Research Paper

Topic Pick a topic that is appropriate for the assignment. Pick a topic that is easily researchable. You should have many sources. Pick a topic that interests you!

Researching Use the most accurate search engines for a web search. Make sure you get the source information for correctly citing your sources. (You need to put the citation information on your index cards. This will also make it easier for you to return to those sources.) Use various types of sources. Use books, encyclopedias, interviews, articles, newspapers, and academically based websites.

Composition After you have researched enough information to begin composing your research paper, focus on three main points of interest that you discovered in your research. (These points may be used as your topic sentences for your body paragraphs. They may also help you develop your thesis statement (main idea).

Composition A summary condenses an original in your own words. Summarize carefully! Read a passage, look away to write your summary, then check your words against the original. If you use exact words or phrases, use quotation marks. A paraphrase restates a passage in your own words and phrasing. It’s usually as long as the original and includes examples from the original. DO NOT word-for-word translate. That is plagiarism! Use quotes when you use exact words of the text. Keep quotes to a sentence or less. Punctuate them correctly!

You should use the following outline for your research paper: *Introduction -introduction to your topic (hook sentence) Get my attention! You want your paper to be informative and interesting! -relation to Topic -thesis statement (main idea) (three main points) *1 st body paragraph -topic sentence (supports thesis statement) ^evidence from research that supports the topic sentence. *2 nd body paragraph -topic sentence (supports thesis statement) ^evidence from research that supports the topic sentence *3 rd body paragraph -topic sentence (supports thesis statement) ^evidence from research that supports the topic sentence *Conclusion -restate your thesis in a different way. -sum it up (NO new information!) -How did this research influence or affect you?

Checklist Did I indent all paragraphs? Is my paper effectively organized? Does my organization reflect topic’s outline? Have I proofread my paper? Have I corrected spelling and grammatical errors? Is my paper of adequate length? Did I use MY own words? If I didn’t, did I use quotations or paraphrase? When I did paraphrase or use quotations, did I use parenthetical citations? Do I have a correct bibliography page?

Bibliography Book: author’s last name, first name. Title. Place of publication: Publisher, date. Book with two or three authors: author’s last name, first name and first name last name. Title. Place of publication: Publisher, date. Encyclopedia: author if available. “Entry Title.” Title of Encyclopedia. Edition # if any, date. Film or Videotape: Title. Director (Dir.). Performers (Per.). Distributor, year. Interview: interviewer’s last name, first name. Personal interview. Date interviewed. Monthly Magazine Article: author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Title of Magazine. Month year: page numbers. Newspaper Article: author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper. date: page number. (*Online articles will be cited the same way. At the end of the citation, include the access date and URL.) Personal or Professional Website: Creator of the Site (last name first). “Title of Site.” Title of Home Page (if available). publication or update date. Name of organization associated with the site (if available). Accessed date.. Work in an Anthology: author of the selection (last name first). Title of the Anthology. Ed. (editor’s name). City: Publisher, date. page numbers. *Entries will be in alphabetical order. Do not center your bibliography.

MLA parenthetical citations are in- texts citations that document sources used within the paper. The following are ways that may be used in parenthetical citations: –Name an author in a signal phrase and cite the page number at the end of the sentence in parentheses: Matt Lane suggests the work of the author is “the most rewarding” of the author’s experiences (18). –If you do not name an author in a signal phrase, cite the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses: Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians during the time of Moses (Morton 29). - If you use more a source that includes more than one volume of a multivolume source, give the volume followed by a colon, a space, and the page number: * The World Book explains that Hitler was a “hero of World War I” (18: 123). –For more help you may visit