1. English 1301

3. Thesis Statement After you take your notes, you need to write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be the last sentence of your first paragraph.

4. How to write a thesis statement step 1 What are the main points you researched? List them.

5. Thesis Statement Step 2 What did you discover about your three-four main points as you researched? Write a statement about it. This will be your thesis statement.

6. Example Topics studied: Social structure Marriage Work Education as they happened in the working class

7. Thesis Statement The social structure of the middle class in Medieval England underwent many changes, especially in the areas of marriage, work, and education.

8. Outline Outline your main points

9. Arrange Notecards Arrange your notecards in the order you will write your paper.

10. Writing the Paper Introduction Write a couple of sentences to introduce the topic You could open up with an interesting anecdote Give a little background info Finish the introductory paragraph with your thesis statement.

11. Body Paragraphs Write a topic sentence that introduces your first main point. Then, start giving the information that you have gathered directly from your notecards. Cite the source as soon as you enter the information off your notecard.

12. How to Cite Info from your sources Always use author’s last name and page number (if using a book) Ex. The climber recalls problems he encountered when attempting to climb Devil’s Thumb, including “a ribbon of frozen meltwater had ended three-hundred feet up and was followed by a crumbly armor of frost feathers” (Krakauer 143). Anything you paraphrase must also be cited. If you are not sure if you need to cite it, then cite it. You have to cite anytime you have a new topic or a different idea, even if it is by the same author. If this occurs, then just cite the page number, not the author’s name.

13. When citing from data bases or web sites If there are no page numbers, then just use the author’s last name. (Krakauer) If there is no author, then use the first work in the title. Ex: if your title is “Effects of Mercury in Fish,” then you would use (“Effects”) as your citation

14. Block Quotes If you have a direct quote in your paper that is longer than 4 typed lines, you must block quote it. You hit enter to begin the quote on a brand new line, and then you indent on that line 10 spaces. Hit the tab key two times to achieve this. Then you type to the end of the line, then hit tab two more times for each new line. At the end of the quote you put a period, then you cite the author’s last name and page number in ( ) with no period at the end. Ex. “This is the end of my blocked quote by an amazing author.” (Krakauer 82)

15. Definition of Research According to MLA, anything that requires you to go “beyond your own personal knowledge” is defined as research.

16. Differences between personal and research papers Personal Research Personal essays that present your thoughts, feelings, and opinions about experiences. This can also define analytical essays about books or texts that you read and write about; even if you quote them, they are not research papers Happens when we explore an idea, look at all elements of an issue, solve a problem, or make an argument We need to read what experts have written about these things in order to form an educated opinion—this is research

17. Types of Research Sources Primary Secondary Historical documents Literary texts Film or performance of a play Conducting a survey Lab experiment Using what other researchers have already written about your subject Literary criticism History books Most academic papers depend on secondary research

18. Goals of Research Goal # 1—Increase your knowledge and understanding of a subject Goal # 2—Continue learning and inquiring about your subject, hopefully after the paper is finished Goal # 3—the synthesis of several different sources into a coherent, cohesive paper

20. Definition of Plagiarism From the Latin word that means “kidnapper” “to commit literary theft” “to present as new and original an idea or product that comes from an existing source”

21. Two Forms of Plagiarism Type # 1 Type # 2 Using another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work is intellectual fraud Passing off another person’s ideas, information, or expressions as your own for some type of gain is also considered fraud. Plagiarism is usually a moral and ethical offense rather than a legal one.

22. Avoiding Plagiarism Make sure to cite direct quotes. You must also cite anything that you paraphrase. If the idea belongs to the author, then you must cite that as well. When in doubt, cite!

23. Common Knowledge Information and ideas that are widely accepted as fact by scholars do not need to be cited. This includes Basic biographical information of an author Dates of historical events

25. Step # 1--Topic Your topic should be in the form of a question that you will answer through consulting research.

26. Step # 2—Find Sources 1. Locate a source that you think may answer part of your question. 2. Use www.easybib.com to create a citation for your source.www.easybib.com

27. Step # 3—Take Notes Read your source and take notes. Paraphrase what you read. Use only very interesting direct quotes. Make sure you record page numbers. Do not copy and paste from a data base to a note card. This increases your chances of committing unintentional plagiarism. It will also cause more work when you are actually writing your paper.