THE RESEARCH PAPER
CREATING A THESIS
OUTLINING
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
MLA FORMATTING
CHOOSING A TOPIC
 Although you should have chosen and presented a
possible topic of your research paper last year on
your Plan of Action, while beginning to research,
you may have discovered that your topic is not
arguable, does not have ample/reliable sources, or
it is too narrow or too broad. Because of this, you
may have to modify your topic, but remember, it
must relate to your shadowing experience.
CREATING A THESIS STATEMENT
 A Thesis is a single, concise, grammatically correct
sentence that presents the argument that you prove
in your research paper.
 This sentence should be declarative and in the third
person, active voice.
 The thesis should clearly present your point of view,
and usually appears as the last or second to last
sentence in the first paragraph.
 Use a Because Statement to create your thesis.
For example: Because of growing fears of global
warming, the government should implement
mandatory recycling program in all of its offices.
CHOOSING SOURCES
 Your research paper should be 4-6 pages if you are in the
Honors or General classes, and 2-5 pages if you are in the nonlanguage class.
 You will need to choose relevant and credible sources to help
you prove your thesis.
 The honors and general classes use at least 6 sources
 1 primary source -an interview or survey
 2 Internet sources -from a .edu, .gov, .mil, or .us OR a preapproved
.com, .net, or .org *never an editable website
 3 written sources -scholarly journals, books, or newspapers. *no
reference books
 Students in the non-language class use at least 1 source from
each category.
 1 primary source -an interview or survey
 1 Internet source -from a .edu, .gov, .mil, or .us OR a preapproved .com,
.net, or .org *never an editable website
 1 written source -scholarly journals, books, or newspapers. *no
reference books
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
 An annotated bibliography is an MLA formatted citation,
followed by a brief description/evaluation of the source
(about 150 words; 4-6 clear concise sentences.) The
annotation should inform the reader of the source’s
relevance, accuracy, & quality.
 The annotation should include the following:
 The main focus/ a summary of the source
 The worth, effectiveness, usefulness, and relevance of the
source to your topic
 A verification/critique of the authority, credibility, or
qualifications of the source’s author
 Conclusions/observations reached by the author and/or reader
 Please remember that these are sources that you plan to
use in your paper.
How to set up your Annotated
Bibliography & Works Cited page
 The title of each page should be centered without italics,






underlines, or quotations.
The annotation begins on a separate line than the citation.
The citations and annotations are indented after the first line.
Before going to a second line, fill the first to the margin.
As on the Works Cited page, all citations should appear on the
Annotated Bibliography in alphabetical order by author’s last
name.
Like a sentence, every citation ends with a period.
Remember, like all MLA documents, the Annotated
Bibliography should be double spaced and in 12 point Times
New Roman font. It should also have 1 inch margins.
When writing your annotated Bibliography, formal writing
must be used. For example, use 3rd person without slang or
abbreviations .
How to Cite on your Works Cited page &
Annotated Bibliography
 Basic formula to citing in MLA format
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title. City
where the work was published: Publisher, year
published.
Title
Author
Publishing information
Smith, Mary. The Truth in Lying. Chicago: Putmun, 1999.
Year published
(most recent)
Comma
Author’s
first name
Author’s
last name
Underlined
Title of work
City where work
was published
Publishing company
Citing format and examples
Book with one author
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title. City where the work was
published: Publisher, year published.
Keating, James. Building a Future Today. NewYork: HarperCollins,
1992.
Book with 2-3 authors
1st Author’s last name, author’s first name,2nd author’s first name, last
name, 3rd author’s first name, last name. Title. City where the work
was published: Publisher, year published.
Hutts, Kenneth, James Harper, Ben Jameson. Reading for Today.
Cambridge: Harvard College, 2003.
Book with 4+ authors
1st Author’s last name, author’s first name, et al. Title. City where the
work was published: Publisher, year published.
James, Kate, et al. Technology in the Classroom. NewYork:
HarperCollins, 1998.
Book with editor without author
Editor’s last name, Editor’s first name, Ed. Title. City
where the work was published: Publisher, year published.
Thomas, Susan, Ed. The Book of the Future. Philadelphia:
HarperCollins, 2000.
Book with author and editor
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title. Ed.
Editor’s first name editor’s last name. City where the
work was published: Publisher, year published.
Genner, Gerald. Cities with Crime. Ed. Carry Early. New
York: Putnum, 2002.
Pamphlet (published by an organization)
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title. City where
the work was published: Organization, year published.
Bates, Jason. Technology in Medicine. Scranton: Mercy
Hospital, 1998.
Corporation or Organization as author
Company Name. Title. City where the work was published:
Publisher, year published.
Modern Language Association. Writing a Good Paper. New
York: Educational Books, 1998.
Survey
Surveyor’s last name, first name. “Title of survey.” Survey. City
where it was given: Location, year published.
Thompson, Lindsey.”Research Methods.” Survey. Dunmore:
Marywood University, 2009.
Book with multiple editions
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. #th ed. City
where the work was published: Publisher, year published.
Bennett, Claire. Learning by Trial and Error. 4th ed. Tuscan:
HarperCollins, 2000.
Interview
Person interviewed’s last name, first name. Mode of interview.
Date interviewed.
Mataloni, Patricia. Telephone Interview. 21 September, 2009.
Magazine
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Name of article.”
Name of Publication. Date of issue: Pages.
Stevens, Lauren.”Researching the Past.” Teaching Pre-k
through 6. September 2007: 19-23.
Journal
Author’s last name, Author’s first name.”Title of article.” Name
of Journal. Issue/volume number (Date published) : Pages.
DeSota, Gary. “Using advertisements in your Favor.”
Professional Quarterly. 11 (Spring 1999): 2000-2031.
Newspaper article
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Title of article.” Name
of Newspaper. Date published: Section Page.
Brown, Andrea.”Schools for the Children.” New York Times. 23
September 2007: D 19.
Anthology
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Name of entry.” Book
Title. Ed. Editor’s first name editor’s last name. City where book
was published: Publisher, year published.
Dramm, Robert.”Classroom Stories.” A Teacher’s Anthology. Ed.
Brian Varvas. Los Angeles: Thompson, 2004.
Introduction/Preface/Afterword
Author’s of the introduction last name, first name. Introduction.
Title. By Author of the book’s first name last name. City where it
was published: Publisher, year published.
Sohns, George. Introduction. Working for Today. By Stanley Burger.
Pittsburg: Penguin, 1998.
Book with translator
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. Trans. Translator’s
first name last name. City published: Publisher, Year published.
Jones, Andrea. Learning in the Workforce. Trans . Tina Edwards.
Atlanta: World Books, 2003.
Internet site
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Title of article.” Ed. Editor’s first
name last name. Date site was updates/copyrighted. Name of
sponsoring website. Date the information was retrieved by researcher
<full URL>.
Burke, Jennifer.”Schooling for the future.” Ed. Tyler Simpson. August 2007.
Susquehanna University. 2 October 2009
<http://www.susqu.edu/education/article/future>.
Internet site with editor (no author)
Editor’s last name, Editor’s first name, Ed. “Title of article.”. Date site was
updates/copyrighted. Name of sponsoring website. Date the
information was retrieved by researcher <full URL>.
Smith, Sarah.”My Career as a Pilot.” 2007. United States Air Force. 22
October 2009 <http://www.airforce.mil/careers/benefits>.
Internet site - no author or editor
“Title of article.” Date site was updates/copyrighted. Name of sponsoring
website. Date the information was retrieved by researcher <full URL>.
“Your Money, Your Education.” 17 August 2007. United States Treasury
Department. 3 September 2009 <http://www.loans.gov/college>.
Notice that all
lines after the first
are indented.
EXAMPLE
Citation
Focus of Source
Relation to my topic
Smith, Mary. The Truth in Lying. Chicago: Putmun, 1999.
Smith’s book focused on a study that evaluated the
reactions of adolescents faced with the decision to
lie or to tell the truth. This book supports the
concept of the relationship between lying to a child &
his/ her recognition of the benefits of lying for self
preservation. Also, the study shows despite a child’s
lack of life experience, he/she still knows that lying
goes against acceptable behavior. Ms. Smith has a
Doctorate in Child Psychology and is a Professor at
Brown University. Interestingly enough, these traits
appear in children as young as eighteen months of age.
Author’s authority/credibility
Observations
OUTLINING: THE PROPOSAL
 The proposal consists of the thesis and the outline of




your paper.
The outline is a way to organize your thoughts for
your paper, so you should follow your basic outline
when writing your research paper.
When creating your outline, the first and last Roman
numeral will be “Introduction” and “Conclusion.”
Please remember you must have at least two
elements to break down a topic (if you have a 1, you
must have a 2)
Remember we are making a topic outline, not a
sentence outline.
MLA FORMAT
Modern Language Association
Writing your research paper
Formatting
 An MLA formatted paper is in 12 point times new
roman font. Everything, including the heading, is
double spaced. The margins are one inch and the
header is ½ inch from the top of the page on the
right side. The header includes your last name and
the page number (no punctuation.)
 The heading, which appears on the left side,
includes your name, the teacher’s name, the class,
and the date (day month year.)
 The title is centered (not underlined, in quotations,
or italicized)
Paraphrase Verse Direct Quote
**We always cite both!!
 Paraphrasing is when you take information from a
source and put it all into your own words.
 With quoting, you take information from a source
and use it word for word in your paper. If you use a
direct quote, you must put the source’s words in
quotation marks.
 Whether you are paraphrasing a source’s
information or using it word for word, you must cite
the source parenthetically in the text and on the
Works Cited page.
Citing in text (parenthetically)
 Remember if you are using another person’s words
or ideas, you must give him/her credit by citing the
work parenthetically in the text and on the Works
Cited page. Whether you are using a direct quote,
word for word, or paraphrasing, putting the sources
ideas in your own words, you must cite!
 When citing in text, the author’s last name and
page number should be in parentheses following
the paraphrased or quoted information.
 To avoid plagiarism, it is important to distinguish
your analysis from your source’s information. To
avoid confusion, introduce the source’s name and
authority, give the information, and then add the
parenthetical citation.
 If you introduce the source’s name before giving
his/her information, you only put the page number
in the parentheses.
Examples of Parenthetical Citations
The following are examples of three ways to cite the same information. Notice all give
credit to the author and provide the page number where the information came from.
 “It has been evident to this committee that the guilty
verdict passed down from the lower court will be
upheld” (George 234).
 Despite the evidence presented by the defense
attorney, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided to
agree with the district court. Because of this, Kennedy
was once again declared guilty (George 234).
 According to Herman George, the author of A Man of
Guilt, both the District and Supreme Courts decided the
evidence against him was sufficient, so he was convicted
on all charges (234).
Works Cited Page
 The Works Cited page is the last page of your research
paper.
 The font is still Times New Roman point 12, everything is




double spaced, and margins are still one inch on all sides.
Since it is a part of your research paper, a new heading is
not included on the Works Cited page, and the page
numbers (in the header) continue from the prior page.
Entries are not separated according to whether they are
primary or secondary, and they are not numbered or
bulleted.
All sources are cited in alphabetical order by the author’s
last name. If there is no author, an entry is alphabetized
by its title.
Citations are in the same format as on the Annotated
Bibliography (refer back to entry notes).
Before handing in your paper…
















Use the checklist below to make sure your paper has been properly reviewed &
prepared for submission
Do you have MLA format heading and header?
Do you have a catchy title?
Do you have an attention getter?
Do you have a clearly and concisely stated thesis?
Did you use the most accurate and descriptive words possible?
Did you conserve words by eliminating unnecessary empty or filler words?
Does each of your body paragraphs have ONE main idea that supports the thesis?
Did you analyze each point explaining why/how it supports the thesis?
Did you give credit to each source PROPERLY, so you do not get accused of plagiarism?
Is your paper in one tense (past)?
Did you avoid using first person (I, me, our, mine, my) and second person (you, your)?
Did you avoid contractions, abbreviations, and other language inappropriate for an academic
research paper such as “this paper will” or “in this paper”?
Did you avoid using “There,” Which is a pronoun with no antecedent?
Do you have a Works Cited page with all of your sources cited correctly in alphabetical order?
Is your paper the proper length? 2-4 full pages for 2nd period and 4-6 full pages for all other
periods?
Did you proof read your paper to make sure there are no grammatical, capitalization, or
punctuation mistakes?