Writing the Research Paper
Easy steps that include:
Finding your sources
Source cards
Note cards
Thesis statement
Outline
Works cited page
In-text citations
Draft Requirements
Finding Your Sources
 Books
 Magazines
 Internet


– reliable sources only
.gov
.edu
– please do not use them
without permission
 Encyclopedias
Writing the Source Card

There are basic items every source card should
have:
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Author’s name
Article title – if the source has one
Title
Access date – if it is an internet source
Copyright date
Publishing company
Page numbers if the source is a magazine
Month if the source is a magazine
City in which the source is published
Writing the Source Card
cont’d.
 Not
all source cards look alike.
 Some examples follow, but use an MLA
style book.
 Find an online version of the book at:
http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citma
nage/mla#list
For a Book
Auster, Paul. Twenty Days With Julian
and Little Bunny by Papa. New York:
New York Review Books. 2003.
For a Magazine
 Billaman,
Carol. “Nathaniel Hawthorne:
‘Revolutionizer’ of Children’s Literature.”
Studies in American Fiction. 10(1982):
107-114.
For the Internet:
webpage only
 Eldred,
Eric. Nathaniel Hawthorne (18041864) Home Page. Derry, N.H.: Eldritch
Press, 1999. 12 Oct. 1999.
<http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/hawthorne.html>
For the Internet:
Article from a webpage
Cornell University Library. "Introduction to
Research." Cornell University Library.
Cornell University, 2009. Web. 19 June
2009 <http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/intro>.
For Encyclopedias
 Entry
in an online encyclopedia:
"Einstein, Albert." Encyclopaedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1999. Web. 27 Apr. 2009.
 Encyclopedia entry:
Bergman, P. G. "Relativity." The New
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed.
1987. Print.
For Dictionaries
 Dictionary
entry:
"Accord." Def. 5b. The Oxford English
Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Print.
Writing the Note Card

Slug (a mini title)
Source #
Notes: three types
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
paraphrase
Summary
Direct quote
Page #
Thesis Statement
 Write
one or two sentences that will go
into the first paragraph which tell what the
writer wants the reader to know, think or
do based on the information in the paper.
Outline

Using the thesis statement and the slugs from
the note cards, form an outline. (I do not require
sub letters under the Roman numerals.)
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The thesis statement will go into Roman numeral one
– the introductory paragraph.
The slugs will form the developing/supporting
paragraphs.
The conclusion of the paper should be based on the
thesis statement and supporting paragraphs and
should be the last Roman numeral.
Works Cited Page
easiest part – copy the source
cards over in alphabetical order,
starting with the first letter of the first
word on the card.
 The
In-text citations
There are two basic types:
 Citation at the end.

Ex: One boy imitates him by covering his face with an old black
handkerchief, thereby so affrighting his playmates that the panic
seized himself, and he well-nigh lost his wits by his own
waggery. (Hawthorne, Complete Short Stories 35)
•


When the quote is four or more lines, the period goes before the parentheses. When the quote is three
lines or less, it goes after the parentheses. Also, a quote of four or more lines should be indented ten
spaces.
Ex: One boy imitates him “his face with an old black handkerchief, thereby so affrighting his
playmates that the panic seized himself, and he well-nigh lost his wits by his own waggery”
(Hawthorne, Complete Short Stories 35).
The quoted material is introduced with the name of the
author to whom the information belongs.

Ex: Ginsberg says “. . .he maintained a progressive belief in
transcendentalist ideologies which stipulated that not only the
child but also the parent would be transformed into a finer
person through the careful consideration of child rearing
practices” (17).
Final Draft
Requirements
Research – Grades 9 -- 12
Page 1070; 526; 694; 942 (Prentice Hall Literature)
Name ______________
Each section is worth 10 points.
 Introduction: A thesis statement is clearly expressed.
 Information: Factual support from a variety of credited sources is expressed
clearly, concisely and accurately.
 Organization: The information is logically organized.
 Tone: The writer’s tone is confident and objective throughout the paper.
 Development: The writer develops the paper in an interesting way and includes
many specific details.
 Citations: A minimum of 5 citations from a minimum of three sources are found
within the text. Quoted material and paraphrased material is correctly
documented using MLA parenthetical citations. Citations do not follow one after
another, but they are incorporated naturally into sentences and/or paragraphs to
support the student’s thesis statement. Copies of all cited materials are attached
to the paper.
 Conclusion: The paper ends effectively.
 Copies: All Copies of sources used are turned in with the paper.
 Works Cited page: Sources are correctly written in alphabetical order.
 Mechanics, Grammar, Punctuation and Usage rules are correctly followed.