Sample Polished Draft

 

Etiam Ornare Vitae Sapien at Mollis

As you can see, this is a sample essay that shows you what a 1236-word essay, that includes citations of outside sources, should look like. The title is nonsense and most of this essay is, too. But it has a purpose. After you read these first three paragraphs, you may stop reading. Instead, look at how the essay appears. It shows you how long a 1200+ word essay is. It shows you the margins, which should be one-inch on the left, the right, the top, and the bottoms of every page. It shows you double spacing, font size (12) and acceptable type (Calibri, Times New Roman), and indented paragraphs. It shows you that the paragraphs are indented, yet they do not have extra spaces after each paragraph. It shows you what should appear in the header space (your last name and the page number) and what should appear on the first page of your essay in the left hand corner (your name, your instructor’s name, the name of your class, and the date you wrote the essay). It shows you that the title is capitalized and is placed in the center. You must also format your first and final drafts in this way. The double spacing leaves enough room to write comments and make changes.

This sample essay shows you that your reference page must be set up in a certain way.  The title of the reference page is centered, but the citations are not centered. The citations are set up in a format called “hanging indent.” You must also format your reference page. On the reference page, you should notice that they are alphabetized. When you write a reference page in MLA format, you will call it a Works Cited page. The citations on that page are related to what is inside the essay. The next paragraph will discuss the relationship between what is inside the paper and what is at the end. Please read it when you are writing and revising drafts that use outside sources.

The citations at the end, in the reference page, are related to the citations made in-text. In-text citations always refer to the source in which the author (you or me, or in this case, Lorem Ipsum) got the information that the author is using as a direct quote or a paraphrase. If the source is used as a direct quote to provide evidence, the in-text citation often looks like this: According to at least one study, college students are “are more than twice as likely as employers to think that [they] are being well-prepared” for what is needed in the workforce (Gowdy). If the source is used as a paraphrase, you must still cite it in-text. If you cite a paraphrase, it can look like this: According to at least one study, employers do not find that college students are as well-prepared for the workplace as college students consider themselves to be (Gowdy). In both of the previous examples, the Gowdy mentioned in parentheses indicates that Gowdy is the author of the source that the information came from. Gowdy did not necessarily state that “college students…” but the source he or she used did state that. The sentences might then look like this: In both of these examples, the in-text citations direct the reader (your audience) to the source where the information can be found. If you turn directly to page 6, you will see a citation reference to Gowdy.

 The rest of this text is utter nonsense. It is here just to be a placeholder. If you want to see a sample Works Cited page in MLA 8 format, go to page 6. Morbi in lorem ac diam vulputate aliquam pulvinar vitae lacus. Duis odio magna, elementum vitae ex et, sagittis finibus lectus. Fusce elementum, ex vitae ullamcorper tincidunt, magna velit varius turpis, non interdum nibh ligula et libero. Phasellus placerat leo quam, pellentesque molestie augue sagittis nec. Vestibulum massa dolor, accumsan eu lorem iaculis, suscipit viverra nulla. Nullam aliquet tellus nec ante ullamcorper aliquet. Sed varius eros vel mattis fermentum.

Donec vehicula, diam nec faucibus finibus, magna metus pellentesque eros, sed aliquam ex justo vel augue. Nulla sed aliquam turpis, eu vestibulum tellus. Pellentesque accumsan tincidunt venenatis. Nam tempus mi vel condimentum congue. Praesent eu ante vehicula, feugiat odio sit amet, malesuada enim. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque sed luctus massa. Praesent varius interdum vestibulum. Proin in diam a massa semper tincidunt at nec odio. In eget metus libero. Ut mi ex, molestie vel nisl nec, sagittis sollicitudin leo.

Morbi in lorem ac diam vulputate aliquam pulvinar vitae lacus. Duis odio magna, elementum vitae ex et, sagittis finibus lectus. Fusce elementum, ex vitae ullamcorper tincidunt, magna velit varius turpis, non interdum nibh ligula et libero. Phasellus placerat leo quam, pellentesque molestie augue sagittis nec. Vestibulum massa dolor, accumsan eu lorem iaculis, suscipit viverra nulla. Nullam aliquet tellus nec ante ullamcorper aliquet. Sed varius eros vel mattis fermentum. Donec vehicula, diam nec.

Mauris volutpat vulputate nibh, vel blandit metus pharetra eu. Duis dignissim metus vel sagittis porta. Praesent aliquam urna ut nisl vestibulum commodo. Nulla tempus fermentum arcu, in bibendum nibh tempus quis. Phasellus finibus bibendum semper. Aenean eget felis rhoncus, pharetra orci eget, viverra mauris. Cras nisi elit, gravida nec nisi et, maximus varius dolor. Nam auctor sapien sed diam facilisis, nec sollicitudin erat maximus. Praesent hendrerit, ante non commodo varius, turpis neque rutrum odio, facilisis tincidunt augue nisi vel ipsum. Integer pellentesque massa et auctor euismod. Mauris eros orci, luctus pulvinar turpis in, ornare eleifend ligula. Mauris euismod congue ante, vel gravida est efficitur nec. Ut sit amet mi at arcu viverra eleifend. Fusce sodales bibendum enim at pharetra. Vivamus consequat risus orci, id egestas urna fermentum eu. Aenean imperdiet mauris id ex egestas, et porta est ultricies.

Vestibulum mattis tellus tincidunt, consectetur lacus id, rutrum felis. Aliquam justo tortor, fermentum non ultricies eu, accumsan ultrices justo. Duis vel feugiat arcu. Phasellus imperdiet hendrerit sem in rhoncus. Ut aliquet, nibh non vestibulum auctor, elit odio mattis sem, sit amet hendrerit orci lectus vitae risus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec sagittis, diam vel convallis suscipit, orci urna sagittis eros, quis volutpat felis neque non mi. Nullam sed viverra lectus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Cras blandit laoreet nibh, eu pharetra tortor. Phasellus vehicula elit ac mi pulvinar feugiat. Vestibulum ac eleifend eros. Integer tincidunt ullamcorper dui. Quisque dictum nibh nec ultricies feugiat.

Sed scelerisque tellus felis, in scelerisque felis efficitur ut. Donec ex magna, ultricies vitae rutrum id, maximus non sapien. Curabitur nibh elit, laoreet sed egestas rhoncus, congue sit amet purus. Suspendisse a tempus est. Nullam eget blandit arcu. Pellentesque bibendum fringilla sem consectetur vehicula. Suspendisse vitae augue ut arcu egestas lobortis sit amet et risus. Morbi vulputate orci urna, et eleifend arcu maximus ac. Maecenas nulla mauris, scelerisque a libero sed, viverra sagittis velit. Morbi elementum nunc nec magna ullamcorper dapibus. Fusce dapibus porttitor ipsum, aliquam commodo metus placerat quis. Nullam molestie augue turpis, eget sodales ante suscipit in.

Donec feugiat eros cursus, tristique dui nec, lobortis dolor. Phasellus fermentum est ac ligula aliquam rutrum nec nec nisi. Pellentesque ultricies sem dolor, non sollicitudin lorem convallis vel. Nullam cursus sit amet magna vel gravida. Fusce condimentum et tellus sed venenatis. Duis non augue nunc.

 

Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. Review of An Inconvenient Truth, directed by Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert.com, 1 June 2006, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-inconvenient-truth-2006. Accessed 15 June 2016.

Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36.

An Inconvenient Truth. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, performances by Al Gore and Billy West, Paramount, 2006.

Milken, Michael, et al. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4, 2006, p. 63.

No More. Public service announcement ad, with Mariska Hargitay. 2018. Joyful Heart Foundation, www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/programs/education/no-more/psa-campaign/no-more-excuses-video-and-print-series. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review, vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 31-34.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science, vol. 294, no. 5545, 9 Nov. 2001, pp. 1283-84, DOI: 10.1126/science.1065007.