2015
Choosing a Topic: Freshman Focus
For this project, you may choose a topic of
your choice. It must be:
 Something you’re curious about
 Genuinely interesting to you
Today, you will write 1-2 topic options on a
sticky note after looking around in the
library. Make sure your topic is not too
broad or too narrow.
You will also check out a book about your
favorite of the three topics.
Choosing a Topic: Pre-AP Students Only
For this project, you may choose a topic of
your choice. It must be:
 A topic you’re curious about
 A question that you will be able to answer
through inference and inductive reasoning

Example: What are the most effective ways
of increasing my flexibility?
You will also check out a book about your
favorite of the three topics.
Choosing a Topic
Double-check your topic:
 Is it something I’m curious about?
 Is it something that’s genuinely
interesting to me?
 Is it too broad?
 Is it too narrow?
 Will there be enough information
on it?
Finding Credible Sources
There are two types of sources.
 First hand research is research you have
conducted yourself such as interviews,
experiments, surveys, or personal
experience and anecdotes.
 Second hand research is research you are
getting from various texts that has been
supplied and compiled by others such as
books, periodicals, and Web sites.
Regardless of what type of sources you use,
they must be “credible.” In other words,
your sources must be reliable, accurate, and
trustworthy.
Finding Credible Sources
How do I know if a source is credible?
 Who is the author? Credible sources are written by
authors respected in their fields of study.
Responsible, credible authors will cite their sources
so that you can check the accuracy of and support
for what they've written. (This is also a good way to
find more sources for your own research.)
 How recent is the source? The choice to seek recent
sources depends on your topic. While sources on the
American Civil War may be decades old and still
contain accurate information, sources on
information technologies, or other areas that are
experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more
current.
Finding Credible Sources
How do I know if a source is credible? (Continued)
 What is the author's purpose? When deciding which
sources to use, you should take the purpose or point of
view of the author into consideration. Is the author
presenting a neutral, objective view of a topic? Or is the
author advocating one specific view of a topic? Who is
funding the research or writing of this source? A source
written from a particular point of view may be credible;
however, you need to be careful that your sources don't
limit your coverage of a topic to one side of a debate.
 Be especially careful when evaluating Internet
sources! Beware of using sites like Wikipedia, which are
collaboratively developed by users. Because anyone can
add or change content, the validity of information on
such sites may not meet the standards for academic
research. Look for “.gov” or “.org” at the end of a URL!
Activity: Find 2 credible sources on your topic!
Then, start your Works Cited (Bibliography) page the 2
internet sources you’ve found and all the sources Mr.
Fuller found for you. You should have 5-6 sources total!
MLA (“modern language association”) format for a
bibliography is shown below:
Websites:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of the
Article.” Name of entire website. Date of
publication. Date of access.
Example:
Activity: Finish your Works Cited (Bibliography)
page the 2 internet sources you’ve found and all
the sources Mr. Fuller found for you. You should
have 5-6 sources total!
MLA (“modern language association”) format for a
bibliography is shown below:
Websites:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of
the Article.” Name of entire website. Date of
publication. Date of access.
Example:
Writing Research Questions: Pre-AP Students
To help guide your research, write 3-4 guiding
research questions on your paper. Later, these can
help you organize your paper!

1.
2.
3.
4.
Example: What are the most effective ways of
increasing my flexibility?
How “warm” do my muscles need to be before
I stretch?
What kind of assists can I use on each of my
stretches?
How long do my holds need to be in order to
accustom my body to each stretch?
Are there limitations in stretching that I won’t
be able to get past?
Finding Credible Sources
Activity: Continue writing your Works Cited
(Bibliography) page by listing the 1 book and the 4-5
internet sources you’ve found (5-6 sources total).
Books:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title of
the Book. City of Publication: Publisher,
Year of Publication.
Websites:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title
of the Article.” Name of entire website.
Date of publication. Date of access.
Paraphrasing
 The
word “paraphrasing”
means:
 To put something into your
own words
 It’s similar to summarizing
 It ensures that you aren’t just
copying what you’ve read
word-for-word: that would be
plagiarizing!
Paraphrasing




Read the whole passage first to understand it,
rather than pausing to write notes
Be selective. You usually don’t need to
paraphrase an entire passage; instead, choose
and summarize the material that helps you
make a point in your paper.
Think of what your own words would be if you
were telling someone who's unfamiliar with
your subject (your mother, your brother, a
friend)
Look away from the text! Read the text several
times until you feel that you understand it
enough to rewrite it in your own words.
Paraphrasing

Read the following passage:

Now, paraphrase what you’ve read to a partner!
◦ “Satoshi Tajiri first thought of Pokémon around 1989 or
1990, when the Game Boy was first released. The concept of
the Pokémon universe stems from the hobby of insect
collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon executive
director Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a child. Players of the
games are Pokémon Trainers, and in the main series
Pokémon games, these trainers have two general goals.
These are to complete the Pokedex by collecting all of the
available Pokémon species found in the fictional region
where that game takes place; and to train a team of
powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete
against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually win
the fictional Pokémon League.”
Quoting
 When something is said
perfectly, poetically, or there is
no possible way to rephrase it,
you can put it in “quotation
marks” for your paper.
 Only a small percentage of your
paper should be direct quotes.
Citing
 In order to avoid plagiarism, you
must cite your sources using
parenthetical citations. This means
that you tell your readers where
you got the information from.
 Even if you already put the
information into your own words,
you still need to cite it! You
learned that information from
another source – it did not come
from your own head.
Citing
After the sentence and before the period,
put the citation information in
(parenthesis). We call this a parenthetical
citation.
 Usually, you would put the author’s last
name and a page number (Jones 43).
 If there is no page number, just write the
author’s last name (Goodall).
 If there is no author, put the title of the
work in quotation marks (“Weather in
Patagonia” 37).
Citations in paragraphs
Since your paragraphs will be filled with
information from various sources, they
should have many citations scattered
throughout! Example paragraph:
The concept of Pokemon is a game in
which creatures are captured in capsules, or
containers, called Pokeballs to be collected
for use in battle (Berri 9). The concept was
invented by Satoshi Tajiri, who loved to
collect bugs as a kid (Mortenson 32).
Pokemon were originally titled “Capumon,” or
“Capsule Monsters” (Berri 1). Eventually, the
name was changed to “Pokemon,” or “Pocket
Monsters,” which had a better ring to it
(“Concept of Pokemon”).
Making a notes page:
On a blank sheet of paper (or on your
iPad), write out your 3-4 research
questions with adequate space between
them for bullet-pointed notes.
 Research question #1
◦ Facts, paraphrasings, quotes with citations
after each one to show where you got each fact
(Jones 25).

Research question #2

Research question #3
◦ Facts, paraphrasings, quotes with citations
after each one (Cordova 11).

Facts, paraphrasings, quotes with citations
after each one (“The World of Racing” 739).
Making a notes page:
Citations in paragraphs
Since your paragraphs will be filled with
information from various sources, they
should have many citations scattered
throughout! Example paragraph:
The concept of Pokemon is a game in
which creatures are captured in capsules, or
containers, called Pokeballs to be collected
for use in battle (Berri 9). The concept was
invented by Satoshi Tajiri, who loved to
collect bugs as a kid (Mortenson 32).
Pokemon were originally titled “Capumon,” or
“Capsule Monsters” (Berri 1). Eventually, the
name was changed to “Pokemon,” or “Pocket
Monsters,” which had a better ring to it
(“Concept of Pokemon”).
Organizing the paper
1. Introduction (give a bit of
brief background information
on the topic, then state your
topic in a position statement)
2. Research question #1
3. Research question #2
4. Research question #3
5. Conclusion
Changing a quote
You can change a quote if you need to,
but you must follow these rules:
 Removing part of a long quote: Use
an ellipses (…) to show what part you
cut out.
◦ “He was a good student…he always
finished his work.”

Changing a word in a quote: You may
change a word to clarify something by
using [brackets].
◦ “[Marin] was one of the most
accomplished authors of her time.”
Embedding a quote
It sounds more fluid when you can make
a quote part of a sentence. Examples:
 According to studies done in Spain, art
is more interesting to people when “it
comes from the soul.”
 When she walked into the room, it was
“as though the windows broke and the
tiles fell from the ceiling.”
TIP: Introduce your quote briefly, then
flow into it!
Using Quotes
Practice using quotes! By the end of the
period, find an article on the internet or
from a book, and show me that you can do
the following:
1.
Use ellipses…to remove part of a quote
2.
Change a word in a quote using
[brackets]
3.
Embed a quote so that it flows in a
sentence
Pre-AP students:
How do I organize my
essay other than the “5 Paragraph” formula?









Cause and Effect
Comparison and Contrast
Better and Worse
If . . . Then
Either . . . Or
Chronological
Problem/Needs/Solutions
Theory/Practice/Example
Specific topic/debatable view /significance to the
audience
Pre-AP students:
How can I connect my
ideas from paragraph to paragraph?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Quickly recap the point of previous paragraph(s)
Preview where the next paragraph(s) are going
Highlight the connection between the two ideas (why
are you discussing them in this order?)
How can you connect your ideas to your thesis?
Attach your Works Cited to the back page
Works Cited
Mortenson, Lori. Satori Tajiri: Pokemon Creator.
San Diego: Kidhaven Press, 2009.
Berri, Glitter. “Early Concept Art.” Game
Translations. 2015. 15 May, 2015.
“Concept of Pokemon.” Bulbagarden. April 2015.
14 May, 2015.
Wakka. “The 150 Original Pokemon.” Giant Bomb.
2015. 15 May, 2015.
Plunkett, Luke. “The Man Who Created Pokemon
for a Living.” Kotaku. 24 May, 2011. 15 May,
2015.
“Parents’ Guide to Pokemon.” Pokemon. N.d. 18
May, 2015.
Research Paper Requirements
Write a research paper on a topic of
your choice. Your paper must include:
 Elaboration – quotes, scenarios,
descriptions, statistics, definitions,
examples, etc.
 Information from 5-6 credible book
and internet sources
 Proper parenthetical citations (Jones
73).
 A works cited (a.k.a. bibliography)
page attached to the back
 Minimum 1 page