RESEARCH PAPER CHECK
LIST:
by Don L. F. Nilsen
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ENG 312 CARDS:
Your name (first name first)
ENG 312
Current Semester and Year
Local address & zip
Permanent Address & zip
Non-ASU e-mails
Languages you’ve studied
1st Six Years of Life: State or Country
Tentative Title of Research paper (see next slide)
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Possible Research Paper Topics
African Humor
Asian Humor
Bilingual Humor
Caricature
Celtic Humor
Cultural Diversity
Double Entendre
Ethnic Humor
French Humor
Gender Issues
Humor & Anthropology
Humor & Computers
Humor & Education
Humor & Linguistics
Humor & Literature
Humor & Philosophy
Humor & Pop Culture
Humor & Psychology
Humor & Religion
Humor & Rhetoric
Humor & Sociology
Humor & Translation
Indian Humor
Irish Humor
Irony
Jokes
Language Play
Metaphor
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Paradox
Parody
Practical Jokes
Puns & Ambiguity
Satire
Sarcasm
Jewish Humor
Polish Humor
Regional Dialects
Spanish Humor
Language Play
Intertextual Humor
Visual Humor
Wit or Humor of any
Author or of any Piece 3
of Literature
DOCUMENTATION AND FORMAT:
BI: Basic Information on first page:
1). Your Name
2). Instructor's Name
3). Course Identification
4). Semester and Year
5). Descriptive (not cutesy) Research-Paper Title
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Evaluation of Research Papers
1.
Have you selected an appropriate topic (from the list of topics
above)? Is your topic focused and unified?
2.
Do you have at least three scholarly references in your Works
Cited?
3.
Did you read these references carefully and totally understand
them?
4.
Did you select significant and insightful parts of these references to
quote and/or to paraphrase?
5.
Did you cite the page numbers after all of your quotations and
paraphrases?
6.
Is your argument systematic and sustained?
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7. Is there good paragraph development and overall development of your
argument?
8. Is your paper well organized, and are the transitions smooth? What
would a three-level outline of your paper look like?
9. Do you make significant generalizations?
10. Do you support these generalizations with significant and insightful
details?
11. Are your sources well integrated into the body of your paper?
NOTE: This is a research paper, so it should not be about what you think.
It should be about what the experts think.
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Attribution and Documentation:
OPENING & CLOSING PARAGRAPHS: Your
opening paragraph is for foreshadowing.
Your closing paragraph is for concluding.
ALL OTHER PARAGRAPHS: All other
paragraphs need to have attribution (names
of authors from Works Cited) and
documentation (specific page numbers)
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General requirements:
FONT: 12 point
MARGINS: one inch margins on top, bottom, left and right
PAGE NUMBERS: Each page should have a page number. In your
Works Cited, each article in a journal, anthology, etc. should
have inclusive page numbers.
QUOTATION MARKS: Everything quoted that’s not in block form
must be surrounded by quotation marks. If not this is
plagiarism and a grade of E will be awarded. Also put quotation
marks around minor titles (like articles or poems)
UNDERLINING: Underline major titles (like books).
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MLA Documentation:
Your paper and Works cited should be in MLA Documentation:
www.mlahandbook.org
In-text citation should be “…” (234).
Works Cited should be like the next slide.
The entries in Works Cited should be alphabetized by first authors last
name, and should be in hanging indentation (Control T in Microsoft
Word)
If a quotation is more than five lines in length, it should be indented ten
spaces from the left. Do not use quotation marks with long quotes.
Make sure that every author mentioned in your text can be found
alphabetically in your Works Cited.
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Works Cited:
Boyle, Anthony T. “The Epistemological Evolution of Renaissance Utopian
Literature.” Diss. New York U, 1983.
Clark, Herbert H., and Thomas H. Carlson. “Etcetera.” Language 58.4
(1982): 332-373.
Clark, Kenneth. What is a Masterpiece? London, England: Thames, 1979.
Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. New
York, NY: Norton, 1964.
Kakutani, Michiko. "`Now and Then': A Memoirist Who Disregards the
Details." The New York Times On the Web. 22 February 1998.
<http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/22/daily/keller-book-review.html>
(24 February 1998).
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.” The Realm of
Fiction. Ed. James B. Hall. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977, 479-488.
(Eschholz, Rosa & Clark [2009]: 617-622)
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Development:
If you’re writing about an author, write about the style, giving
salient and insightful examples. Don’t give biographical
information that doesn’t relate to the writing style.
Don’t be superficial. If you use good sources, then you can make
insightful comments.
Don’t rely on your own personal experiences, and don’t ramble.
Have good resources, read them carefully, and refer to them in
your paper.
If your paper needs to be well organized, but it also needs to make
significant generalizations supported by insightful details.
There should also be smooth transitions.
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Sentence Grammar:
Check on the grammar of your sentences making sure that
subjects agree with verbs and pronouns agree with specific
(not vague) antecedents.
Get rid of long and awkward sentences.
Get rid of fragments and comma splices.
If you use a semicolon, make sure that there is a sentence on both
sides of the semicolon.
Make sure that all of your sentences have a subject and a finite
verb (not an infinitive, a gerund, a present participle, or a past
participle)
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Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Modification
The relative clause in the following sentence is a restrictive modifier:
John gave As to the students who took the test.
(NOTE: Only the students who took the test got As. The others did not)
The relative clause in the following sentences is a non-restrictive
modifier:
John gave As to the students, who took the test.
John gave As to the students—who took the test.
John gave As to the students (who took the test).
NOTE: All of the students got As, and all of the students also took the
test. A non-restrictive modifier is the same as a parenthetical
expression)
The material following a colon (like that following a dash) is parenthetical:
We brought the following items: comb, mirror, toothbrush, and fingernail
clippers.
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Punctuation:
If the person you are quoting made a grammatical or logical error, you
should quote the original and then write [sic] (Latin for “thus”).
If you want leave out some of the material being quoted use three deletion
periods: …
If you want to put something of your own into a quote, surround your own
words with square brackerts [like this].
Distinguish between a dash (--) and a hyphen (-)
There are two ways to punctuate a series (depending on the style manual):
A, B, and C
A, B and C
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Word Grammar:
Make sure that your pronouns have
antecedants.
Check your spelling and grammar.
Make sure that your words go together.
If they don’t, then this is a predication
error.
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Proofreading and Tone:
USE VS. MENTION: Your tone should be academic and formal;
however it is appropriate to quote material that is colloquial.
This material should be surrounded by quotation marks,
because you are not using these words, you are referring to
them.
Avoid colloquialisms like “I,” “you,” and the generic “they.” Avoid
rhetorical questions and imperatives. Don’t insert your own
voice.
STET: This means that I made a comment, but then changed my
mind after receiving more evidence from your paper.
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!The best papers will contain
A good opening paragraph with good foreshadowing and a good
closing paragraph
Good argumentation
Good overall organization and transitions
Good paragraph development and good overall development
Good comparisons and contrasts
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!The best papers will also
Make significant generalizations and support
them with appropriate details
Make insightful points
Have a good review of the literature
Develop interesting ironies and paradoxes
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!And most important of all, the
best papers will
support significant
generalizations with
insightful and effective
details.
Eschholz, Rosa & Clark [2009]: 607-617)
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Figs.
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!!REFERENCE AND PARODY REFERENCE
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!!!Some Important Web Links
MLA STYLE SHEET:
www.mlahandbook.org
The The Impotence of Proofreading (Taylor Mali):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonDPGwAyfQ&feature=search
Victor Borge Phonetic Punctuation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF4qii8S3gw&feature=search
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References:
Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. Language
Awareness. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,
Sixth Edition. New York, NY: The Modern Language Association
of America, 2003. http://www.mla.org/store/CID24/PID159
Parody, A. Eats, Shites & Leaves: Crap English and How to Use It.
New York, NY: Metro Books, 2004.
Truss, Lynne. Easts, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance
Approach to Punctuation. New York, NY: Gotham Books, 2003
(paperback 2006).
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