Compare the New Year celebrations of two very different cultures

Expository Essay Topics

Comparison-Contrast Essay Topic  - 

Compare the New Year celebrations of two very different cultures.

MLA format, double spaced, new times Roman 12

MLA format citations

Essay length: 1,000–1,200 words

Introduce  sources properly

Find two to six reputable secondary sources and review them carefully. At least one of these sources should be a peer-reviewed journal article accessed through the AU Library databases (unless your tutor has agreed to waive this requirement).

Based on the information you found in your research, as well as your own brainstorming, develop a straightforward thesis that is sufficiently limited in scope (meaning that you can do justice to it in a short essay).

As you write, integrate information from your research. Of the two to six sources you located and reviewed in Step 3, choose at least two (and no more than four) secondary sources to use within your essay, and then add quotations and paraphrases from them. Every time you paraphrase or quote, follow these four steps to cite and integrate the source properly:

Introduce the source.
Present the research.
Credit the source parenthetically.
Discuss.

n other words, include “quotation sandwiches” and “paraphrase sandwiches” in your essay. Don’t just drop in quotations or paraphrases from sources into your essay. (Some experts call these “hit-and-run quotations,” “dropped quotations,” or “floating quotations.”)

Create a bibliography that lists every source you cited in your essay. (In MLA style, this page is titled “Works Cited,” ) Take this task seriously. We expect you to pay very close attention to detail and follow samples for each entry. We recommend the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)  for all citation matters.