Research Paper
Mrs. Weis
Academic English 10
Background Information
• A research paper is an extended writing piece
that requires the gathering of pertinent facts,
data and information to support that author’s
assertions.
• You will choose a topic from a given list to write
about.
• No two people in the same class can choose the
same topic
The Steps of Research Writing
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Choose a topic
Write a thesis Statement
Gather sources
Develop note cards using Noodletools.com
Generate an outline
Write a rough draft
Revise your draft
Publish your paper
Remember
• Each step in the writing/research process
builds on the previous step.
• Attempting to skip steps will only hurt
your paper (plus you’ll lose points).
• If you work diligently in class and meet
the deadlines, this will be a stress-free
writing experience.
MLA
• MLA style is the most commonly accepted
form of research writing. The form shows
that the writer has considered many
sources of information before writing on a
specific subject, and permits the reader to
review the sources if he or she wishes.
• This is the style you will use for your
paper.
Breaking it down…
1. Topic
– You will receive a list of 101 topics to choose
from.
– No one in the same class can research the same
topic.
– Topics will be assigned numerically. Students
will draw numbers. The student who gets #1 will
choose first, #2 second and so on.
– Once you begin researching your chosen topic,
you are not permitted to change it. So choose
wisely.
Breaking it down…
2. Sources
For this research paper, you will need to use a
minimum of Three sources.
You may use:
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Reliable internet sources –Wikipedia is not a reliable source
Interviews
Books
Movies
Magazines
Television shows
All of these are available through the library. If you
need help finding these sources, please ask. I am
here to help you…
Example Citations
Book Source
• Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science.
New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.
• Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New
Media:
Theory and Applications for
Expanding the Teaching of Composition.
Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004.
Print.
Notice that the citation is written using
REVERSE INDENDTATION.
Example Citations
A Page on a Web Site
• For an individual page on a Web site, list the
author or alias if known, followed by the
information covered above for entire Web sites.
Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is
available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.
• "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com.
eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Example Citations
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Article in a Magazine
Cite by listing the article's author, putting the title of the article in
quotations marks, and italicizing the periodical title. Follow with the date of
publication. Remember to abbreviate the month. The basic format is as
follows:
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
Medium of publication.
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
Print.
Example Citations
An Article in a Web Magazine
• Provide the author name, article name in
quotation marks, title of the Web magazine in
italics, publisher name, publication date, medium
of publication, and the date of access. Remember
to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and
n.d. if not publishing date is given.
• Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living
Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002.
Web. 4 May 2009.
Example Citations
An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription
Service)
• Cite articles from online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR,
ScienceDirect) and other subscription services just as you would print
sources. Since these articles usually come from periodicals, be sure to
consult the appropriate sections of the Works Cited: Periodicals page,
which you can access via its link at the bottom of this page. In addition to
this information, provide the title of the database italicized, the medium of
publication, and the date of access.
• Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature's Rotary Electromotors.”
Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009.
Example Citations
E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)
• Give the author of the message, followed by the subject
line in quotation marks. State to whom to message was
sent, the date the message was sent, and the medium of
publication.
• Kunka, Andrew. "Re: Modernist Literature." Message to
the author. 15 Nov. 2000. E-mail.
Example Citations
A Listserve, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting
• Cite Web postings as you would a standard Web entry. Provide the author of the
work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the Web site name in italics, the
publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the medium of publication and the date
of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If
both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets. Remember if the
publisher of the site is unknown, use the abbreviation n.p.
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Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of
Site. Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with
the site (sponsor or publisher). Medium of publication. Date of access.
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Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of
Rooms?” BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.
Example Citations
Movies
• List films (in theaters or not yet on DVD or video) by their title. Include the
name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If
relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the
abbreviation perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication.
To cite a DVD or other video recording, see “Recorded Films and Movies”
below.
• The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne,
Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram,
1995. Film.
Example Citations
Personal Interviews
• Personal interviews refer to those interviews
that you conduct yourself. List the interview by
the name of the interviewee. Include the
descriptor Personal interview and the date of the
interview.
• Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec.
2000.
Example Citations
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Broadcast Television or Radio Program
Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of
the series or program in italics. Also include the network name, call letters
of the station followed by the city, and the date of broadcast. End with the
publication medium (e.g. Television, Radio). For television episodes on
Videocassette or DVD refer to the “Recorded Television Episodes” section
below.
"The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998.
Television.
REMEMBER!!!
• ***PRINT, PRINT, PRINT! Make sure you
print copies of ALL internet sources for
your documentation at the time of your
researching. Never assume that you can
“go back and get it!”
Note Cards
• You will use Noodletools.com to make
your note cards.
• Remember, you cannot make your
note cards until you have created the
citation.
• Refer to the noodletools.com
PowerPoint you were given, if you
have questions
“Using quotations in text”
• You are only permitted to use two direct
quotes in your paper. All other quotes
must be indirect.
• After you’ve typed the quote…
– If it’s 5 lines or less put it in quotes. “ “(cite
your source)
– If it’s 6 lines of more use block quotation.
Text text text text text text text text text text text
Quote is indented for all the lines. (cite your source)
Text text text text text text text text text text text
Direct vs. Indirect Quotations
• A "quotation" is the exact word or words that
a person speaks. It's good to understand the
difference between a direct quotation, the
words you hear from someone speaking, and
an indirect quotation, which are the words
that someone else uses to describe another
speaker.
• A direct quote is quoted immediately after
the quote.
• An indirect quote (most of the time) can be
quoted at the end of the paragraph.
Examples of Quotations
Direct
Indirect
• “I am a bee keeper.”
• “I was afraid of spiders as
a little girl.”
• “He can eat an entire
watermelon,” his wife
said.
• He said that he was a bee
keeper.
• She said she had been
afraid of spiders when
she was a little girl.
• His wife said he can eat
and entire watermelon.
Creating an Outline
• This is why you create note cards. Now you need to
organize your note cards in a logically manner.
• Think about how you want to grab your readers
attention.
• Thing about how you want to defend your side of the
issue.
• Use the example outline to help you.
• Do not write in paragraph form. You will lose points
if you do this.
• You can use noodletools.com to create your outline or
you can type your outline in word.
• Even if you use noodletools.com you will need to type
more information than just your note cards.
Writing your Rough Draft
• Once you have your note cards organized
and in an order that you like, you can
build your outline. Use the cards to
construct your outline. From the outline,
you are ready to write a rough draft.
Rough Drafts
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9.
When writing a paper, you should:
Establish your thesis in the opening paragraph (This should be
the last line in your first paragraph. ***If you do not have a thesis
statement here you automatically lose points!!!)
Use notes gathered to support your ideas
Give credit to authors of the information you have gathered (Site
your sources; avoid plagiarism!) (Plagiarism will earn you a
ZERO!!!)
Use transitions to move from one topic to the next
Never end a paragraph with a citation (After each direct or
indirect quote, you need to explain it.)
Avoid the use BE verbs (was, were, are, is, am, be, being ,been,)
You are not permitted to use first person pronouns (I, Me, My)
You are not permitted to use the word YOU
The only excepting to 6, 7, & 8 – if these words are in the direct
quotes you are going to use, you cannot change them. However,
for indirect quotes you must change these words.
Using information in text
When you write your rough draft, you
will include the information you have
collected through the research process. All
information collected must be cited at the
point of insertion into your paper. Here’s
an example:
An example
of in-text documentation
• The first two lines of this stanza, "My little
horse must think it queer / To stop
without a farmhouse near," remind us of a
nursery rhyme (Frost 11).
• Notice—Frost’s quote is highlighted to
show that the material is taken from a
source and not the paper writer’s own
words.
An example
of in-text documentation
• Another example of this is:
According to Mrs. Weis, “Two hour
delays are better than school
cancellations,” (11).
REMEMBER -• If you are including any information that
you did not know before you began
researching, then you must cite the source
of the information. When in doubt – cite,
cite, cite. Give credit where credit is due.
Works Cited Page
Once you have found the sources you
intend to use, you will need to identify
them for your reader. For each SOURCE
you use, write a separate listing in
noodletools.com.
REMEMBER!
• Do not list sources on your Works Cited if
you did not use it in your paper.
How is the Works Cited page
organized?
Double spacing is important. Also, remember
to reverse indent your sources. If you
properly documented your source cards, you
can simply organize them alphabetically.
That’s it! If you type everything into
noodletools.com correctly, then this should
be the easiest part of your paper.
Here’s an example:
Typing the rough draft -What should my heading look like?
The heading should be as follows:
Your Name
Teacher Name
Course, Period
Day Month Year
Do not forget the header. The header, with your
last name and the page number, should appear
at the top right-hand corner of every page of
your paper.
Headings for all papers
More on paper formatting…
1. Double space your paper.
2. Your title should fall right below the
heading, but centered on the page. No
underlining or bolding or italicizing or
quoting is needed.
3. Margins are 1”.
*Font type should be Times New Roman, size
12. No other fonts or font sizes are
acceptable. Black ink for typed—blue or
black ink for handwritten components.
The Home Stretch
Now that you have a rough draft written:
1. Proofread or Peer Edit work.
2. Revise, revise, revise…
3. Save all work, and make extra copies.
4. Make any corrections before moving to
revising outline.
The Home Stretch
5. Print revised outline and final draft for
the due date. Your packet should include:
• Final Draft
• Works Cited
• Rough Draft
• Revised outline – typed
• Note and Source Cards typed using
Noodle
The Final Product
• Your final paper must be a minimum of three
full pages. Anything less than three full
pages will lose points.
• You must have the heading, header, page
numbers, and title on the first page of your
paper. The header and page numbers must
be on every page, including the works cited.
• You will put a copy of your final paper in
your packet and you will also submit it to
turnitin.com
Due Dates
• Each piece of the process has a specific due date.
Each piece must be turned in on that day for
credit. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR
TURNING ANYTHING IN LATE. If you are
absent when something is due, it is due the day
you come back. You have a calendar so you know
when everything is due.
• You cannot move on to the next step in the process
without finishing the previous step. Even if you
did not turn it in on time, you cannot move on
until I sign off on your check sheet that you have
completed it.
Due Dates
• If there is a snow day on one of the due
dates, the work is due the very next day
we are in session. Example: Snow day
4/14 – note cards due 4/15
The End
• You did it. Way to go!!!