The Research Paper
What to do now that your paper is due!
NOTE:
• Your research paper is NOT NOT NOT a
book report.
• Your reader (uh, me) has read the book
• Do NOT make this a plot summary
• If you find yourself telling most of the
“story,” you are off track. This is a literary
analysis!
Where are we going with this?
• See next slides for examples of
research papers
Sample introduction:
Use NO quotes in the intro and conclusion. This is the time for YOUR
analysis.
A World of Good and Evil
Throughout history, good and evil have exemplified themselves as the
two extremes. Historical figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
show the good. On the contrary, adversaries such as Adolf Hitler and Saddam
Hussein represent evil. Good and evil have clashed through history in wars and
battles, leaving wasteland in their path. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien uses this
theme as the basis of one of his most world-renowned novels, The Hobbit, the
tale of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins’ quest through middle earth. In The
Hobbit, Tolkien describes the characters and events through the recurring
motifs of good and evil. (LOOK: Last sentence of intro is thesis!)
Body paragraph:
Along with Bilbo, Gandalf the wizard represents good in the
novel. Gandalf represents good by leading Bilbo and his group of
dwarves along their quest, and protecting them from the forces of evil.
Gandalf guides Bilbo with advice: “There are no safe paths in this part of
the world” (Tolkien 138). Primary source MUST come before a
secondary source to put text in context! Gandalf shows his dedication to
good and proves his words by battling goblins to save Bilbo and his
acquaintances from the forces of evil. Gandalf believes in a good cause:
“He is a wise and just being who wanders the realm improving the
quality of life” (Gale 100). Good also unveils itself through the Elves who
symbolize the keepers of good in middle earth. Elves serve as the
wisest of all creatures that habitat middle earth and show their naturally
good instincts : “Still elves they were and remain, and that is Good
People” (Tolkien 168). One of those many accounts is of their
participation in The Battle of Five Armies in which all of good and evil
battle for their right to survive. The Battle of Five Armies is described as
“… a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five
Armies, and it was very terrible. Upon one side were the Goblins and
the Wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves”
(281). The Battle of Five Armies serves as the main clash between good
and evil in The Hobbit and shows how strong forces of evil thoroughly
test the good.
Another sample intro:
A Satirical Society
The Russian Revolution, an important historical event,
shaped Russia, much like the rebellion of the animals shape
George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The actions and motifs (vocab word) of
these different animal characters parallel the characteristics of
some of the more predominate figures during the Russian
Revolution. The animals take control of the farm though the
revolution, but soon after, the pigs start to abuse their power and
oppress the other animals. This rebellion started by the animals
has an uncanny resemblance to the Russian Revolution. Orwell’s
writing portrays the suffering of the animals and the power of the
pigs to better understand the purpose and the events of the
Russian Revolution. In Animal Farm, a wide range of symbolic
animals with differing values and beliefs sets up a corrupt society,
which serves as a perfect satire of the Russian Revolution and the
establishment of Communism.
2nd BODY: Orwell’s use of symbolism continues in his animal characters. Whether
the animal stands for a one person or an entire group of people, a strong sense of
connection exists between the animal and its historical counterpart. With Old
Major, “…grand fatherly philosopher of change— an obvious metaphor for Karl
Marx,” this character tells of a dream and a brighter future just as Karl Marx
preached a better way of life to his fellow Russians (Netcharles). Two more of
Orwell’s symbolic animals take these teachings and carry on Old Major’s dream of
a rebellion. Napoleon also parallels a figure involved in the Russian Revolution:
“Obviously a metaphor for Stalin, Comrade Napoleon represents the human frailties
of any revolution” (Irne 4). Snowball, as the rival to Napoleon, would parallel
“…Trotsky, the arch-rival of Stalin in Russia” (16). The other minor characters
illustrate important symbolic meaning in their attributes. One such character not
considered a major character but still carrying a major part of the plot is Squealer:
… critics correlate Squealer with the Pravda, the Russian newspaper of
the 1930's. Propaganda was a key to many publications, and … the
newspaper was the primary source of media information. So the monopoly
of the Pravda was seized by Stalin and his new Bolshevik regime. In
Animal Farm, Squealer, like the newspaper, is the link between Napoleon
and other animals (White 81). This quote is indented b/c it takes up more than four typed lines.
The rich description Orwell uses in paralleling his characters makes Animal Farm a
great satirical literary masterpiece. (End paragraphs with YOUR analysis. Do NOT
end on a quote!)
(Next body paragraph now begins. Notice these are secondary sources.
Now, get ready to write!
First, what NOT to do:
• Graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no
replacement for a well-written paper. The use of
huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to
pad the page length are immediately obvious.
• Write in 12 point Times with ONE INCH
margins all around. Go to the fourth page!!
(NO credit if not 4 pages)
• DO THIS NOW: In the Line Spacing options,
“REMOVE space after paragraphs” !!!!!
Why do we have to do this?
• Based on your own thoughts and the facts and ideas
you have gathered from a variety of sources, a
research paper is a creation that is uniquely yours.
• The experience is one of gathering, interpreting, and
documenting information, developing and organizing
ideas and conclusions, and communicating them
clearly.
• Get used to this process! You will exercise it often
next year.
Avoid long quotes
• If your final paper offers six or eight long
chunks taken from other sources, stitched
together with sentences like, "This quote
shows the idea that...", then you are NOT
demonstrating the ability to write, only that
you can edit quotes together. (I hate the
“this shows that” format, by the way.)
• Borrow shorter passages, even just a few
words; integrate those passages into your own
original argument.
• You MUST have writing/your analysis
between quotes, not just a compilation of
quotes.
Best secondary quotes
offer analysis, NOT plot
Non-example from Animal
Farm because this is
plot only:
“Major draws up seven
commandments of
Animalism to govern the
newly named Animal
Farm, stipulating that
‘whoever goes on two
legs is our enemy’ that
‘all animals are equal’
and that ‘they should not
wear clothes, sleep in
beds, drink alcohol, or
kill any other animal.’”
Better example of a
secondary quote of
analysis, not plot:
“Orwell’s love of animals
and his practice of raising
his own vegetables and
animals are clear in his
loving description of the
farm; his socialist politics
come through in his
sympathies with the
animals as real workers in
his description of the barn.”
Writing the essay
After you have prepared your ideas and written
a plan/outline, you are ready to start writing
your research paper. Note the absence of the
terminology “first draft.”
You should turn in what you think is a
completed essay.
However, I will edit this, and you will have an
additional assignment of a rewrite. This
writing process leads to a finished,
presentable, and hopefully excellent essay.
Outline due by deadline!
No lates!
• You may write the draft in order to meet this
deadline
• Or
• You may outline your intro, body paragraphs
with full quotes and lead ins, and conclusion.
FOLLOW DIRECTIONS on info sheet in your
research packet!!
• Either way, this is the only “first draft” option!
The idea of my editing early drafts is to
help you get the ideas out, to flesh out
your answer, and to give you some
content to shape and change into a
finished essay.
YOU are the first editor. Do NOT turn in a
draft that you have not corrected
yourself.
Hint:
• Those students who write EARLY, allow
me to edit, rewrite, let me re-edit,
rewrite, allow me to re-write, etc. earn
A+ on their research papers – if they
make corrections as I have edited.
• If you work early, I will edit as often as
you allow me. Look at your calendar for
these deadlines.
Are these your ideas?
• Using someone else's ideas or
phrasing and representing those
ideas or phrasing as our own,
either on purpose or through
carelessness, is a serious
offense known as plagiarism.
“Ideas or phrasing”
• Includes written or spoken material,
from whole papers and paragraphs
to even single sentences and
phrases
• It also includes statistics, lab results,
art work, etc.
When to cite a source
• You need to cite your source, even if:
1. you put all direct quotes in quotation marks
2. you changed the words used by the author into
synonyms
3. you completely paraphrased the ideas to which you
referred
4. your sentence is mostly made up of your own
thoughts, but contains a reference to the author's
ideas
5. you mention the author's name in the sentence
From the Uni. of Kentucky:
• “Unless the instructor has told you
explicitly that you can collaborate on a
homework assignment or report, all the
work you turn in must be your own. If the
work is collaborative, the names of ALL the
participants should be on it.
• Remember: Paraphrasing is plagiarism!!!
• Bottom line: If it isn't your work and/or you
aren't sure what to do, footnote it. Ask your
instructor BEFORE you turn in the work.”
The moral of the story:
• When in doubt, give a
citation
• LEARN from the process we
have used with TurnItIn.com
• You will use TurnItIn on your
final draft
Two types of documentation
• The Works Cited section will list
alphabetically all the sources you've
used.
• Within the text of your paper,
parentheses should show your readers
where you found each piece of
information that you have used. These
textual citations allow the reader to refer
to your Works Cited page(s) for further
information.
Working with quotations
• Quotations that constitute up to four TYPED
lines in your paper should be set off with
quotation marks [ “x” ] and be incorporated
within the normal flow of your text.
• For quotes that are longer than four typed
lines (in your paper), omit the quotation
marks and indent the quoted language one
inch from your left-hand margin. These inset
quotes are NOT doublespaced.
Example:
One such character not considered a major character
but still had a major part of the plot is Squealer:
Critics correlate Squealer with the Pravda,
the Russian newspaper of the 1930's.
The monopoly of the Pravda was
seized by Stalin and his new Bolshevik regime.
In Animal Farm, Squealer, like the newspaper,
is the link between Napoleon and other
animals (White 81).
What is a quote?
• ANYTHING that comes word-for-word
from your source, not just words from a
character’s mouth.
• If quotation marks appear within the text
[ “x” ] you must set it as a quote-within-aquote with single-quote marks [ “ ’x’ ” ].
(Spaces added here for emphasis.)
Example from Beowulf
• “Their leader answered him… ‘We are Geats,
Men who follow Higlac’ ” (Citation here!).
It’s easy!
• Just remember to always start and end
quoted material with quotation marks.
Any use of quotation marks within the
text will be shown through your use of
single marks.
In the text …
•
•
•
… parenthetical references should be kept
as brief and as clear as possible
Give only the information needed to identify
a source. Usually the author's last name
and a page reference are all that is needed.
Place the parenthetical reference as near
as possible to the material being
documented, and where a pause would
naturally occur, preferably at the end of a
sentence.
Examples
• Author's name in text
Shelley expresses this concern (118).
• Author's name in reference
Once expressing the concern … -- finish
the sentence, and then put citation at
the end like this (Shelley 118)
In parentheses …
• If you include an author's name in a
sentence, you do not need to repeat it in
your parenthetical statement.
• Put the ending punctuation mark of the
sentence, clause, or phrase that
contains the cited material AFTER the
parentheses.
Example
• Jones agrees that Frost’s work affects
modern poets, saying, “Robert Frost is
regarded as a poet of New England”
(213).
• Non-example:
Jones says, “Robert Frost is regarded as
a poet of New England” (213). -- Lead
in needs to be more than simply
attribution
• Electronic and online sources are cited
just like print resources.
• See sample that follows:
Example in text
• “Although Alice experiences
Wonderland as a child, these events
force her to address the world as an
adult” (Walker).
• Further entries from this source would
be cited as only (Walker).
What to do now
•
•
•
•
Write
Write
Write
Know that crises will erupt. Your paper, a
complete and finished product, is due
printed and in your hands when you
walk in the door on the due date. No
lates; no extensions. Review the rubric
as a guide.
No research paper when due
= No rewrite
• Research paper = 100 points
• Rewrite = 300 points