Term Paper
English III
Prepared by Jenny MacDonald
Grade Level Expectations
Reading: F1, G1, H1, C2, A3, B3, C3, D3
Writing: A1, C2, D2, E3, B3, C3, D3
Listening and Speaking: A1, B2
Information and Literacy: B1, C1, A2
Grade Level Expectations
Why is a research paper important?
A research paper is important because
we need to understand more about a
subject to truly explain it to another.
A research paper does this.
We complete a research paper because
you will complete several in your
remaining high school and college
years.
It helps you understand what some of
your interests may be even if you didn’t
think it was an interest.
Why a Research Paper Is Important
continued?
Finally, you will apply several concepts of the
English language in your term paper, which
proves to yourself that you can write well
and utilize the English language correctly.
Examples of concepts include parallel
structure, subject verb agreement,
recognized fragments and run-ons, and
completing clear, cohesive sentences,
plagiarism, paraphrasing, and quoting.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting the ideas or
words of another as if they were one’s
own.
To avoid plagiarism a writer simply
acknowledges the sources used in a
paper.
Plagiarism is found in direct quotations,
paraphrases, and summaries.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Document all direct quotations (word for
word from the text)
Document information the writer has
paraphrased or summarized from the text
(this includes all ideas and expressions that
are adapted from sources)
DO NOT document common knowledge (the
same information found in several
different sources or if it is knowledge that
people have)
WHEN IN DOUBT-CITE SOURCE
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the rewording the meaning
expressed in something spoken or written,
using other words, but retaining all the
original ideas.
The key passages of a written selection
are explained in a person’s own words.
This must have internal citation in an essay
or in a research paper.
Paraphrasing Guidelines
Locate the main idea.
List the supporting details.
Determine the tone of the selection
(remember the tone is the writer’s attitude
toward a subject- serious or angry)
Rework the vocabulary:
Rewrite each sentence in a person’s own
words
Make a list of all the ideas in the source
and the write
an original sentence containing these
ideas.
CREDIT THE AUTHOR USING INTERNAL
CITATION
Summary
A summary in a person’s own words, records
only the main ideas of a passage.
A writer should use this method when pulling
together general ideas from a source.
Guidelines for Summarizing
Look for the topic sentence or the main ideas.
Write these down in one’s own words.
Look for answers to questions, solutions to
problems, and conclusions drawn from the
information presented.
Write these down.
Look for key facts, statistics, and words.
Make a list of these items.
Reduce material by eliminating unnecessary
details.
Write the summary in one’s own words using
the notes taken from the above used
strategies.
CITE SOURCES IN THE FORM OF INTERNAL
CITATION
Guidelines for Reading Background Information
Skim material for a general idea of what it
contains
Scan material looking for a specific piece of
information
Slowly and carefully read selected
information
While reading identify main ideas,
relationships among the ideas, draw
inferences or conclusions from the material
Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is the main point of an essay
or a research paper.
The entire writing will support this
statement.
It is ONE SENTENCE.
The format for this sentence can be simple,
compound, complex, or compound-complex.
It is located in the introductory paragraph of
the writing.
Sample Thesis Statement
Lasers have had their most important and
most dramatic effects in the field of
medicine.
Formal Outline Information
A formal outline not only lays out main ideas
and their support, but it also shows the
relative importance of all the paper’s
elements and how they connect with each
other.
This research paper will use a topic outline
format.
Every heading is a gerund phrase
(Preventing abuse)
Gerund Phrase Formal Outline Sample
II. Abusing issues of young children
A. Facing problems
1. Recognizing a problem
2. Recognizing child-oriented myths
3. Discovering abuse
4. Helping after the fact
B. Involving statistics of abuse
1. Increasing amounts of abuse
2. Showing specific examples
3. Helping without professional
assistance
4. Preventing child abuse
Source Cards
On a separate card for each source include
the following information:
Author
Title
Date of publication
Place of publication
Publication company
Each source card has an alphabetical letter
in the upper right hand corner
Source Card Example
•
•
A
Anderson, J. (1982). There Was Harlem.
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
Note Card Information
Use note cards to record specific
information.
Place one subject on a card
Each note card has an alphabetical letter to
match the source card in the upper right hand
corner along with a number of the card.
Each card has a categorizing label in the
upper left hand corner.
Information includes: direct quotations (page
numbers also), lists of ideas or words for
paraphrasing or summarizing (page numbers
also)
Note Card Example
• Teaching
A3
• “Savage felt her teaching was an important
part of her legacy”(42)
Finished Term Paper Example
Order of Paper
Title Page First
Final Outline (Must have header – your name with a
lowercased “i” after it
Final Draft of Term Paper with A title
Each of your page must have a header on it (Header –
your last name and the page number.
Works Cited Page Double-spaced
Your rough draft of your outline is next
Your rough draft (any information that contributed to your
paper is your rough draft) is last.
All should be stapled together in that order when you hand it
in on Wed., Mar. 28 at the beginning of class.
Samples of Pages
Example of a Title Page
Example of Outline Page
Example of Term Pager final
draft
Assessment through
scoring guides that
are handed to the
students in term paper
packet.
Career Areas
Business Marketing
Professors
Scientists
Biologists
Engineering