1. GRADUATION PROJECT
Junior Research Paper

2. OVERVIEW 6-8 pages long Must include the following:
Thesis statement in bold type (A thesis is one sentence that explains your argument)
At least five sources (should be a mix of web and print sources)
At least one primary source (original source of information)
Student generated graphic (in other words, a graph, chart, or illustration that you create yourself)
In text citations (also known as parenthetical citations because you put them in parenthesis)
Works Cited page
MLA format

3. OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE SENIOR EXIT PROJECT
These are the components of the graduation project that you will complete during your senior year
Product
Fifteen hours of volunteer work relating to your topic
Presentation
5-7 minute presentation in front of a review board explaining your argument
Portfolio
Record of all forms and work relating to the project

4. TOPIC SELECTION First step of the research process.
Conduct some preliminary research to determine whether your topic is viable.
Is there enough information from reliable sources?
Can you be unbiased about the subject?
Do you care about the topic enough to maintain your interest not just this semester, but also throughout English IV?
You will choose your own topic. I will not choose your topic for you. We’ve just met. I don’t know you like that.

5. RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question is a question that you construct and attempt to answer over the course of the paper.
Typically, your thesis statement answers the research question.
The research question is exploratory and designed to help guide your research.
Example research question: Should companies be able to collect information about their customers?
Example thesis statement: Companies should be fined for collecting and selling information about their customers without their written consent as this is an invasion of their customers’ privacy.

6. THESIS STATEMENT
One sentence statement (not a question! It is a statement!) that explains your argument.
Do not confuse your thesis statement (which is a sentence that explains your argument) with your research question (which is a question and doesn’t explain anything!)
The thesis statement is typically the last sentence of the first paragraph

7. MLA FORMAT Times New Roman 12 pt font
Double spaced (so your 6-8 pages are actually 3-4!)
1 inch margins on every side
Heading on first page only
Title centered at top of first page after heading
Text flush left
Page numbers on the top right of every page
New paragraphs indented (no extra space between paragraphs)
In text citations (author last name page number) for example, (Green 34)

8. DIRECT QUOTES VS. PARAPHRASE
Direct quotes are in “quotation marks” and are word for word quotes from the original source.
Paraphrasing means that you are using information from a source, but you are putting it into your own words.
Both of these ways to use resources need to be cited!
Anything you get from another source, even if you summarize or paraphrase, still needs to have an in text citation at the end of the sentence.

9. STUDENT GENERATED GRAPHIC
The graphic must be produced by the student and based on information gathered or researched by the student
Can be a graph, diagram, chart, map, or artistic rendering
Graphic must SUPPORT thesis and be referenced in the body of the paper
Example: The graph below shows that companies have spent an exponentially increasing amount of money on data collection and marketing over the last ten years.
Source(s) for the graphic must also be cited.

10. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

11. FIRST PARAGRAPH
Hook: This is your first sentence, you want to engage the reader with a shocking fact, an engaging anecdote, or a startling statistic.
Do not use personal pronouns like I, you, me, we, our, your. Your research paper should be objective, using these pronouns makes it personal and less convincing (it makes you seem biased and often accusatory!)
Two examples of hooks:
Do you think that companies should be able to sell your information? (This is a boring hook, and the research paper isn’t about what the reader thinks, but about what you think, backed up by information from your research!)
Better: Data brokers and statisticians can tell that a woman is pregnant before she has even told her family. Target employs a host of analysts who mine personal information in an effort to market to customers who are undergoing drastic life changes, such as having a child (Kroft 1).

12. THINGS TO DO IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH
Hook (Capture your reader’s interest)
Provide background information that may be necessary for your readers to understand your topic. Define important terms, provide some general information, etc.
Provide your thesis statement as the last sentence of your first paragraph. This should be in bold type.

13. BODY PARAGRAPHS Open each paragraph with a topic sentence
All sentences in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence and all sentences should support the thesis in some way.
Incorporate direct quotes and paraphrases throughout the paragraph, but avoid using back to back quotes without your analysis to separate them.
Each paragraph should have at least two pieces of evidence to support your point

14. CONCLUSION Summarize only your most important points
Restate your thesis (do not say it in exactly the same words!)
Leave reader with a strong impression that gives them something to think about

15. WORKS CITED PAGE
Provides full citation for every source used in the body of the paper
There should be nothing cited in the paper that isn’t on the works cited page and there should be nothing on the works cited page that isn’t cited in the body of the paper
Use easybib.com to create and format your works cited page, it’s so simple!
Does not count as one of your pages, yet it is necessary and you cannot receive a passing grade on the paper without one!

16. COMPONENTS THAT WILL HELP THROUGH THIS PROCESS (AND WILL BE DUE THIS QUARTER!)
Topic selection
Annotated bibliography
Outline
Rough drafts
Final Draft