You Will Learn How to Compose A Research Paper
Step One: The Basics
 Organization
makes the Essay!
 Half
the grade of an essay is determined by the
logical progression of ideas.
 The
traditional 5 paragraph essay outline will just
about write your paper for you!
 Stop
fighting the Outline!
 Introduction


Thesis Statement- what are you trying to prove?
How will you argue it?
1st idea


2nd idea


3 examples from the text to support this idea
3rd idea


3 examples from the text to support this idea
3 examples from the text to support this idea
Conclusion

Restatement of your thesis statement
A
primary source is first hand evidence. It
was there at the time of an event. It is
contemporary to the period being studied.
 Examples of primary sources are:
speeches, letters, songs, legislation, court
decisions, journals/diaries, interviews,
artifacts, autobiographies, and photographs.
 Titles
advertise how interesting and well written
your paper is.
 Animal
Rights
 Hamburgers
are Evil: Animal Rights Should be Better
 The
Burden of the Beast: The Struggle for
Regulation of Animal Rights in the United States.
Which would you read?
To Clearly State to the Reader:
 The
Topic
 The
Side of the Argument You are Taking
 The
thesis statement of an essay HAS to be the last
sentence of your first paragraph and include 3
supporting details to support your paper’s
contention or intent.
 Ideally
you would have a minimum of 3
direct quotes per paragraph to solidly ground
your essay in research.
 Without
referencing creditable sources
throughout your work your reader simply will
not believe your argument.

Introduce ALL quotations in the beginning of the sentence that
precedes the quotation.

Place author's last name and page number in parentheses.
Example:

His biographer Stross states, “Thomas Alva Edison is the patron
saint of electric light, electric power, and music-on-demand, the
grandfather of the Wired World, and the great-grandfather of
iPod Nation. He was the person who flipped the switch” (Stross
27).
 When
you paraphrase or summarize
information from the text or wish to
attribute factual information to a particular
source, include the parenthetical citation in
the sentence where you conclude the
paraphrase, summary, or information. This is
usually the last sentence in the paragraph.
Example:
 O'Brien
claims that the mind is the greatest
unexplored area in the world (15).
Research Paper Topic: The Legalization of Marijuana
Original Thesis Statement:
"Since this costs our people and country so much money, a law legalizing
marijuana would dramatically affect our nation as a whole; enforcing
marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers over $10 billion a year."
Thesis Statement After 3rd Editing:
“Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs American taxpayers over $10 billion a
year; a law legalizing marijuana and the subsequent taxation of the
controlled substance would have a dramatic effect on the nation’s
economy."
 “Most
of Charles Dickens writing takes place
in Victorian England, but his timeless
message is universal.”
 Question
asked by the teacher as she reads
and grades your work:
Most? When else did his writings take place? In
the future? In NJ?
 During
Charles Dickens’ time murder was
illegal, not like today.
 Q.
Wait- is murder legal now? Why didn’t
anybody tell me?
 “There
are many small events in the novel
that have a slightly different theme than the
theme of the whole book, but follow the
same topic; the poorer of England.”
 Q.
Which novel? What theme? Why is there a
semi colon? Who exactly are the “poorer of
England” and who are they poorer than?
 “As
the poorer get poorer the richer get
richer.”
 Q.
Seriously, who are these people?
 “The
novel Oliver Twist was written by
Charles Dickens that was about an orphan
boy called Oliver Twist, whom which the
book is named after.”
 Q.
You’re kidding me; Oliver Twist is about
Oliver Twist? That’s deep man.
The Following are Personal Pronouns and should
NEVER be used in a Formal Essay.
"Proponents and opponents constantly argue with
the debatable subject of legalized cannabis.
Proponents believe that there is enough research
on marijuana to show that it can help the ill and
is not harmful towards people, while opponents
believe that it would ruin our economy and the
youth because it is falsely shown as a healthy
drug."
Do not use passive words like:
 Would
 Should
 Could
 Usually
 Basically
 Mostly
 Most Likely
 Pretty Much
Passive words like these infer that you are unsure of the
validity of your argument. Why should the reader
believe you if you don’t believe yourself?
 All
formal essay writing is to be written in
the present tense.
 Animals
had to suffer to satisfy someone’s
taste bus.
 Animals have had to suffer to satisfy the
taste buds of the masses.
 Do
not begin a sentence with a quote. You must
introduce all quotes within the sentence.
Example
 “To be or not to be.” ” (III.i.65)Hamlet was
considering his existence.
 Considering
his very existence, the character of
Hamlet ponders, “[t]o be or not to be” (III.i.65).
 All
punctuation belongs inside quotation
marks.
Incorrect:
 Charles Brooks writes “the play is about
reality and illusions, the illusions of memory,
dream, and wish that modify our awareness
of reality (Brooks 39)”.
 Charles
Brooks writes that “the play is about
reality and illusions, the illusions of memory,
dream, and wish that modify our awareness
of reality” (Brooks 39).
 Do
me a favor- unless your paper is
handwritten- don’t underline anything.
 In the days of typewriters the titles of
books were underlined. Now the titles of
books can be put in italics.
 The
title of a long text, like a book, novel
or epic poem is in italics. The title of a
short text like a short story, poem or
article is in “quotation marks.”
I
challenge you to never say or type the word
“THAT”
 The same goes for the word “This”
 Why do English Teachers hate the word “That?”
 Because
we do.
Example:
 With: "The company says that it believes stocks will
fall."
Without: "The company says it believes stocks will
fall."
 When a sentence has a main clause and a
subordinate clause you don't have to use the word
"that." You can say, "The company says it believes
stocks will fall."
Works Cited
Dyer, Wayne W. The Power of Intention:
Learning to Co-Create Your World Your
Way. Carlsbad: Hay House, 2004.
Heller, Joseph. Catch 22. New York: Simon &
Schuster; Reprint edition, 1996.
O‘ Reilley, Mary Rose. The Barn at the End of the
World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker
Buddhist Shepherd. Minneapolis: Milkweed
Editions, 2000.