THE RESEARCH PAPER
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YOU WILL NEED THE OUTLINE HANDOUT, YOUR
RESEARCH ARTICLES, A PEN/PENCIL, AND LOTS
OF BRAIN POWER!
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:
•READ, listen, & follow all directions.
•Your paper MUST answer your subtopic questions, so you will need a thesis
statement.
•You will use Claim, Evidence, and Warrant along with the Four Steps to
support your writing.
•Each time you use evidence, you MUST have warrant!
•You must cite your source EACH time you use evidence from any article!
•Use your time wisely.
•Turn your rough drafts & paper in on time.
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•If you have a question, ask!
THESIS STATEMENT:
•The thesis statement is like a GPS for the reader. You are telling your reader
where your paper is going. The evidence (and explanation you use
throughout the paper) will explain your answers to your subtopic questions.
– Research question: I want to know what genetic engineering is, why it’s
problem for some, and what are the possible solutions to genetic
engineering?
– Thesis Statement: To understand more about genetic engineering, I
need to identify what genetic engineering is, why it is controversial and a
problem for some, and any possible solutions to genetic engineering.
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•Remember, your thesis statement can always be tweaked before you
turn in the final product.
ANSWERING YOUR SUBTOPICS
• Start at the beginning. Take your first sub-topic question “What is
(your topic here)”?
•Use a transition word/phrase to begin each sub-topic paragraph.
•Why? Well, according to the website Study Guides and Strategies
by “using transitional words and phrases helps papers read more
smoothly, and at the same time allows the reader to flow more
smoothly from one point to the next. Transitions enhance logical
organization and understandability and improve the connections
between thoughts. They indicate relations, whether within a
sentence, paragraph, or paper.”
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•Check them out at http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr6.htm
EXAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE FOR SUBTOPIC 1:
DEFINING THE PROBLEM
–First, I needed to identify genetic engineering.
• The reader knows that this is the first subtopic in your paper because it is
listed first in your thesis statement.
• The reader also knows that this is the only topic (identifying genetic
engineering) in the first paragraph.
• Notice the transition word given at the beginning of the sentence?
• You will probably have multiple paragraphs. It depends on what you will
talk about.
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Your topic sentence is just setting up what you will talk about in this section
of your paper. The next sentence after this topic sentence will be your claim.
You could have several claims under each topic sentence.
EXAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCE FOR SUBTOPIC 2:
WHY IT IS A PROBLEM
–The second sub-topic sentence should have a transitional phrase.
• After defining the genetic engineering, I discovered genetic
engineering was controversial and a problem for some because it isn’t
only about cloning and gene therapy but it also deals with altering foods.
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• So, this may need multiple paragraphs.
• First, I will talk about the controversy with cloning. Then, gene therapy,
and third, genetically engineered food. Each paragraph will need a
separate claim.
YOUR TURN!
Type of
Transition
Example
Sequence
at first, first of all, to begin with, in the first place, at the same
time,
for now, for the time being, the next step, in time, in turn, later
on,
meanwhile, next, then, soon, the meantime, later, while, earlier,
simultaneously, afterward, in conclusion, with this in mind
Summarizing
after all, all in all, all things considered, briefly, by and large, in
any case, in any event,
in brief, in conclusion, on the whole, in short, in summary, in the
final analysis,
in the long run, on balance, to sum up, to summarize, finally
Check them out at http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr6.htm
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On the outline handout you have received, write your topic
sentences for your 3 sub-topics. Use the transition handout to
vary your usage.
The examples below are on your handout.
SUPPORTING YOUR SUBTOPICS
WITH A CLAIM:
•Now you have your topic sentences. From here,
you need to write your claims. You need to go to
your research.
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•Look through your research for your annotations on
why your topic is a problem. What commonalities
(similarities) do you see? In other words, what
argument can you make about why your topic is a
problem?
SUPPORTING YOUR SUBTOPICS
WITH A CLAIM:
•On the Outline handout, write down your first claim.
• Topic Sentence: After defining the genetic engineering, I
discovered genetic engineering was controversial and a
problem for some because it isn’t only about cloning and
gene therapy but it also deals with altering foods.
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• Claim: Those opposed to genetic engineering fear for the
future of human beings.
SUPPORTING YOUR SUBTOPICS WITH A
CLAIM AND EVIDENCE:
•After your first claim, write what evidence you will use to support the
claim. Introduce your evidence first. This is step 1 from the previous
power point!
•Use introductory phrases to introduce your evidence. Don’t just plop
it in your paper. Remember the rules from the previous power point.
– In the article…
– Author so-and-so (use their name) states,
– For example,
– According to…
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• You have a handout that gives ways to introduce your evidence. Use
this along with the other handout to vary up your introductions.
SUPPORTING YOUR SUBTOPICS WITH A CLAIM AND
EVIDENCE:
Re-cap:
– After evidence (STEP 2), cite (STEP 3) where you got the information.
This will match the first word from the Works Cited page. This should
match what you put on your colored sheet of paper for your note taking. It
must sound like a complete sentence!
Claim: Those opposed to genetic engineering fear for the future of human
beings.
Pink=Step 1
Orange=Step 2 Blue=Step 3
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Evidence: According to The Future of Human Evolution website,
those who oppose genetic engineering because they fear people will
be able to create “designer babies” need not fear (The Future). The
website also states, “The scientific reality is far removed from the
media fervor. You can select an embryo with the right chromosomes
to produce the child of your chosen sex or have the embryo screened
for a potential hereditary genetic disorders, or choose an embryo that
is a genetic match for a sibling who already has a genetic disorder,
but anything else is pure hypothesis” (The Future).
SUPPORTING YOUR SUBTOPICS WITH A
CLAIM AND EVIDENCE AND WARRANT:
After your first claim and evidence, write your warrant. This is step 4 from the previous
power point.
Claim: Those opposed to genetic engineering fear for the future of human beings.
Evidence: According to The Future of Human Evolution website, those who oppose
genetic engineering because they fear people will be able to create “designer babies”
need not fear (The Future). The website also states, “The scientific reality is far removed
from the media fervor. You can select an embryo with the right chromosomes to produce
the child of your chosen sex or have the embryo screened for a potential hereditary
genetic disorders, or choose an embryo that is a genetic match for a sibling who already
has a genetic disorder, but anything else is pure hypothesis” (The Future).
Warrant: So, at this point in time, scientists can not guarantee a couple a baby of their
“design.” There are steps that can be taken to give a couple a baby of a specific sex, or
screen for a genetic disorder, but this is not a guarantee. People who fear for the future
of human beings have nothing to fear. This evidence shows that the scientific
community is not interested in creating a “super human race” of perfect same-looking
children. People who make these kinds of speculations are not basing their facts on
anything scientific.
Pink=Step 1
Orange=Step 2
Blue=Step 3
Green=Step 4
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EACH paragraph you write will have a claim and multiple pieces of evidence and warrant.
Better
In the Vietnam War, bombing specific targets was still rather primitive
because smart bomb technology was still in the process of being
developed, and the practice of carpet bombing caused many civilian
casualties. Johnson says that hitting specific targets with bombs during
the Vietnam war was still very difficult, and because of this the military
would bomb everything around the actual target (Johnson 18). This
strategy of mass bombing now seems almost barbaric because our
bombs were still so primitive that the military had to blow up everything
around intended targets. Johnson also shockingly states, “Estimates of
collateral deaths from saturation bombing in North Vietnam range from
at least 500,000 to as high as 1.5 million” (Johnson 18). This estimate is
truly shocking. Even his low estimate of 500,000 is more than the entire
population of the city of Minneapolis. These numbers certainly make
one wonder how the leaders of the war justified such killing. Could news
accounts of this much death at American hands have contributed to
America’s reluctance to continue the war? It seems reasonable to
assume so. With how primitive much of the bombing was in Vietnam, it’s
no wonder weapons developers were under pressure to develop more
accurate bombs.
CLAIM EVIDENCE (Step 2)
WARRANT (Step 4) EVIDENCE WARRANT
QUESTION
If that’s a four, what in the
world do you have to do to
get a 5?
ANSWER:
Highly Sophisticated
EVIDENCE INTRODUCTION
AND INTEGRATION!
YOUR PARAGRAPHS:
•You will write this out for each paragraph (claim, evidence,
and warrant using the 4 steps) until you have answered your
subtopic questions.
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•Remember that each time you give evidence, you must
explain (warrant) the evidence. Explain why and how the
evidence supports the claim. Use key words from the claim
and evidence. How is it important information? So what?
YOUR TURN
• Complete the outline given to you in class.
• You will fill this in with your thesis statement,
topic sentences, and CEW using the 4 steps.
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• You will not be allowed on a computer until you
have your outline done. Your final lab day is
NEXT TUESDAY!