Junior Research Paper
Points…Can you Afford to Not Care?
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Note Cards = 100 Points Quiz Grade
Outline = 100 points Quiz Grade
Rough Draft= 100 Test Grade
Research Paper = Double Test Grade
Total = 500 Points.
All Late Assignments are only worth
50% of their original value.
• Stay organized, stay motivated, and
stay on task!
Controversial Topic Selection
• Think about your hobbies, interests,
and leisure activities (hiking, sports,
reality television, etc.).
• Think about recent events in the world
or news that caught your attention (dog
fighting, “no kill” animal shelters,
Brittany Spears, etc.) .
• Think about issues that you care about
or have a vested interest (no salt at
lunch, prayer in school, dress codes,
etc.).
• Use the online Controversial Topic web
pages.
• http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/RSp
riggs/junior_research.cfm?subpage=767583
Choose a Topic
• Choose a topic based on the following
elements:
– Your interest in the topic. If you don’t care
about the topic, it will be hard to maintain
motivation for a month of study.
– Resources available. If you choose a
narrow or very creativity topic, (Brittany
Spears should not have custody of her
children), know that this will be a very
difficult topic to find print sources. You will
need to have extra motivation to find the
information needed to complete your
paper.
Common Pitfalls
• Choosing a topic that is informative rather
than controversial (overview of eating
disorders vs. the Media causes eating
disorders
• Changing the topic or position repeatedly.
Make a plan; stick with the plan.
• Not using the provided templates
• Getting behind on due dates
• Plagiarizing. YOU WILL GET CAUGHT!
• Throwing away note cards, source
information, outlines, etc, before the process
is completed. Have a bonfire AFTER you
receive your final paper back with a grade.
What you will need
• You will need the following items
each day and will lose points for
forgetting any item:
– Note cards (any size)
– Pen or pencil
– Paper
– Any books that you checked out
from the library or internet articles
you may have printed
Media Center Research
• Day 1
– Find books relating to your topic using the library
reference search on their computers.
– Look through the book to see if they have
information you need.
– Complete the Source Information on your Source
sheet for any book you use. Label the source (#1,
#2, #3)
– Complete a note card for each fact you find.
Paraphrase and summarize the information. You
should have no more than 5 note cards containing
direct quotations (word for word quotes).
– You will need a total of 60 cards
Source Information Sheet
• Source Type:Book
Source #
• Author/Editor:___________________________________
________
• Book
Title:___________________________________________
___
• Publication
city:__________________________________________
• Publisher:______________________________________
_________
• Copyright
date:__________________________________________
• Title of Article in
Book___________________________________
• Author of Article in
Book_________________________________
• Pages of article in
Book__________________________________
Source Information Sheet
• Source Type: Book
Source # 1
• Author/Editor: Craig Wallace
• Book Title:_The Best of You____________
• Publication
city:__Chicago__________________________
______
• Publisher:__Oyster Mining
Company____________
• Copyright
date:___2007____________________________
• Pages used in
Book__________________________________
Note Cards and Book Research
• Once you have completed your source
information, find facts that support your
position, relate to your topic, or support the
opposition (you will only need 3-7 main facts
concerning your opposition).
• Write one fact per note card; no facts on the
back side.
• You must handwrite facts; you may NOT type
the facts and paste them on card.
• Remember to paraphrase; it is okay to write in
fragments. You may ONLY have 5 note cards
with direct word for word quotations
(indicated by quotation marks around the
passage).
Note Card Format
Source #
Student Last Name and
Note Card #
1-2 Facts Summarized. Only 5 cards may
have direct quotations (word for word).
MLA Citation
(Author Last name and Page)
Subcategory
Note Card Format Example
Source # 1
Thompson 1
60% of the world’s water contain pollution, and
25% of the world’s rivers contain pollution.
(Whitton 25)
Main Argument 3
Internet Sources
• Remember you must have at least two
print sources (books, magazines,
journals, etc.) that you will use in your
paper. Sources from the online
databases will count as a print source.
• If you cannot find books in our library,
try your local public library.
• When finished with book research, you
will search the databases.
• Use the online databases for your
research BEFORE going to the web.
Opposing Viewpoints Database
• Go to Opposing Viewpoint
– http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/?user
GroupName=morr11627&
• Find the search box in upper right
corner
• Type in your topic
• Look at the selected articles under
magazines, journals, news, etc.
Opposing Viewpoints Database
• If you find information that you may use, first
copy the citation information from the bottom
of the article onto your source page or copy
and paste it onto a Word document (SAVE IT)!
– Source Citation:Schweiger, Larry J. "A call for
urgent action.(NWF VIEW)(global
warming)." National Wildlife 46.1 (Dec-Jan
2008): 8(1). General Reference Center
Gold. Gale. NC WiseOwl Thomson Gale
PowerSearch. 6 Nov. 2008
<http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>
• Be sure to number this source
• Look for the author’s last name at the bottom
or top of the article. Use this for your citation
on your notecards. There will be no page
number.
– (Schweiger)
– (Modern Science)
Internet Resources and Articles
• If you cannot find articles on Opposing
Viewpoints, ask Mrs. Spriggs for help.
After I help you, you may then use
Google to find other articles.
• CAUTION: You need to evaluate the
sources for credibility. Make sure it is
not a blog, a personal web page, or a
web page not accredited by an
organization. You may NOT use
general encyclopedias, Wikipedia, Ask
Jeeves, Yahoo News, About.com, etc.
Evaluating Internet Sources
• Look at the following sources and
decide if they would be credible
sources.
• http://www.epa.gov/climatechange
/basicinfo.html
• http://www.globalwarminghoax.co
m/news.php
• http://www.alien-ufos.com/
• http://www.conservation.org/Page
s/default.aspx
Internet Source Information
• Source Type: Internet
Source #
• Author:_________________________________________
• Title of Web
Article:________________________________________
• Title of Web
Page:________________________________________
• Publication Date/Last
updated/Revised:_______________________
• Date Website
Visited:_____________________________________
• Web Address: http://
_____________________________________
Completing an Internet Source
• Make sure the site is credible
• Write down all of the information
on your source page.
• The date revised or updated may
be at the top or bottom of the
page. If it is not listed, put N/A
Internet Source Card
• Source Type: Internet
Source #
• Author:_________________________________________
• Title of Web
Article:________________________________________
• Title of Web
Page:________________________________________
• Publication Date/Last
updated/Revised:_______________________
• Date Website
Visited:_____________________________________
• Web Address: http://
_____________________________________
Use the following page to complete this card.
http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2012-11/whylaughter-crucialcaregivers?utm_source=PBS&utm_medium=
web&utm_campaign=merlin
Internet Note Cards
• Remember to label the source # in
the upper left hand corner.
• The MLA citation will only be the
author’s last name. There will be
no page #’s (Brown).
• If there is no author, use the title
of the web page (FEMA).
Note Card Organization
• Once you have completed all of your note cards, you need to
organize your note cards in the following manner. You MUST
have 5 sources (at least 2 print) for your paper.
• Introduction: Any interesting/startling facts, anecdotes, or
information that would be a great “attention getter,”
definitions/descriptions of the issue, and history of the topic
• Counter Argument: facts that support the opposing view point of
your topic
• Your Argument Main Point #1: Any facts that support this point
• Main Point #2: Any facts that support this main point
• Main Point #3: Any facts that support this point
• Conclusion: Any facts that are profound and would help “call reader
to action” or strongly impact the audience.
• After you have placed your note cards in the correct order, label the
subcategory on each card (introduction, counterargument, point 1,
point 2, point 3, conclusion).
• Make scrap pieces of paper and label them Introduction,
counterargument, Main Point 1, Main Point 2, Main Point 3,
Conclusion. Move your cards around and figure out where they
go before labeling the corners.
Outline
• Using your organized note cards,
create an outline for your paper.
• You may use the Sample Outline
on my web page and add your
information.
• Although the outline will take a
great deal of time, it will make
your paper much easier to write.
Thesis
• You will need to create a thesis. It needs to quickly state the
opposition, your argument, and the three main points. It needs
to be written in parallel language. The points will be used for
your introductory sentences. They need to be listed from
weakest to strongest.
• Examples:
– Indeed, many individuals believe that cloning should be
legalized. However, cloning must remain illegal because it is
dangerous, expensive, and unethical.
– Indeed, television can provide benefits to young children.
However, television viewing for children should be limited
because it has a negative impact on a child’s mental, social,
and physical well-being.
– Indeed, many believe that athletes should be allowed to use
steroids. However, athlete steroid use should remain illegal
because it is harmful, unfair, and it impacts the integrity of
sport.
Outline Example
Look at the following link that details the outline requirements.
http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/RSpriggs/junior_resea
rch.cfm?subpage=769535
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Use the sample outline and save it as your own. Keep the
Roman Numerals and Numbers. Keep the transitions.
Whenever you add any fact, you MUST add your parenthetical
citation from your note card. Be sure to include the
parenthesis!
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The outline will most likely take you 3 to 4 hours to complete.
Do NOT put it off to the last minute.
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Your outline will probably be 3-4 pages.
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It will only take you about 45 minutes to make your outline into
your rough draft (simply copy and paste, fix formatting, add
Work Cited)
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It is okay if you do not use all of your note cards in your
outline. Do not throw away the cards (you may need more
facts to reach the page requirements).
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It is okay if your introduction is a page long. Some individuals
will have many facts about the history and definition of the
issue. Others will have a short intro. paragraph.
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It is okay if the amounts of facts within each paragraph vary (1st
5 facts, 2nd 15, 3rd 25). Must go weakest to strongest!
Outline to Paper
• Go on the web site under “MLA
Formatting Tips” and follow the
guidelines for creating a paper or open
the sample research paper and edit the
information to make it your paper.
• Copy and paste your outline with
source information onto the paper.
• Delete the outline numbering system
and make the facts flow into sentences.
Be sure to include citations.
• Create your Works Cited page when
finished by using
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?r
eqstyleid=0&stylebox=1
Sample MLA Paper
• This is an example illustrating what your final MLA
research paper should look like.
• http://www.dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Daly-MLA.pdf
• Do not risk plagiarizing any part of your paper. If you
are short on length, find more information and
document it correctly.
• Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work and
presenting it as your own. If you are using someone
else’s direct words, you must use quotation marks.
• For all information that is not common knowledge, you
must provide the parenthetical citation (Brown 7).
• Your paper must be 2-4 pages (standard) or 4-5
(honors and AP)
• You must have 5 sources (at least 2 print)
• You must have a title page, outline, paper, and works
cited page.