause.

When referencing web pages, page numbers are not normally used. (Pagination will change depending on individual computers and browsers.)

Recall that the standard format for any internal citation is (Author pg), but this may be shortened to (Author) or (Author, “Short Title”) for electronic sources.

If no author is given, use the title in your signal phrase (“Short Title”).

When indicating short (fewer than three lines of verse) quotations from poetry, mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash, ( / ), at the end of each line of verse (a space should precede and follow the slash).

Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I remember" (11-12).

Seem simple enough? Here are some possible complications:

(Note that the titles below are examples and not based on actual publications.)

You are citing…

· Two different sources by one author: (Smith, Writing Lyrics 100) (Smith, “The New Musical” 22) Note that the first example is a book, and the second example is an article.

· Two authors with the same name: (R. Smith, Writing Lyrics 100); (B. Smith, “Cole Porter’s Creativity” 8)

· A source with more than one author: (Cruz, Kim, Moore Staging a Musical 10)

· A source without an author: (Memoirs of a Stage Manager 303)

· A website: (Smith et al., “A Writer at Work”) (Moore, “Just Add Words”)

· A source with three or more authors uses the et al. format: (Taylor, et al. 294)

Personal Interviews

Personal interviews refer to those interviews that you conduct yourself. List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor Personal interview and the date of the interview.

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

In the in-text citation, refer to the interviewee:

The first experiment was a failure (Smith).

Long quotations

For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)

Works Cited (References):

· The words “Works Cited” (no quotations) are centered at the top of a new page and are not bolded, italicized, or underlined.

· Entries that are more than one line should have a hanging indent. (Every line except for the first line is indented by 0.5 inches.)

· Capitalize each word in titles except for articles, prepositions, or conjunctions. However, the initial letter in the title’s first word should always be capitalized.

· Italicize the titles of full-length works and put shorter works in quotations.

· Alphabetize the list of entries by the first author’s last name.

MLA no longer requires writers to indicate the format of a source (Web, print, DVD, etc.) because all citations will contain the same core elements. They are as follows:

1) Author:

· Begin each entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma, the rest of their name as it appears in the work, and a period.

· If there is more than one author, list them in the order they are presented in the work.

· If there are more than three authors listed, list the first name presented in the work, and follow it up with et. al.

· If there is no specific author, an editor or a translator may be used in his/her place.

2) Title of source:

· Titles should be written out in full, including subtitles (separated by a colon).

· A title is placed in quotations if it is part of a larger work. For example, an article in a magazine or a newspaper would be put in quotations.

· A title is italicized if it stands on its own as a complete work. For example, a whole book, magazine, or website would be put in italics.

3) Title of container:

· The container is what “holds” the source. In other words, it is the place where the source is located.

· The title of a container is always italicized and followed by a comma.

· If the container is part of another “larger” container – for example, if you were to cite an episode of a television series which is the sole property of Netflix – you would list the larger container at the end of the citation, listing subsequent relevant information if necessary.

4) Other contributors:

· Other contributors who played in prominent role in composing or releasing the work, like an editor or a translator, should be included in the citation.

· Each contributor’s name is written out in full and preceded by a description of their role.

5) Version:

· If available, list the version or edition of a work.

6) Number:

· If you are citing a multivolume work, indicate the volume number.

· If you are citing a journal, indicate both the volume and issue number of the journal.

· If you are citing an episode in a series, indicate the episode number.

7) Publisher:

· The publisher is the organization responsible for making a work available to the public.

· Books, films and television series, websites, and blog networks should all have their publisher included in a citation.

· Publishers may be omitted for periodicals, a work published by its author or editor, and website who are not responsible for the content made by creators (for example, YouTube).

8) Publication date:

· If available, cite the date a source was published.

· Dates should be written out “Day Month Year”. The day and month may be excluded if it is not immediately relevant to your work.

9) Location:

· Cite page numbers if a work is part of a larger, published work.

· Cite URLs for websites.

· Physical locations (like a museum or a venue) should be cited if relevant.

10) Optional elements:

· Optional elements that may be mentioned in a citation include original year of publication, location of publication, “unusual” sources, prior publication information, and date of access.

You can skip over any information that is missing from a particular source, and in that way, this basic template becomes completely customizable based on the medium of your source.

Here are some example citations for common sources that you might use in your papers. The “core element” number is included next to each component of the citation, for reference.

An article in a scholarly journal:

Kincaid, Jamaica (1). “In History.” (2) Callaloo (3), vol. 24 (5), no. 2 (6), Spring 2001 (8), pp. 620-26 (9).

With the “core element” number removed:

Kincaid, Jamaica. “In History.” Callaloo, vol. 24, no. 2, Spring 2001, pp. 620-26.

A book:

Jacobs, Alan (1). The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (2). Oxford UP (7), 2001 (8).

An article in a magazine or newspaper:

Deresiewicz, William (1). “The Death of the Artist – and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” (2) The Atlantic (3), Jan.-Feb. 2015 (8), pp. 92-97 (9).

An article or page on a website:

Clancy, Kate (1). “Defensive Scholarly Writing and Scientific Communication.” (2) Context and Variation (3), Scientific American Blogs (7), 24 Apr. 2013 (8), blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation/2013/04/24/defensive-scholarly-writing-and-science-communication/ (9).

A whole website:

Hollmichel, Stephanie (1). So Many Books (2). 2003-13 (8), somanybooksblog.com (9).

A video:

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Unaired Pilot 1996.” (2) YouTube (3), uploaded by Brain Stowe (4), 28 Jan. 2012 (8), www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR3J-v7QXXw (9).

Visit https://www.mla.org/style_faq1 for more specific information or consult the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Information adapted from MLA Handbook. 8 th ed., The Modern Language Association of America, 2016.

Additional Comments

I have also added specific comments in green text and highlighted in green select parts of your paper. You will find them below.

Note that your paper has been copied into this file. Please make all changes to your own original file to maintain the formatting, header and footers. Here is a copy of your paper with my in-text comments:

[You must use the same font and font size throughout the entire essay. Do not use a different font/font size for the pagination.]

Esau Jean Baptiste

Professor Ricardo Vasquez

ENC1101

15 June 2017

An Analysis of the Influence of the Internet on American Politics

The internet plays a very huge role in activism, campaigns and governance, more so, politics is being changed by digital and social media. [Review the rules of capitalization. Review the use of commas.] According to research, studies concentrate on questions such as is the internet leading to an increase in polarization – whereby people who think the same way come together to share ideas and views. [Review the rules of capitalization. The word “Internet” is a proper noun. In addition, you must avoid using a dash in an academic essay; use other punctuation to help you say what you mean.] Journalists should keep track with new campaign tactics that are effective such as large-scale use of social media. Perhaps, the internet era started making an impact during the Obama presidency (Wihbey).