WRITING 7 & Career Project

Stage 1: The Research Paper Find appropriate sources Cite sources using MLA style Write 3-5 page research paper with required sections Include cover page, graph or chart, and copies of sources used

Finding Sources Primary sources  Have direct knowledge of the career you are researching.  Ideally, this would be an interview you conduct with someone working in the field.  If this is not possible, can also be a published source of someone from the field discussing their work. Secondary sources  Previously published sources not written by someone directly working in the field. You should have at least one primary source and at least four secondary sources (minimum five sources total)

Primary Sources Only conduct in-person interviews with people you know. If you would like to interview someone you do not know personally, conduct the interview by phone or . See me with any doubts about finding an appropriate primary source if you cannot conduct an interview.

Secondary Sources I recommend the Occupational Outlook Handbook.  This provides detailed information about most jobs, although in a U.S. context.  Stick to recent, reliable, published sources. Do not use blogs, or controversial/outdated websites. Avoid using Wikipedia. Besides Google, here are some other sites where you can look for appropriate secondary sources.  

Brainstorming Any questions about finding sources? Use any remaining time this period to brainstorm ideas and potential sources for your research paper. I will check your brainstorm sheet at the end of class.

Citing Sources Once you find appropriate sources, you must cite them in your paper. Not properly citing sources is considered plagiarism, aka cheating. The consequences for plagiarism are very serious.  At this school:  1 st offense: Automatic “0” on assignment and parents notified.  2 nd offense: Parent conference, “0” on the assignment, and suspension from school.  3 rd offense: F for the quarter in the subject (Writing, in this case)  In real life:  Severe damage to your professional reputation and livelihood.

General Guidelines for Citing Sources Avoid using language from other sources as much as possible. Paraphrase, put things in your own words. If you must use existing language, put it “in quotation marks” and include an in-text citation. Include a list of all sources you used to write the paper at the end of the paper. This is called the works cited page or bibliography.

Citation Styles There are many different “styles,” or ways, to cite sources. Three of the most common are:  Modern Language Association (MLA)- typically used in English classes.  American Psychological Association (APA)- most often used in social science classes.  Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)- used most commonly in history classes. I will require you to learn and use MLA style for my classes this year.

MLA Style There are many, many rules for citing in MLA style. You do not need to learn all of them. Instead, stick to a few basics. In-text citations: use author-page method  Simply state the author and page number where you found the information.  For example: Collins stated that “destroying things is much easier than making them” (123).

MLA Style Works Cited page  List primary source(s) first and secondary sources second. Within these two sections, list sources in alphabetical order.  To cite interviews: Name of interviewee. Personal interview. Date.  Example: Tilford, Matt. Personal Interview. 18 Feb  To cite books: Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher. Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.  Example: London, Jack. The Call of the Wild. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited Print.

MLA Style Works Cited page (cont.)  To cite websites: Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number (if applicable). Name of institution/organization associated with the site, date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.  Example: The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, Web. 12 Feb

MLA Style For guidelines on how to cite any other types of sources, or for other examples of the ones we have already discussed, use this wonderful website:  Owl.english.purdue.edu Owl.english.purdue.edu  If you are still confused, then see me for additional help...especially if you are confused about whether or not you have plagiarized!!

Work Plan This week, you will have two full class periods (4 th Period Writing on Monday 2/17 and Thursday 2/20) to continue/finish your research for this project, and to outline and start writing a rough draft of your research paper. Next week, you will have two full class periods (4 th period writing on Monday 2/24 and Thursday 2/27) to finish your rough draft, revise and edit your rough draft, and complete the final draft of your research paper.

Work Plan This week, you will also write a mock ERB essay during your computer classes. I would advise you to use your computer classes next week to work on your research paper. The final draft of your research paper (the first 100 points in this 200 point project) is due by the end of the day on Thursday, 2/27. Questions?