1. Laurie Guy Sept. 2012 MLA Research Process El Dorado High School Library
This PowerPoint provides a series of steps to guide students through the research process.
The slides in the right column of the handout sheet present examples for each step.

2. Gather information from valid sources.
Facts in a research paper must come from reputable sources.

3. Valid sources for research
Library books
Encyclopedias and Reference books
Database articles
Database Passwords
Opposing Viewpoints
Goldenhawks
 World Book Online
Eldorado1
Internet sites that end with .edu or .gov Or, let a library search for you:
Internet Public Library is another great resource for finding valid websites; the library will search your topic and come up with reliable sites.
Infomine is UCR’s Scholarly Internet Resource Collection. The library will search your topic.

4. Decide on your focus and begin to select facts for your research paper.
Be sure to record source information for each fact you will use.

5. Sample source information sheet with notes

6. Determine your thesis statement based on your main ideas and facts
Determine your thesis statement based on your main ideas and facts. Organize your facts to prove your thesis.
Your thesis statement is topic plus opinion. What will you prove about your topic?
An outline is an effective way to organize your information.

7. Sample outline with thesis statement

8. Begin to write your rough draft. Use MLA heading and double space
Begin to write your rough draft. Use MLA heading and double space. Put thesis in introductory paragraph. Document each fact to give credit to the source.
*Use parenthesis with author’s last name and page number where you found the fact.

9. Sample body paragraph with parenthetical references

10. Use the examples on the MLA Style Sheet to list your source information in the correct order.
Each piece of source information must be in order.
All punctuation must be correct.
The following sheets are available on the EDHS website and in your Student Handbook.

11. MLA Style Sheet

12. Use worksheet for MLA page set up

13. Sample MLA Works Cited page