What IS a research paper?
• A research paper is actually a WORK IN YOUR
OWN WORDS that fully discusses a topic that
you have spent time learning about. It is to be in
depth and intelligent, with support from credible
sources. This paper will be YOUR work, but you
have based your knowledge on the credible work
of others.
• Sounds difficult? It’s not really so bad, actually,
it gets pretty easy.
First Step:
• Find a Topic:
Your first order of business, obviously,
is to choose a topic. Whatever the case, it is
important to find something interesting to
you.
You must pick a topic that you can prove has an
impact on America, Carroll County, or teens.
Possible Topics
Advertising
Al Qaida
Alcohol
Animal rights
Athletics in high schools
Beauty contests
Bullying laws
Cell phones
Censorship
Worker Unions
Climate change/Global
Warming
Coal
Cyber crime
Divorce
Gas/Oil Wells/Fracking
Fashion
Nascar
Hunting/Fishing
Agriculture/Factory Farms
Corporations
Energy (solar, nuclear, coal
powered)
China
Labor Laws
Thesis Statement
Your thesis statement should be
specific—it should cover only what you
will discuss in your paper and should be
supported with specific evidence.
• Do not add fluff. If you are not going to
explain something in your paper do not
put it in your thesis.
The thesis statement usually
appears at the beginning of the
first paragraph of a paper.
• The thesis should be easy for your reader
to find. Do not try to hide the thesis
statement.
Your topic may change as you
write, so you may need to revise
your thesis statement to reflect
exactly what you have discussed
in the paper.
• There is nothing wrong with changing
your thesis statement as you write. The
thesis should reflect your paper’s topic.
This may change or be altered as you
write.
Your thesis statement:
• ___________ has an major impact on ___________
(American society, Carroll County, teens)
• The paper that follows should:
– explain how your topic has an influence on America,
Carroll County, or teens
First Step: Notes and Learning
• Find Sources:
Now, what we must do is find
CREDIBLE sources on the topic and
begin learning all we can about what
vampires are, where the derive from
and why they are so perplexing and
popular.
• Credible?
Credible means that the
sources you are using actually
have proof for their knowledge.
They are certified on the topic you
are researching and not just some
fanatic or idiot who thinks they
know what they are talking about.
• Credible sources are books,
magazines, newspapers,
encyclopedias, interviews with
credible people, and CERTAIN
websites
So let’s say I want to know about Vampires; I’m
going to need to check certain resources.
1. Encyclopedia references are a good place to start.
They give background info AND sometimes a list of
further readings.
2. Find Books on the topic. Then move on to magazines,
newspapers or journal articles.
3. Only use the internet as a last resort as it is one of the
least credible sources out there, and often hard to find
anything of worth. For this paper, you may use only ONE
internet source…no matter what.
Know now that only a few select sites can be credible. Follow
this checklist to ensure that you can actually use the source.
1. Know the name of the AUTHOR of the site, and their
credentials (Dr., Researcher, Journalist, etc…)
2. Know what Company or Organization this site affiliated
with.
3. Know WHERE this site exists. (Usually AngleFire,
myspace or Tripod pages and their like ARE NOT credible).
4. Know what type of information is being conveyed.
5. There must be useful information you can gather for your
study.
6. Know when the site was updated last.
Examples:
http://www.HoughtonMifflin.com/historical/vampire/html
http://www.geocities.com/MorganLF/vampires.html
Borne From Gaves and Charnel Houses.
by: Dr. Julian Smithee PHD of Supernatural Lit,
Cambridge College.
Vampires are undoubtedly the coolest creatures out there.
In comparison to werewolves or ghosts, neither is more
real or more powerful than the vampire.
Following the strange trails of the vampire through
history leads down any number of false dark alleys and real
dark corridors. However they are regarded, seductive stalker
or carrion rogue, the vampire seems to permeate every
society in the world in one form or another. Yet where do
these creatures originate from? Why do they differ in
appearance and behavior from country to country? And
above all, why are such murderous creatures so terrifying yet
so attractive to us at the same time?
To explore the true birth place of the vampire, we
must look at two of the greatest empires in the world and
their sub-cultures. The Greeks and the Egyptians were
simultaneously the most powerful and populace empires in
the known world. Thus, it is only fitting that from such great
societies come the world’s most renowned fiends.
Somewhere around eighty years before the birth of Christ,
we find the first written evidence of vampiric happenings in
Greek grave yards and Egyptian tombs.
I myself am a vampire, and so it is with pride I tell you
about myself to scare you a little more…people taste
better when they’re scared.
pg. 1
I, like all vampires, originate from Los Angeles. Some
people think vampires are from other places, but the true
vampires are seen only in LA clubs. I’ve been to N.Y.
clubs, and they’re just posers.
Despite popular belief, vampires have been around as long
as humans…longer, actually. We began as angels, fallen
like the demons, but we made our way from Hell to earth
where our lesser forms developed into humanity. Real
vampires do not develop, we feed and continue.
pg. 1
From the good site you could clearly see WHO wrote the article,
WHY they were a credible source, and INFORMATION that would
actually help you with your research. Furthermore, look at the WEB
ADDRESS, (Houghton Mifflin is a school textbook company, thus a
trustworthy source).
The bad site is quite opposite. It is based on opinion, “I am a
vampire….” Has irrelevant quotes as to helping you, and has no
credible author or company to back them up. Furthermore, look at the
address. Any time it is from Geocities, Angelfire, Tripod or any other
company that allows any and all individuals to make
personal web pages, it is NOT usually a credible or accepted
source.
Taking Notes
• One of the most IMPORTANT aspects of the research
process now is learning the topic thoroughly and making
EFFECTINE NOTES on it.
• Read through ALL your sources first and make notes on all
of them. Use either numbered note cards, sticky notes or
an organized notebook.
• In your notes, write EXACTLY what you need to
remember; Quotes, dates, numbers, or any and all other
relevant information. PLUS, always add the author of
where you got those notes and the page numbers. This will
help you TREMENDOUSLY!
• Like noting from the internet
page, note taking from books,
encyclopedias, etc is actually
rather simple.
• Read the source completely,
THEN go back over it making
note of the important or helpful
information. Always include
the author, the work and page
number on your note cards or
notebook to help you for
citation purposes and in case
you have to go back and look
through the materials again.
Good note taking
• Write the information
exactly.
• Keep names, dates,
numbers, etc…perfectly
• Write quotes EXACTLY
as they appear.
• Write author, page number
and the source.
To understand what first prompted
the belief in vampires, we must
examine two major happenings. The
first took place in the burial yards of
Greece. In the centuries before and
those during
life ofasChrist, no
Bathroom
writingthe
started
Grecians were embalmed in any way.
Rather, they were merely buried in
the ground approximately four feet in
the earth. The earth has a tendency to
expel buried bodies, however,making
for some very eerie sights as some
bodies would inevitably rise from
their graves, thus giving rise to the
belief that there are those who can
come back from the dead and their
earthly tombs.
Dr. Lloyd Worley, PHD
Humanities
How to organize notes
• If you are researching a person,
historical event, mysterious place,
etc… these notes should go in
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER!!!!
• This must be done because it’s the
only way things make sense. You
can’t say “Vampires are popular
icons in today’s literature….the most
notable in popular fiction are
Dracula and the vampires from Anne
Rice’s Chronicles…they come from
Egypt and Greece….there is a single
biblical account of a vampiric
creature in the Talmud, that of
Adam’s first wife, Lilith…people
came from their graves in
Greece…Dracula was a real
• If your topic does not
require chronological order,
it still needs to follow a
logical pattern.
• If it is a scientific paper, it
should still follow the
pattern of progress. If it is
analytical (dealing with
perhaps a psychosis) start
with the causes, then the
symptoms, then the final
effects and treatments.
• After getting ALL your notes written out, it’s time to
organize.
• Organization means EVERYTHING in a research paper.
There are simple techniques to use for organization.
• If you have used cards, all you have to do is
figure out the best order for progression,
then line up and number your cards. If you
used a notebook, you’ll have to number, cut
out and paste them back together.
So now you have the knowledge you need, various sources to help
support what you are saying and you’re ready to go. So how do you start
writing it?
Basically, this follows similar ideas insofar as introductions and
conclusions. You MUST capture our attention from the first paragraph. Use
relevant stories, interesting or startling facts on the subject, a quote on the topic,
etc.. Basically, introduce your topic as being something interesting, even
exciting. This way you establish your voice and the purpose for your paper.
Also, it helps you write a powerful, interesting paper, because let’s face facts; If
you didn’t like writing it, teachers won’t like reading it and you’ll likely not do
well.
So find a phenomenal way to introduce your paper and topic, and
begin writing a rough draft.
• You will undoubtedly want to explain all about
your topic so that we can actually see where and
how the legends of Vampires started, how and
why it evolved into what it is now, and why it has
branched into so many various new forms.
• In addition to explaining the topic COMPLETELY
AND IN DEPTH, you’ll want to help prove your
points with areas of citation. Sometimes you’ll
directly quote a source, though other times you
should paraphrase, yet still give credit.
The Body of Your Paper
• Each body paragraph will
have a topic sentence that
connects the supporting
detail to your thesis
statement.
• The specific details will
be used in these body
paragraphs to prove your
supporting details and
thesis statement
Give your paper a life
in these paragraphs.
Make it something you
would be interested in
reading yourself, and
realize how much you
are actually learning as
you are teaching your
readers.
Now you’re lost, aren’t you?
OK, so you have your paper
going, you’ve explained much of
your topic, but still, you need to
PROVE you are right and this is
not just an opinion paper. That’s
where citation comes in handy.
Remember, this needs to be
YOUR work in YOUR words,
fully explaining a topic you are
now completely familiar with.
BUT you should use credible
sources to back you up. Look at
the example on the next column.
Although the Greeks were the first
to truly represent a living-dead creature
that resembles a modern vampire, it
was the Egyptians that first made it
something of a seducer. Often,
vampires are seen as attractive, semisexual beings, but the flesh gorging
zombies from Greece cannot account
for this persona.
In Radu Florescu’s work, The
silken Curtain, he accounts for the
seductive side of vampires as stemming
from the very pyramids of Egypt where
“…legends of the Incubus and
Succubus were born. These vampires
were beautiful, human-like creatures
that would lure and seduce people
before drinking from them” (Florescu,
146).
Simple, right? You are telling the concepts, and periodically you use
information you found to help prove what you are talking about. The last
slide showed that a credible researcher recognizes actual history of
vampiric folklore. Not only did you tell the reader about the Egyptian
connection, but you also gave credible support to your claim by using the
further research of an expert.
So what’s with the numbers and words in parenthesis after
sentences you’ve quoted? That is called CITATION. This means you
give credit to the person from whom you gained this quote, statistic or
information. It works rather simply. After you use their information,
you end quotation marks WITHOUT a period in the sentence! Then in
parenthesis you use the author’s last name, comma, and the page number
this information can be found on. Close parenthesis and THEN put in
the period.
For example:
Although the legends
of the Incubus and Succubus
have survived. multiple
centuries, it was not until the
crossing of true history with
Romantic Horror that the
vampire became widely
accepted as an attractive, quasisexual creature. This
stereotypical belief stems from
the novel Dracula, written by
Bram Stoker. Here, Stoker used
the real, historical Prince Vlad
Tepes, (Known as Dracula in his
home of Romania), combined
with the attractive personage of
the poet Lord Byron to create a
beautiful, and wicked vampire.
The Vampire itself did not actually
gain popularity as an attractive being until
the Irish born novelist, Abraham (Bram)
Stoker took creative liberties with the
historical Dracula, truly named Vlad
Tepes or “Vlad the Impaler”, and crossed
him with the attractive appearance of the
poet Lord Byron (Nally, 192).
Other ways to back yourself up.
Quoting other sources is a good thing to do, though there are
other ways to use support without weighing down your paper
with quotes and you will DEFINITELY want to know how to do
this.
Paraphrasing (which was just shown) means you take the credible facts,
etc…and re-write them in YOUR OWN WORDS. Para means “similar to” and
Phrase is pretty obvious, so what you are doing is trying to get the same idea
across in your own words.
NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU SIMPLY CHANGE A WORD OR
TWO!!!!! You basically change the whole sentence.
Check out the differences in the next slide.
Book: “The historical
Dracula was actually a
Prince, known to be the
most powerful and
respected, in Romanian
history. Vlad Tepes, or
Vlad Dracula as he was
named after his father, was
the true Dracula. Though
not likely a real vampire,
he was a blood-thirsty,
murderous, cruel man who
was known to have at
times imbibed in the
consumption of human
blood.”
• Good:
The true Dracula, though most likely not a
vampire in any real sense, was the basis of what is
now considered to be the basic vampire. The real
man was a twisted though powerful Romanian
Prince who lead his country through the ravages of
war against the Turks in the late 1400’s. It was
from his frightening battlefield actions, the tortures
he implemented on his prisoners and his harshly
enforced laws that earned him the infamy of a
human monster. But it was his thirst for blood,
literally, that made Stoker think to turn him into the
modern stereotypical vampire.
Bad:
The historical Dracula was actually a Prince,
known to be powerful and respected, in Romanian
history. Vlad Tepes, or Vlad Dracula, was the true
Dracula.
The best thing you can do in writing a research paper is to
mix it up a bit. Remember that YOU are telling the reader about
your topic. Keep your voice and style, expand into depth, but use
proof and never opinion.
Use quotes and statistics to back you up and paraphrase
certain parts so that you are still using documented proof without
being in trouble for plagiarism!
Also, always keep your paper alive, but
PROFESSIONAL! That means no slang, no abbreviated words
like ‘cause, and you keep “I”, “you”, etc… OUT of the paper.
• One of the most important parts of your paper, as always, is your
conclusion.
• The conclusions ABSOLUTELY MUST be phenomenal. You
should leave your reader still thinking about your topic and your
paper once they finish reading it.
• It’s ok to leave your reader with a powerful question that leaves
them thinking. Or use an image at the last to keep in the reader’s
mind.
• NEVER merely say “the end”. Likewise, avoid just throwing
some cruddy conclusion just to get it out of the way. If you don’t
like the conclusion, I surely won’t like reading it, and thus, you
guessed it, the grade suffers.
• Basically, LEAVE ME THINKING OF YOUR TOPICS!!!!
Nearing the end!!!
• Once written, you’ll want to review the
entire paper, see what areas you could or
SHOULD expand on, rewrite, paraphrase,
add or adjust quotes or other note where
sources might help prove certain
points of your paper, and put in
proper citation. Also, edit your
paper for grammar, spelling, etc…
THE LAST STEPS!!!!
• At the end of your paper, you must have a sheet
that lists ALL the sources you used for your
research. Whether you quoted them,
paraphrased from them, or merely
used them for your research,
you MUST cite them.
• THIS is a difficult part, so you
MUST DO IT CORRECTLY!
Author’s last name, first name. Title of the book. Published
where: by whom, date published.
Shin, Seung. Lives of the Darker Saints . New York: Penguin
Press, December 1992.
If there is more than one author:
Baker, Lee and Kenny Nasco. A Vampire Encyclopedia.
London: Signet Books, 2004.
Encyclopedia:
Author’s last name, First. “Word or
topic”. Reference book.
Edition.
Dictionary:
“Word Defined”. Name of
Dictionary. Edition.
“Succubus”. Webster’s High School
Dictionary. 2002.
Mills, Mindy. “Vampire”. World Book
Encyclopedia. 2003 Edition,
Vol 14.
In case where there is no author:
“Vampire”. World Book Encyclopedia.
2003 Edition, Vol 14.
DUDE! I
GOT IT!
Author’s last, first. “Article Title”. Magazine, Volume (date),
pages.
Moran, Mandy. “Fangs for the Memories”. Time, 114
(December 14, 2003), 82-91.
If credible but unsigned:
“Real Life Suckers”. Life, 987 (July 21, 1991), 56-61.
Author’s last, First. “Article”.
Newspaper, (Date), Section, page.
Dale, Britney. “Unwilling Blood
Donors”. Los Angeles Times,
(February 20, 2004), Section C, pg
C12-C13.
Author’s last, first. “Title of Page”. Association or
Company: Last date updated. Full web site.
Anderson, Jamie. “Food for the Gods”. National
Council of Paranormal Studies: November 12,
2003.
www.NCPS.com/vampiricfolklore/main/documentedcases.
html
The Unusual Citation.
•Recordings (CD, tape, radio,
messages from interstellar
beings…)
Artist. “Song or track”.
Album. Company, date
of release.
Guns n’ Roses. “Sympathy for
the Devil”. Interview with
the Vampire Soundtrack.
TimeLife Records,
1994.
•Personal Interview.
Person interviewed last name,
first. Personal
Interview. Date.
Itrades, Radu. Personal
Interview. December
1, 2001.
FINALLY! THE WORKS
CITED PAGE
• Once you have your paper written, have it
correctly cited and edited, it’s time to make
the works cited page. This is the final page
that follows your paper. It has all your
sources cited correctly.
• Make sure you follow the example on the
next slide down.
Works Cited
Triple Space
Bolton, Ariel. “When Nightmares are Real”. Time,
114 (December 14, 2003), 82-91.
Grivy, Missy. “Misguided Souls”. Los Angeles Times, (February 20, 2004), Section C, pg
C12-C13.
King, Tonya. “Vampires in legend and Literature”. Association of Biblical and Paranormal study:
November 12, 2003. www.ABP.com/legendsh/main/Taltos.html
Rosen, Lacy and Tim Kingly. The Unusual Suspects.
London: Signet Books, 2004.
Bloodlust:
A history of Vampires and the Cultures that
Create Them.
By:
Kyra Lexis
Freshman English
February 18, 2005
• Now, you need to create
a cover page, print out
your paper, cover page
and works cited page.
Staple it ONCE in the
upper left corner, and
turn it in. If you would
rather use a plastic paper
cover, that is acceptable
also.
• When writing your paper,
add life to it. Convey your
message, but add your voice
to it. The simple rule is “If
you don’t like your topic, or
don’t like writing about it,
NO ONE will like reading it.
Period. Case closed. Yo
mama will not persuade me
otherwise.”
• Interest yourself in the topic,
make your paper interesting
and informative, or basically
you may as well take the
zero out of the one thousand
points this paper is worth.
Create something you like
knowing. Write something
you would be interested in
reading. And above all,
make something you are
proud of altogether.
• Just so we are COMPLETELY clear on this issue, allow me to explain
plagiarism.
• Plagiarism is when you take someone else’s works, ideas or words and use
them as your own. Whether it is a sentence, a part of a sentence or an entire
paper, it will ruin your grade and it is illegal.
• Think I’m kidding? If you plagiarize in ANY college class, you are usually
expelled from the college, cannot reapply EVER and it goes on your permanent
record.
• Why is it illegal? Because you are stealing another person’s ideas. It is illegal
and immoral.
• If you are thinking about it, don’t chance it. I WILL find out as we have
various resources. If you want to check your own paper for possible
plagiarism, submit your paper to www.turnitin.com (you may have to pay a
user fee), or try one of our other sources. I use both Turnitin.com and the
program Eve 6.2. Also, I know your writing styles, strengths and weak areas.
• Don’t be stupid. Do your work..
There you go! Not so bad,
though it still takes a lot of hard
work, thought and dedication. Do
your best in ALL aspects of this
paper!
Remember, YOU write this
paper, don’t let quotes over run your
paper! And most of all, DO NOT
PLAGIAIRIZE!!!