Outlines, Intros, Theses, Conclusions, and Citations
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The purpose of an outline is to help you organize your
thoughts and paper topics.
Research papers involve a lot of materials.Your outline should
help you organize your notes.
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I.
II.
An introduction is the first paragraph of a research
paper.
It has two parts:
1. A general introduction to the topic you will be
discussing
2.Your Thesis Statement (We’ll get to this later.)
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Start with a couple of sentences that introduce your topic.You do not
want to give too much detailed information; save that for the body of your
paper.
Your introduction is the place to be creative.You can start with a startling
fact, “One in three animals in rural South Carolina are abused every year,”
or an interesting story, “Susan was your ordinary teenager, until she found
out she was pregnant.” Remember, it’s about catching the readers
attention, and keeping them engaged.
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Teenagers in many American cities have been involved in
more gangs in the last five years than ever before. These
gangs of teens have been committing a lot of violent crimes.
The victims of these crimes are both gang members and
people outside of gangs. Many people do not want to travel
to areas in our cities because of the danger from this
problem. For this terrible situation to stop, it is going to
take a combined effort on the part of many people.
Supervised after-school programs, more jobs
available for teens, and healthy family relationships
will go a long way towards ending the gang crisis in
our society.
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The thesis statement is the most important sentence
in the paper. Because the thesis statement is sort of an
outline of the research paper in one sentence, it’s good
to go back and reexamine it at the end of the paper. It’s
okay if your thesis statement changes.
Remember that your thesis statement should be
CLEAR and CONCISE.
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Topic: The Effect of Mozart’s Music on Short Term Memory
Thesis: Listening to Mozart’s music has no effect on human memory.
Topic: Musicals: A Bygone Pastime or A Contemporary Phenomena
Thesis: While musicals have definitely seen their rise and fall in
popularity, the genre has never been more prevalent than it is today.
Topic: The Significance of Athletic Helmets and Protective Gear
Thesis: Proper athletic gear and helmets prevent injuries that can cause
permanent brain damage, and in some cases, save a life.
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The purpose of the conclusion is to give your reader
closure.You want them to feel that you supported
what you stated in your thesis.
For example, if your thesis statement says, “Listening to
Mozart’s music has no effect on human memory,” then
your conclusion should echo that, not repeat it.
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A conclusion, in some ways, is like your introduction.
You rephrase your thesis and synthesize the main
points of evidence for the reader. End it with a closing
statement that sticks with the reader.
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There are two ways you are going to cite your sources
in this paper.
1.
2.
In-Text Citations (Within the paper)
Works Cited a.k.a Bibliography (At the end of the paper.)
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When should you use in-text citations?
When quoting any words that are not your own. If
you copy without quotes, it is plagiarism!
Quoting means to repeat another source word for
word, using quotation marks.
“Quotation Marks  ”
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You should also cite your sources when you are
summarizing facts and ideas from a source and
paraphrasing a source.
Summarizing means to take ideas from a large passage
of another source and condense them using your own
words.
Paraphrasing means to use the ideas from another
source but change the phrasing into your own words.
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Remember…
Make it easier for your reader!
◦ Keep quotes short
◦ Give only information needed to identify the source on your
Works Cited page
◦ You do not need to cite information that is “Common
Knowledge”
The author’s last name and page number(s) of quote must appear in the
text.
For example: Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).
or
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a
“spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).
If the source has no known author, then use an abbreviated version of the
title:
Full Title: “California Cigarette Tax Deters Smokers”
Citation: (“California” 14).
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The works cited page should be the easiest part for
you. Those of you who correctly wrote your citations
for the annotated bibliography will simply cut and paste
your citations onto a separate document. This will go
at the very end of your paper, on its on page.
If you did not do this on your annotated bibliography,
you will need to go to the OWL Purdue website to
figure out how to do this.