8th Grade Research Paper
2015
Subject:
Requirements:
Language arts
Thesis,Outline,Notes and Source Pkt. * hmwk. grade
Polished Draft with Revision *hmwk. grade
Final Draft (5 paragraphs) * test grade
Works Cited Page * test grade
Absolutes!!!!!!!
 Late Work Policy: If you fail to turn in your research paper on Wed., April 22nd , you will incur an
automatic 15% deduction. If you do not turn it in on Thurs., April 23rd a 30% deduction. Papers will
not be collected after Friday, April 24th .
 If you struggle with keeping up or meeting deadlines, you must talk to your teacher A.S.A.P.
Arrangements can be made for additional help before or after school to use computer for research,
typing, or general help. (All documents will be placed on the Common Drive to access from home. It is
still good to have a flash drive.)
 PLAGIARISM (using ideas, words, phrases, or sentence structure not your own – whether as a direct
quote or as paraphrased material – without crediting a source) will result in an AUTOMATIC
FAILURE (a zero for the entire project).
 When turning in “Drafts” – that still means they must be 100% complete, meeting paragraph
length and content requirements.
Choosing a Topic for Your Research Paper
Prompt: You will develop and create a five paragraph research paper that
informs your audience about an issue relating to the Holocaust study. You must
conduct and synthesize research into an informative essay that is supported with
credible and reliable research.
Topic Ideas can include but are not limited to the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Dictatorship under the Third Reich
Early stages of persecution
The Evian Conference
The first concentration camps
Aftermath of World War I
Hitler’s Rise to Power
German propaganda
8. Mein Kampf – influence
9. Nuremberg Race Laws
10. Kristallnacht (The night of broken glass)
11. How World War II started
12. The “Final Solution”
13. The SS Police
14. Murder of the Disabled
1
15. Auschwitz Concentration Camp
16. Dachau Concentration Camp
17. Life in the Ghettos
18. Mobile Killing Squads
19. Killing centers
20. Victims of Nazi persecution
21. Jewish Resistance
22. Non-Jewish Resistance
30. Holocaust Museum
23. Rescue
24. United States and the Holocaust
25. Death Marches
26. Liberation
27. Postwar Trials
28. Displaced Persons camps
29. Emigration
******************************************************************************************
Finding Sources
YOU MUST
Use at least 2-3 sources. That means that your sources will need to be cited parenthetically in
As part of the requirements for this paper,
1.
the text of your paper as well as identified on the Works Cited page. You can, of course, use more than three
sources, but don’t overdo it. Try to find QUALITY sources rather than scrounging information from multiple
mediocre ones.
2.
Use the following credible sources:

One scholarly article from
http://www.inspire.net, or http://eric.ed.gov/ or http://scholar.google.com
 An internet article (professional, approved by teacher)
http://www.ushmm.org/learn/students
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/about/index.asp
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust
http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ (click on Key Stage 3)
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/VR.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/gloss.htm
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/search.htm
3. You must fill out the appropriate PARC sheet for each source. Print off the article to annotate.
Resource to Avoid:
 Wikipedia
Due to its fluctuating nature, this resource is not an allowed resource for any NACS project. Though this website
may be a good place to begin your brainstorming, it is not a valid source as anyone can place whatever they like on
the webpages, and there is minimal editing by the creators of Wikipedia. You can, however, often find links to
more substantial, creditable resources on this website.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS, ASK A LIBRARIAN OR MEDIA CENTER SPECIALIST FOR
HELP! THEY ARE THERE TO ASSIST YOU AND ARE EXPERTS AT FINDING
INFORMATION!
2
Finding a Good Internet Source
There are many great resources available on the internet, but you have to know where to look, how to look, and how to
judge credibility.
Where to Look
Here are some great search engines:
www.google.com
www.ask.com
www.yahoo.com
Another great resource is INSPIRE (Indiana’s Online Research Library), free to all Indiana residents. This website
has thousands of articles posted online for nearly any subject you can think of. ONE AMAZING SOURCE!!!! (And
the articles count as magazines or periodicals, not as an internet source – so be sure to site them as such.) Simply go to
the following link and search for your topic: www.inspire.net.
How to Look
Search engines are only useful if you know how to use them. If you are having trouble locating good internet sources,
try changing the words you use to search.
Using Sources
<<<<< And What to Do with Sources Once You Have
Them >>>>>
You must record the proper MLA citation at the TOP of each source. Use the examples below to help
you determine how to do that. These citations will then easily transfer to your Works Cited page.
Book
Author, First, and Second Author. Title of Book. Publishing City: Publishing Company, copyright date.
Example:
Vare, Ethlie Ann, and Greg Patek. The Life of William Faulkner. Chicago: U of Chicago
P, 1977.
Reference or Encyclopedia Article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Reference Book. edition number. copyright
date. page number on which the article is found.
Example:
Tobias, Richard. “Thurber, James.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2nd ed. 1987. 612.
Essay from a Printed Collection (Anthology or Book of Multiple
Authors/Articles)
Author’s Last Name, First Name (of article). “Title of Essay or Chapter.” Title of Book. Editor of the
Collection. Publishing City: Publishing Company, copyright date. pages of article.
Example:
Darst, Anne. “Young, Gifted, Black---And Inspired.” Black Theater. Ed. Lindsay
Patterson. New York: Dodd, 1971. 221-76.
Periodical (Magazine, Journal, or Newspaper Article)
Author’s Last Name, First Name (of article). “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine Volume.Issue (Date of
Magazine): pages of article.
Example:
Edsall, Thomas Bryne. “London’s ‘To Build a Fire.’” English Journal 14.4 (June 1988):
86-94.
Online (Internet) Source
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Title of Website. Date posted. Sponsoring Organization. Date accessed
<electronic address (URL)>.
Example:
Devitt, Terry. "Flying High." The Why Files. 9 Dec. 1999. University of Wisconsin, Board
of Regents. 4 Jan. 2000 <http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/ shorties/kite.html>.
Periodical Article from Inspire.net (or Similar Database)
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Volume.issue number (date of periodical publication): page
numbers of article. Sponsoring Organization. Date accessed <electronic address (URL)>.
Example:
Tolson, Nancy. “Making Books Available: The Role of Early Libraries, Librarians, and
Booksellers in the Promotion of African American Children’s Literature.” African
American Review 32 (1998): 9-16. Inspire. 8 Jan. 2008 <http:// www.inspire.
net/>.
You must also highlight and annotate EACH of your sources,
demonstrating that you have carefully read and considered each
of the sources you are using. What can you annotate? Keep these
ideas in mind:




Your reactions
Any questions you may have
Summary of content
Valuable quotes or information you can use in your paper
The Works Cited Page
The last page of the final draft of your research paper is called the Works Cited page. Note: It is NOT a bibliography
(which simply lists sources you might have read as you researched), but rather a Works Cited records those sources
that you actually used in the writing of your draft. On this page you will record in alphabetical order all the sources
cited in your paper. “Cited” means you quoted or paraphrased a work in the text of your paper. If you did not use a
work in your paper, it should not be listed on this page. The good news is you already did most of the work when you
labeled your sources!!! If you perfected them then, all you should have to do is organize them in alphabetical order
(based first on author, then on title) and record them with all the proper capitalization and punctuation (remember –
that is key!!!).
Follow these guidelines when writing your Works Cited page:

Center the title Works Cited one inch from the top of the page. Do nothing special to the title. Do not make it bold;
do not underline it or change the font size or style.

Begin each entry right at the left-hand margin. Continue the information all the way to the right-hand margin. If
the entry runs more than one line, indent the additional lines five spaces (or simply tab).

List each entry alphabetically by the author’s last name. If there is no author, use the first word of the title to
alphabetize (ignore a, an, or the if it is the first word of the title).

Everything should be double-spaced with NO additional spaces in between entries.
Sample Works Cited Page:
1” from
the top
Last Name 5
.5” from
the top
Works Cited
Indent the
second line of
each entry
Notice, when
citing
sources from
the same
author, the
second
source is
listed with
three dash
marks. Keep
sources in
alphabetical
order.
Darst, Anne. “Young, Gifted, Black---And Inspired.” Black Theater.
1” margins
on both sides
Ed. Lindsay Patterson. New York: Dodd, 1971. 221-76.
Edsall, Thomas Bryne. “London’s ‘To Build a Fire.’” English Journal 14.4
(June 1988): 86-94.
Tobias, Richard. The Art of James Thurber. Columbus: Ohio UP, 1970.
- - -. “Thurber, James.” Encyclopedia Americana. 1987.
Tolson, Nancy. “Making Books Available: The Role of Early Libraries,
Librarians, and Booksellers in the Promotion of African American
Children’s Literature.” African American Review 32 (1998): 9-16.
Inspire. 8 Jan. 2008 <http://www.inspire.net/search>.
Vare, Ethlie Ann, and Greg Patek. The Life of William Faulkner. Chicago:
U of Chicago P, 1977.
Refer to any MLA Style reference for further information on citing sources that are not in this handout. Please pay
careful attention to details—periods, underlining, and spacing should appear exactly as above.
The Thesis Statement
One of the most crucial steps in writing your paper is coming up with an effective thesis statement. Think of it as the
whole paper in a nutshell. If you were going to tell someone the point of your paper in one sentence, that’s your thesis.
Your thesis will appear as the last sentence of the first paragraph, or introduction, of your paper, as well as at the
beginning of your outline. Every single sentence in your paper must have a connection to your thesis and
somehow help you to prove your thesis.
Your thesis is your way of telling your reader what your paper will try to demonstrate. The rest of your paper will then
be devoted to supporting the statement you have made in your opening paragraph. When you type your paper, though,
the thesis won’t be identified---it won’t be in bold print or made to stand out in any way…. it will however, be
recognizable in that it clearly explains the purpose and direction of your paper. Although it will just be one of the
sentences in your introduction, it should be clear, just by how firm and definitive it is, that this is the statement you
intend to support. Let’s look a little more closely at what a thesis should and should not be:
A thesis is NOT:







a simple fact
a series of ideas several sentences long
a question
a statement containing “no” or “not”
a vague or indefinite idea
a foregone conclusion (something everyone already knows)
a sentence containing “I think…”, “I believe…”, “In this paper…”, etc.
A thesis IS:
 a narrow, limited, single idea, capable of being developed fully in the paper
 an assertion or declaration capable of being proven

an argument
 a positive opinion (but stated as fact – NO FIRST PERSON!)
 a clearly stated, specific point of view
 a fresh look at an issue you are willing to defend as being important
Be sure that your thesis isn’t so broad that hundreds of pages could be written about it. At the same time, it shouldn’t
be so narrow that you will have great difficulty coming up with enough information to support your statement. Don’t
use “I” (as in “I think” or “in my opinion”), because it weakens your sentence and because research papers must be
written in third person. Here are a couple of samples of thesis statements:
Not so good:
1. Huck Finn led an interesting life.
2. Real athletes are born, not made.
Better:
1. Huck Finn makes some important discoveries about human nature during a series of funny, though often
frightening, adventures.
(Can you see that this is much more specific and provable? Your paper will talk about his insights into human
nature, and Twain’s use of humor and adventure to lead Huck to these realizations.)
2. Consistent, strenuous practice can help an average skater turn into an accomplished performer.
(Again, this is way more specific. Instead of having no idea where to begin, you now have narrowed your research
to information dealing with the impact of effective practice on a skater’s performance.)
Writing the Polished Draft
You can approach this hefty paper like you would any other formal writing assignment. You should include
the “normal” elements of professional writing:
 Solid Introduction with a catchy attention-grabber and the last
sentence as your thesis (claim).
 Effective Body Paragraphs with topic sentences that support the
thesis, set up the main idea of the paragraph, and provide transitions
between paragraphs, and support in the form of direct quotes (aim for 2-4)
and paraphrases (the majority of your paper), with citations, of course. All
paragraphs must be at least 5 sentences and should focus on only one main
idea (evidence).
 Spectacular Conclusion that successfully sums up your main points in
a satisfying manner.
Important
Note:
Your entire paper
should be written
in third person, so
don’t use I or you
in the introduction
or anywhere else.
Direct Quotations>>> This is information that you copy word for word—you should aim for 2-4 direct
quotations in your paper, so make sure that it is necessary to use that exact wording. When should you use a
direct quote?
 Facts and statistics can be utilized with paraphrasing, but opinions and key ideas may need to be
expressed through a direct quote.
 When the person who said it is important enough to warrant its usage, a quote could be used.
 When the quotation is so eloquent that it cannot be said in other words, a quote should be used.
Paraphrasing>>> This is information you learned from a source but put into your own words.
Note: It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you understand that “putting into your own words” is
more than changing a few words from the original source!!! You must realize that in order to avoid
plagiarism and automatic failure, you need to make sure that you use:
 no vocabulary (term or phrase) that you normally wouldn’t use
 no passages that are exactly the same as your source
 no sentence or paragraph structure (order) that mirrors the text of the original source
If you need help understanding paraphrasing, try going through the activity found at
http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/ParaphraseCraze/. This will help you get a better
understanding of what exactly paraphrasing is.
Here are a few examples of how a student might plagiarize a work:
Plagiarism
Quoted: Reading to one’s children is
important because it fosters a love of books.
Paraphrased: In fact, it is essential for
parents to read to their children because it
promotes an affinity for reading.
Use of Idea: Parents ought to read to their
children in order for their progeny to
develop a love of literature.
Correct Use
Nelson is correct in his assessment that
“reading to your children is important
because it fosters a love of books” (Nelson
712).
In fact, it is essential for parents to read to
their children because it promotes an
affinity for reading (Nelson 712).
Parents ought to read to their children in
order for their progeny to develop a love of
literature (Nelson 712).
Parenthetical Citations
Wow! You’re moving right along! This research paper stuff isn’t so tough after all. You are all ready to begin the
actual writing of your paper.
YOU MUST DOCUMENT (GIVE CREDIT TO THE SOURCE) FOR EVERY PIECE OF
INFORMATION FROM A CARD THAT YOU USE. HERE IS HOW:
After every fact or idea that is not common knowledge (information you knew before beginning your paper), you must
put a set of parentheses containing the author and page number of where you got that information. For example,
the fact that the sun rises in the east is common knowledge; however, the fact that John Q. Adams was born in
Braintree, Massachusetts, is not and must be cited in your paper.
Look at the following example:
John Quincy Adams was a very popular and well-respected President. At the time, Adams was the only son
of a United States President to become President himself (Freidel 29). According to the Harvard Guide to
American History, “Serving under President Monroe, Adams was one of America’s great Secretaries of
state” (18). Without Secretary of State Adams, the United States may not have received the lands of Oregon
and Florida (Smith 38).
Notice that the first sentence of the example above is made up of common knowledge, so there
are no parentheses after it. The next sentence is a paraphrase, so the author and page are
provided. The next sentence is a direct quote copied word for word from a source; it is in
quotation marks, and only the page number is provided because it is using the same source as
the sentence above it. Notice also how it was introduced; it is not a free floating quotation. The
last sentence is a paraphrase of several lines of information from yet another source. Both the
paraphrased parts and the direct quote, since you didn’t know those ideas before you began
to work on your paper, are followed by a citation containing the author (or title if the author
is not known) and page where the material was obtained.
Just a
Reminder:
You CANNOT use
contractions in
formal writing.
*** When in doubt, provide the source of information. ***
There are specific rules for using quoted and paraphrased material:
Short quotations:
If a quotation runs four or less typed lines, work it into the body of the paper.
Long quotations:
Quotations of more than four typed lines should be set off from the rest of the paper. Indent each line ten
spaces. No quotation marks are used with longer quotations that are set off from the rest of the paper. In
addition, the period will appear before the citation. Maintain double spacing.
Quoting poetry:
Lines of a poem should be worked into the text of the paper. Use a slash (/) to indicate the end of each line of
poetry.
Partial quotations:
If you want to omit part of a quotation, use and ellipsis (… if you are omitting small portions of the same
sentence; …. if you are omitting information between two or more sentences) to indicate that you left a part of
it out. Be sure that you don’t change the quotation’s meaning with your omission.
Adding your own words:
If you need to add any clarifying information, put it inside brackets ([]) within the quotation.
Citing a work with two or three authors:
Students can learn twice as much if they eat breakfast on a regular basis (Jones and Smith 34).
(List the authors in the order that they appear on the original publication.)
Citing a work with more than three authors:
“Huck Finn is the early representation of the decline of Western civilization” (Jones, et. al. 4).
(Use the first author’s name listed on the title page. Notice that this was as a direct quote.)
Citing a work with no listed author:
Langston Hughes traveled widely throughout Africa (Encyclopedia Americana 599).
(Use the title of the source. Use the article title if you know it, if not, use the book/magazine/website
title.)
Citing two or more works by the same author:
The basic racial problems of South Africa rest in the education of the young (Paton, Cry the Beloved Country
90).
(Use the title of the work in addition to the author’s name and page number in your citation. Separate the
author from the title with a comma.)
Citing information from multiple sources:
According to many reputable scrapbookers, using your own handwriting in your journaling adds a desirable
personal touch (Callaleigh 14; Rosenblatt 56).
(Separate each source with a semi-colon. Cite in alphabetical order.)
Citing repeatedly from the same source:
Though revising can be considered “death work” (Wright 219), it is not always seen as such. Much of the
writer’s perception is dependent upon his or her past experience (249).
(You only need to cite the author the first time if you continue with the same source in the same paragraph.)
If you get done with the polished draft and you’ve used all your sources, and you are still short of the length
requirement (5 paragraphs), you may need to go back and do some more research.
FAQs

Do I cite pages numbers from an internet source? Only if they are labeled on the actual webpage, not
just when you print it out.

What if I don’t know the author’s name? Use the first bit of information that is available on your
Works Cited page (e.g. an article or book title).

What if I don’t know what page numbers the article appears on? If your article has a range of pages,
but you are not sure which one is which (usually due to internet printing), then just use the entire
range of pages. If you simply don’t know what the original pages were (as in the case of an internet
site), just leave page numbers out and only include the author’s name.

What if my source has more than one author? See the examples above!!!!