The citation for your novel, in the MLA format (8th edition), appears first, followed by a list of quotations and paraphrases and summaries from the novel that are related to the subject of your Fourth Topic Essay (for example, snakes of Botswana, traditional foods of Botswana, womens rights in Botswana, etc.). Every item in the list must include an in-text citation in the MLA format.
Citation Example
McCall Smith, Alexander. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Anchor Books, 2002.
Quotations are information taken word-for-word from your novel, so they must appear within quotation marks, and with an in-text citation at the end of the quote with the authors last name and page number. Generally, quotations are used in an essay when it is desirable to keep the authors exact words as they are, unchanged. Possibly the author selected their words particularly well, so something would be lost if the words were altered. Or possibly you wish to give the reader a sense of the authors style, in which case their exact phrasing is important.
Example
Mma Ramotswe did not want Africa to change. She did not want her people to become like everybody else, soulless, selfish, forgetful of what it means to be an African, or, worse still, ashamed of Africa. She would not be anything but an African, never, even if somebody came up to her and said Here is a pill, the very latest thing. Take it and it will make you into an American. She would say no. Never. No thank you (McCall Smith 215). Paraphrases are small bits of information taken from the novel (such as a dialogue between two characters or background information about a character or place) and put into your own words. This information also requires an in-text citation with the authors last name and the page number, as you are still making use of information that you did not create. The only difference between a paraphrase and a quotation, in terms of citation, is that you dont enclose a paraphrase within quotation marks.
Example
Mma Ramotswe was eight years old when the British relinquished control of her country, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate became Botswana. Since that time, the economy has grown significantly, with new businesses and factories being established regularly (McCall Smith 152-3).
Summaries are concise reports of events that take place within the novel, put into your own words, with in-text citations that may include a large page number range. A brief related quotation may be included.
Examples
One case that Mma Ramotswe solves during the course of this novel is that of Mma Pekwane, who consults her about a stolen car that her husband has acquired. She wants Mma Ramotswe to help her to return the car without her husband knowing his wife was involved. Mma Ramotswe agrees, and asks Mr J.L.B. to accompany her to the Pekwanes house to obtain the cars serial number. Mma Ramotswe contacts Billy Pilani, an old friend of hers, and a policeman, and gives him the number so that he can find the original owner of the car, and arrange to have that person retrieve the car from the African Mall in Gabarone on the following Tuesday morning. Early that morning, Mma Ramotswe returns to the Pekwanes house, finds the car keys that Mma Pekwane has left for her, and drives the car away. Everything goes as planned, and Mma Pekwane is relieved. She can now sleep at night, without feeling guilty or worried (McCall Smith 125-131).
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni Is a mechanic and the owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Mma Ramotswe has known him for years, as his uncle had been a close friend of her father. He is a good mankind, truthful, and hard-working. Mma Ramotswe talks with him about some of her cases, including one involving a stolen car. He accompanies her on a mission to discover the cars serial number. He asks her to marry him, and she says no, even though she values his friendship highly, because her first husband treated her badly, and she has no wish to be married again. I do not want a husband, she says. I am finished with husbands for good (McCall Smith 156). Later, he asks for her help, with an illegal item he found in a customers car at his garage, and she takes care of the problem for him. The novel concludes with Mr J.L.B. working up the courage to once more ask her to marry him, and this time she agrees (McCall Smith 87-235).
