Upload
suzanna-blake
View
213
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Writing a Research Paper
Finding A Topic
List ideas of interest to you Evaluate the most interesting ones A good subject must involve research Choose one that is not well known to
you
Ask the Following Questions
Can I find enough facts about this subject? Where?
Will I be able to get the information I need in time?
Can I make this subject interesting to others?
Narrow Your Topic
How can you break it into parts? Write your focused topic in the form
of a statement.
Purpose and Audience Purpose: share what you have
learned about your topic Audience: Communicate clearly with
your audience. Consider what your audience already
knows Think about what your audience needs to
know Think about what your audience may
want to know
Research Questions
You will need to choose one question that will guide your research
Your question should ask either WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, OR HOW
Evaluate Your Sources
Primary Source: documents that contain first hand knowledge
Secondary Source: interpretations of material (summaries, etc.)
How to Search on the Internet
Use words like “and” and “not” to limit number of sites returned
Use quotation marks to see sites with the exact phrase
Evaluating Sources
Is it non-fiction? Is it current? Is it trustworthy?
Keeping Track of Sources
Keep a list while you research. Refer to page 176 in your grammar
book for proper citation method for Works Cited page.
Take Notes Do not print endless pages of useless
research. Take notes (on note cards) of all
information you might want to use. Be sure to write the source for each
set of notes and quotes Be picky…do not write down
everything you find…make sure it will help you with your paper
Sample note cards
Category Notes Page number MLA information (for works cited page)
Write Your Main Idea Statement
Also called the thesis statement Should state the topic and the most
important thing you learned about your topic
Plan Your Report
I. IntroductionII. Number your sub-topics in an outline
using roman numeralsA. List two or three kinds of information. Give each kind of information a capital letter
1. Use a number list to list all of the facts, examples, and other details from your notes.
III. Second Sub-Topic IV. Conclusion
Order of the Report
Introduction Body (at least two subtopics and
facts) Conclusion Works Cited List
The first draft
Use the first draft to review for content and organization
Make any revisions necessary
Questions for the first draft Does the introduction contain a clear main
idea statement (thesis)? Does each paragraph explain no more than
one subtopic from the outline? Does each paragraph include facts,
statistics, examples, direct quotations, or conclusions that elaborate on the subtopic?
Is there an unanswered question or final comment in the conclusion?
Does the Works Cited list include at least three sources?
Revise Your Paper
Vary sentence structure Eliminate unnecessary wordiness PROOFREAD FOR GRAMMATICAL
ERRORS