DON’T BE THIS GUY. TAKE A DEEP BREATH.

IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK. LET’S JUST TAKE IT A STEP AT A TIME.

A RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF YOUR INVESTIGATIONS ON A SELECTED TOPIC. BASED ON YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND THE FACTS AND IDEAS YOU HAVE GATHERED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, A RESEARCH PAPER IS A CREATION THAT IS UNIQUELY YOURS. THE EXPERIENCE OF GATHERING, INTERPRETING, AND DOCUMENTING INFORMATION, DEVELOPING AND ORGANIZING IDEAS AND CONCLUSIONS, AND COMMUNICATING THEM CLEARLY WILL PROVE TO BE AN IMPORTANT AND SATISFYING PART OF YOUR EDUCATION

What is a Research Paper?

By now lightening should have struck and you should have a topic for your research paper.

The next step is conducting your research…

STEP 1: Determine the purpose of your paper.

STEP 2 – Choose a specific topic.

• STEP 3– Locate resources and materials.

This lady is going to be your new BEST FRIEND. She is your neighborhood friendly LIBRARIAN.

This lady is a virtual “walking encyclopedia” of information waiting to answer your questions and help you.

This lady knows the location of the resources in the library, understands how to use the computers (hopefully), and can suggest other ways to find quick, reliable information.

The “Research” In Your Paper• Writing a research paper requires that you learn to find

and use print and electronic resources and materials.

• Your research paper must have a minimum of THREE(3) resources including, but not limited to: one ENCYCLOPEDIA resource, one BOOK resource and one INTERNET resource. ***

• There are many different sets of encyclopedias, so take time to browse through and become acquainted with them.

• An encyclopedia offers a variety of articles (usually brief) on many different subjects.

• Often encyclopedias can be found on a CD-ROM. Using a digital encyclopedia allows you to search easily for a particular topic.

• Check out books about your topic from the library.

• Make copies of the pages you wish to use and keep in your folder.

It is extremely important to evaluate your sources when using the internet. Some Web sites contain accurate news articles while others are unreliable.

To determine the authenticity of a Web site:

What the heck is the internet?

Read the Web address or URL. You can usually rely on Web addresses which end in “.gov” or “.edu.”

Learn about the author/publisher. Most reliable Web pages will provide the following information: name, address, telephone number and email address of the page owner, the last date the page was updated , and a link for questions and comments.

Ask your librarian, parent or me if you are uncertain about the accuracy of a Web site.

Wikipedia is not a permissible resource.

Any research paper turned in with a Wikipedia

resource will receive an

Here are some search engines that will help with you with your research:

• http://www.aresearchguide.com/2quick.html • A research guide for students. Lists search engines.

• http://www.lii.org/ • Librarian's Internet Index

• http://www.kartoo.com/ • Multi-source search engine

• http://scholar.google.com/ • Google Scholar

• http://infomine.ucr.edu/ • Scholarly Internet Resource Collections

• http://education.iseek.com/iseek/home.page • A targeted search engine compiling hundreds of thousands of authoritative resources

from university, government, and established noncommercial providers.

7th Grade:

• http://www.historycrawler.com/ • History Crawler

Did I say that you can’t use Wikipedia?

Just checking…

Don’t be this guy either…

STEP 1: Determine the purpose of your paper.

STEP 2 – Choose a specific topic.

STEP 3– Locate resources and materials.

• STEP 4– Prepare bibliography cards

http://www.sadielaurelpark.com/

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1. Write in the top left-hand corner of card a word or phrase the summarizes the information on the note card. Write only on the front side of the note card.

2. Write the Number of the bibliography card you made for the source of the information in the top right-hand corner of the new note card.

3. Write the information on the note card in your own words (in other words, paraphrase). Write only one idea per note card. Do not write notes from two sources on the same card.

4. If you must use quoted material, write the material enclosed in quotation marks. Limit your use of direct quotes when taking notes. You want to demonstrate that you are capable of expressing ideas in your own words.

5. At the bottom of every note card, write the page number of the source from which you gathered the information.

Sample Note Card

Remember to add the source number in the upper right corner of your index card.

List the points you wish to make

Once you have all of your resources, you are ready to list all of the points that

you wish to make in the research paper.

When making this list, begin to think about a purpose statement or the main idea you will be writing about.

This will eventually become the THESIS statement of your paper.

Listing your points: What to Do

1. Place all of your note cards into stacks according to

their topics/subjects (should be written on the left

corner of the card). After reviewing your topics, decide

whether they are too broad, too narrow, or perfect.

Make any changes that are necessary.

2. Begin listing your points based on the information

that you have on your cards. As you do this, keep in

mind the **main idea** that you would like your

paper to have. Remember that the focus question

should be a part of your paper’s purpose. Together,

this will eventually become your thesis statement.

Take 10 minutes to QUIETLY work on this now

If you have enough information to support your points, then you are ready to move

on to the thesis statement and outlining.

If not, you may need to do more research before moving on to the next steps.

Write Your Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement tells

the reader your position

on a topic.

It should be clear, concise

and cunning like this

cougar

A cougar would not waste

time if it wants to strike.

Neither, should you.

Your thesis needs to be

direct and to the point.

You should avoid using statements like, “This essay will discuss…” or“I’m going to write about…”.

Things to AVOID

In this essay, I am going to discuss the effects of long-term drug abuse.

Long-term drug use can have disastrous effects on one’s marriage, career, and health.

AVOID statements that are too broad, too specific, or to vague.

Smoking-related diseases

cause an estimated 440,000 American deaths each year. Even with facts like these, the whole country is divided on this issue. Some people believe that smoking should be banned everywhere while others are not so harsh. I believe, however, that tobacco should be outlawed because smoking endangers everyone’s health, pollutes the environment, and drains us of valuable energy.

Hook(Interesting Fact)

Brief Explanation(Leads into thesis)

Thesis(What you will be proving)

I believe, however, tobacco should be outlawed because smoking endangers everyone’s health, pollutes the environment, and drains us of valuable energy.

If what’s in red is the MAIN IDEA then, what is in black are the reasons WHY you think this.

The subtopics are you answering

Lawyer: That man is guiltyJudge: Alright, do you have any proof?Lawyer: Why, yes. I have a gun. Judge: Well, explain how this gun shows that he’s guilty.

REMEMBER:Writing a thesis is like being a lawyer

STATE your case

Show EVIDENCE/PROOF

EXPLAIN your proofTHESIS

ESSAY

Write a thesis statement

Stating your main idea, or thesis statement, is one of the most important steps in developing

your topic. In doing so, you will set in motion your investigation of the

facts so that you can reach an original conclusion in your paper.

Think of the thesis statementas a road map, or a guide,

to take you in the right direction.

Your Thesis Statement

is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.

tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.

is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader.

The rest of the paper (the body) will inform the reader of your story’s plot/message and relate it to the facts you researched on the specific topic from your book.

Sample Thesis StatementBe inspired,

but do not copy/paste.

The Odyssey, by Homer describes the adventures of Odysseus, who used cunning ideas, brute strength, and teamwork to vanquish a cyclops.

Outline your information

The preliminary (1st) outline (due next class) is intended to serve as a guide for writing your research paper.

Using an outline can help you organize your material and can also help you discover connections between pieces of

information that you weren't aware of when you first conceived the plan of your paper. It can also make you

aware of material that is not really relevant to the purposes of your paper or material that you have covered

before and should therefore be removed.

Outlining: Where to Begin

Begin the outline by thinking about your topicand asking yourself questions to discover the major categories (main topics) and

supporting information (subtopics).

Refer to page 36 of your research packetUse this format as your guide as you

develop the outline for your research paper.

Keep in mind that the outline you will be working on (at this point) is a TOPIC outline.

Descending Outlines: MLA Format

When writing in MLA style, you should use the DESCENDING

OUTLINEformat:

Sample Outlines

Follow the

example on

page 36 of your

research packet

Your goals for today• List all of the points you wish to make throughout your research paper.

• Write a working thesis statement indicating what the main idea of your paper will be.

• Develop a topic outline for your paper.

Any work not completed during class today will become HOME WORK and will be collected next class.

What your paper should

look like:

DUE:• Fri. 12/05•Mon. 12/08

Points to be made:(list your points here)

Thesis statement:(in the form of a single sentence)

Preliminary Topic Outline:(begin on the BACKSIDE of your paper)

** follow the directions on pg. 40 **

Research Paper:(title your research paper)

Since this is a DRAFT, it does not need to be

typed, but it MUST be NEAT and legible.