1. The Research Essay There are several steps to the research essay!:
* 8 “WORKS CITED” CARDS
* ANNOTATED “WORKS CITED”
* 80 NOTE CARDS
* OPENING PARAGRAPH/OUTLINE
* WRITE ESSAY USING NOTE CARDS AND PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION
* “WORKS CITED” PAGE
* SUBMIT FINAL DRAFT WITH finalized OUTLINE, RESEARCH ESSAY & WORKS CITED PAGE as well as any drafts of preliminary work involved in the final product.

2. Topic Selection Submit a thoughtful paragraph explaining…
Topic selected
Why you selected it
What you hope to discover and prove about the topic
Where do you expect to obtain information on the topic

3. “WORKS CITED” CARDS You should have 8 sources (minimum)
Use the MLA format for bibliographic entries (written on index card or envelope)
(Letter)
Bibliographic Entry.
FRONT OF CARD
A few sentences explaining how this resource will be helpful in the completion of your essay.
BACK OF CARD

4. Sample WORKS CITED Card
FRONT
BACK
This magazine article details the last year of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. It examines the difficulties that he experienced throughout his life. This is helpful in understanding why his writing is so gloomy and depressing. A
Ferris, Timothy. “Edgar Allan Poe’s Wonderful Year.” Literature Abounds. Nov. 1984:

5. ANNOTATED “WORKS CITED” PAGE
Place your WORKS CITED cards/envelopes in alphabetical order by the first word of each entry.
DOUBLE SPACE each bibliographic entry and SINGLE SPACE each annotation.
You should have at least 8 entries with an annotation for each.
Annotations should be 2-3 complete sentences!

6. LastName #
Annotated Works Cited
Ferris, Timothy. “Edgar Allan Poe’s Wonderful Years.” Literature Abounds. Nov.
1984:
This magazine article details the last year of Poe’s life. It examines the difficulties of his life. This is helpful in understanding why his writing is so gloomy and depressing.
Lessing, Doris. A Small Personal Voice: Annabel Lee. New York: Knopf, 1974.
This journal explores the relationship between Poe and Annabel Lee. Their relationship had a significant impact on his poetry writing.
“Poe’s Impact is felt by all.” New York Times June 30, 1970: A20.
This article details the way in which Edgar Allan Poe is ingrained in our world. It identifies companies and shows that utilize the ideas and archetypes present in Poe’s work.

7. NOTE CARDS
Write bibliography source letter in upper right hand corner (just like on WORKS CITED cards).
Focus on only one idea/piece of info per card.
Make a conscious effort to use your own words when you take notes.
Complete sentences are not necessary.
Enclose direct quotes in quotation marks and mark with a DQ.
Write page number in upper left corner of note card so you can locate information again.
When all is said & done, you should have 80 note cards.
Each note card should fit into your outline somewhere!

8. Types of Note Cards DIRECT QUOTE PARAPHRASE STATISTICS BRIEF NOTES
Word for word
In quotation marks
PARAPHRASE
Summary of a paragraph in your own words
Read…close book…jot notes
STATISTICS
List stats as needed
Explain content of chart or graph
BRIEF NOTES
General knowledge information
Background notes
Biographical facts

9. OUTLINE Reflect on your note cards.
Compose an outline to cover each aspect of your outline.
This will be like a Table of Contents for the Research Essay.
Think about best order for presenting information.
Think about what evidence/focus points will support your thesis/argument.

10. The Research Essay
Organize note cards according to outline.
Label an envelope with a section of the outline.
Go through notecards one by one.
Place notecards in their respective envelope.
Check for a relatively even distribution of note cards throughout essay.
If sections of outline are lacking information, you need to “beef” them up with a bit more research.
Once you have enough information, WRITE THAT ESSAY!
We will be discussing Parenthetical Documentation; properly documented note cards will be important when we do this!!