Genetic Engineering Paper Mistakes

Setting up Quote/In-Text Citations

• SSS Methods• Speaker, situation—QUOTE—Significance• According to the article, “The Case Against

Perfection” by Michael J. Sandel, “Some say cloning is wrong because it violates the right to anatomy; by choosing a child’s genetic makeup in advance, parents deny the child’s right to an open future” (Sandel 2).

Setting up quotes—continued

• If you have already set up your quote correctly and you are wanting to add another quote from THE SAME ARTICLE, you do NOT need to set up the entire quote again. Simply add the author:

• Sandel also states, “__________________”(Sandel).

Length of Quotes• You should use a block quotation when the quotation extends more

than four typed lines on the page. Although they are allowed in any type of writing, you will likely most often use them when quoting from fiction or literature. A block quotation is removed from the main body of your text. Indent one inch from the main margin (the equivalent of two half-inch paragraph indentations) and begin your quote. Maintain double spacing throughout, but you do not need to use quotation marks.

Gatsby experiences a moment of clarity while standing with Daisy on his dock. Fitzgerald writes:

Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now to him vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one(98).

Works Cited

• None of you completed a WORKS CITED! Now, I know I didn’t ask you to create one, HOWEVER, if you are using EVIDENCE—you better be citing correctly:

• A Works Cited page is the last page of your essay and is on a separate page. It needs to be in alphabetical order. Whatever is in your in-text citation, should MATCH your works cited entry.

• https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/

Citing Continued..

• MANY OF YOU DID THIS:• “In the Ted Talk”• WHAT TED TALK??? There are HUNDREDS!• Some of you referred to the speaker as

“TED”—nope—not Ted.• According to Paul Root Wolpe’s Ted Talk, “It’s

Time to Question Bio-engineering”

You/We/Our

• AVOID PRONOUNS!• Who is you in a paper? Who would be “we”

in a paper? • INSTEAD, BE SPECIFIC:• We should not allow genetic engineering.

WRONG!• America should not allow genetic

engineering. RIGHT!

QUESTIONS!!!!!

• AVOID QUESTIONS!• YOUR JOB IS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS—NOT

ASK THEM.• In a well-written essay, questions will already

be developing in your reader’s head—you do not need to ask them of your reader.

No Evidence??

• In an essay at this level and regarding a scientific topic—you must be using EVIDENCE.

• Remember how we highlighted the sample essay for green? You MUST BE using quotes—not simply a summarization of what you read.

• ALSO—GMO!– You must define what a GMO is and cite where

you learned it’s definition

FRAGMENTS• Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments

are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause.

• Fragment:Purdue offers many majors in engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Possible Revision: Purdue offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering.

Examples seen in papers:“Killing animals in the United States”“Genetic Engineering is bad”

Word Choice!

• Good• Bad• A lot• Stuff• Cause---you mean “because”• Nowadays—slang