DONT BE THIS GUY. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. ITS EASIER THAN YOU
THINK. LETS JUST TAKE IT A STEP AT A TIME.
Slide 3
A RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF YOUR INVESTIGATIONS ON
A SELECTED TOPIC. BASED ON YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND THE FACTS AND
IDEAS YOU HAVE GATHERED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, A RESEARCH PAPER
IS A CREATION THAT IS UNIQUELY YOURS. THE EXPERIENCE OF GATHERING,
INTERPRETING, AND DOCUMENTING INFORMATION, DEVELOPING AND
ORGANIZING IDEAS AND CONCLUSIONS, AND COMMUNICATING THEM CLEARLY
WILL PROVE TO BE AN IMPORTANT AND SATISFYING PART OF YOUR EDUCATION
What is a Research Paper?
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8 th Grade Topic: Heroes and their Journeys You will choose a
movie that fits the Hero's Journey motif, and you will write a
research paper that demonstrates how the character fits the profile
by providing analysis and textual evidence to back up your
interpretation.
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On November 2 nd & 3 rd the following will be due from each
student: 1. A Duotang Folder with prongs and pockets. 2. The main
focus of your research paper. 7 th Grade What aspect of the
Holocaust are you going to research? Bring your two books,
Encyclopedia and one internet source 8 th Grade What Hero will you
focus on? Bring your two books, movie and one internet source
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By now lightening should have struck and you should have a
topic for your research paper. The next step is conducting your
research
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STEP 1: Determine the purpose of your paper. STEP 2 Choose a
specific topic. STEP 3 Locate resources and materials. YOU ARE
HERE
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This lady is going to be your new BEST FRIEND. She is your
neighborhood friendly LIBRARIAN. This lady is a virtual walking
encyclopedia of information waiting to answer your questions and
help you. This lady knows the location of the resources in the
library, understands how to use the computers (hopefully), and can
suggest other ways to find quick, reliable information.
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The Research In Your Paper Writing a research paper requires
that you learn to find and use print and electronic resources and
materials. Your research paper must have a minimum of THREE (3)
resources including, but not limited to: one ENCYCLOPEDIA resource,
one BOOK resource and one INTERNET resource. *** 8 th grade
students will replace the encyclopedia with a movie.
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There are many different sets of encyclopedias, so take time to
browse through and become acquainted with them. An encyclopedia
offers a variety of articles (usually brief) on many different
subjects. Often encyclopedias can be found on a CD-ROM. Using a
digital encyclopedia allows you to search easily for a particular
topic.
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Check out books about your topic from the library. Make copies
of the pages you wish to use and keep in your folder.
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It is extremely important to evaluate your sources when using
the internet. Some Web sites contain accurate news articles while
others are unreliable. To determine the authenticity of a Web site:
What the heck is the internet? Read the Web address or URL. You can
usually rely on Web addresses which end in .gov or .edu. Learn
about the author/publisher. Most reliable Web pages will provide
the following information: name, address, telephone number and
email address of the page owner, the last date the page was
updated, and a link for questions and comments. Ask your librarian,
parent or me if you are uncertain about the accuracy of a Web
site.
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Wikipedia is not a permissible resource. Any research paper
turned in with a Wikipedia resource with receive an
Slide 17
Here are some search engines that will help with you with your
research: http://www.aresearchguide.com/2quick.html A research
guide for students. Lists search engines. http://www.lii.org/
Librarian's Internet Index http://www.kartoo.com/ Multi-source
search engine http://scholar.google.com/ Google Scholar
http://infomine.ucr.edu/ Scholarly Internet Resource Collections
http://education.iseek.com/iseek/home.page A targeted search engine
compiling hundreds of thousands of authoritative resources from
university, government, and established noncommercial providers.
7th Grade: http://www.historycrawler.com/ History Crawler
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Did I say that you cant use Wikipedia? Just checking
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Dont be this guy either
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STEP 1: Determine the purpose of your paper. STEP 2 Choose a
specific topic. STEP 3 Locate resources and materials. STEP 4
Prepare bibliography cards YOU ARE HERE
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For a book with a single author: 1. Authors Last Name, Authors
First Name 2. Title of the Book 3. Place of Publication (City) 4.
Name of Publisher 5. Year of Publication (most recent) Remember
your bibliography cards are not shopping lists! Follow the
guidelines in your packets. Example: Curtin, Jeremiah. Myths and
Folk-Lore of Ireland. Boston: Little, Brown, 1890.
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For an encyclopedia article with an author: 1. Name of Author
of article (if given) 2. Title of Article (in quotation marks) 3.
Title of Encyclopedia (underlined) 4. Year of Publication (most
recent) Remember your bibliography cards are not shopping lists!
Follow the guidelines in your packets. Example: Kendall, Paul M.
Richard III. World Book Encyclopedia.1993 ed.
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For a Website: 1. Name of author/editors(s)(if given) 2. Name
of Website (underlined) 3. Name of sponsoring institution or
organization (if available) 4. Date of your Access (not followed by
comma or period) 5. Give the URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Remember your bibliography cards are not shopping lists! Follow the
guidelines in your packets. Example: Graham, Sadie. Training your
pet. Dog Lovers of America. 16 Oct. 2006.
http://www.sadielaurelpark.com/.
http://www.sadielaurelpark.com/
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Not this type of note!
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As you examine each source, make a separate note of each fact
or quotation you might want to use in your paper. You will need to
use index cards when preparing notes. Be sure to identify the
source of the information on the listing (include the author's name
and page number on which the information appears). Try to summarize
the information in your own words (paraphrasing); use quotation
marks if you copy the Information exactly. (This rule should apply
whether you are copying a great deal of material or only a phrase.)
Give each listing a simple descriptive heading.
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1.Write in the top left-hand corner of card a word or phrase
the summarizes the information on the note card. Write only on the
front side of the note card. 2.Write the Number of the bibliography
card you made for the source of the information in the top
right-hand corner of the new note card. 3.Write the information on
the note card in your own words (in other words, paraphrase). Write
only one idea per note card. Do not write notes from two sources on
the same card. 4.If you must use quoted material, write the
material enclosed in quotation marks. Limit your use of direct
quotes when taking notes. You want to demonstrate that you are
capable of expressing ideas in your own words. 5.At the bottom of
every note card, write the page number of the source from which you
gathered the information.
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Sample Note Card Remember to add the source number in the upper
right corner of your index card.
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List the points you wish to make Once you have all of your
resources, you are ready to list all of the points that you wish to
make in the research paper. When making this list, begin to think
about a purpose statement or the main idea you will be writing
about. This will eventually become the THESIS statement of your
paper.
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Listing your points: What to Do 1.Place all of your note cards
into stacks according to their topics/subjects ( should be written
on the left corner of the card ). After reviewing your topics,
decide whether they are too broad, too narrow, or perfect. Make any
changes that are necessary. 2.Begin listing your points based on
the information that you have on your cards. As you do this, keep
in mind the **main idea** that you would like your paper to have.
Remember that the focus question should be a part of your papers
purpose. Together, this will eventually become your thesis
statement. Take 10 minutes to QUIETLY work on this now
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If you have enough information to support your points, then you
are ready to move on to the thesis statement and outlining. If not,
you may need to do more research before moving on to the next
steps.
Slide 31
Write Your Thesis Statement Your thesis statement tells the
reader your position on a topic. It should be clear, concise and
cunning like this cougar A cougar would not waste time if it wants
to strike. Neither, should you. Your thesis needs to be direct and
to the point.
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You should avoid using statements like, This essay will discuss
or Im going to write about. Things to AVOID In this essay, I am
going to discuss the effects of long-term drug abuse. Long-term
drug use can have disastrous effects on ones marriage, career, and
health. AVOID statements that are too broad, too specific, or to
vague.
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Smoking-related diseases cause an estimated 440,000 American
deaths each year. Even with facts like these, the whole country is
divided on this issue. Some people believe that smoking should be
banned everywhere while others are not so harsh. I believe,
however, that tobacco should be outlawed because smoking endangers
everyones health, pollutes the environment, and drains us of
valuable energy. Hook (Interesting Fact) Brief Explanation (Leads
into thesis) Thesis (What you will be proving)
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I believe, however, tobacco should be outlawed because smoking
endangers everyones health, pollutes the environment, and drains us
of valuable energy. If whats in red is the MAIN IDEA then, what is
in black are the reasons WHY you think this. The subtopics are you
answering
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Lawyer: That man is guilty Judge: Alright, do you have any
proof? Lawyer: Why, yes. I have a gun. Judge: Well, explain how
this gun shows that hes guilty. REMEMBER: Writing a thesis is like
being a lawyer STATE your case Show EVIDENCE/PROOF EXPLAIN your
proof THESIS ESSAY
Slide 36
Write a thesis statement Stating your main idea, or thesis
statement, is one of the most important steps in developing your
topic. In doing so, you will set in motion your investigation of
the facts so that you can reach an original conclusion in your
paper. Think of the thesis statement as a road map, or a guide, to
take you in the right direction.
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Your Thesis Statement is a road map for the paper; in other
words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the
paper. tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of
the subject matter under discussion. is usually a single sentence
somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to
the reader. The rest of the paper (the body) will inform the reader
of your storys plot/message and relate it to the facts you
researched on the specific topic from your book.
Slide 38
Sample Thesis Statement Be inspired, but do not
copy/paste.
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Outline your information The preliminary (1 st ) outline (due
next class) is intended to serve as a guide for writing your
research paper. Using an outline can help you organize your
material and can also help you discover connections between pieces
of information that you weren't aware of when you first conceived
the plan of your paper. It can also make you aware of material that
is not really relevant to the purposes of your paper or material
that you have covered before and should therefore be removed.
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Outlining: Where to Begin Begin the outline by thinking about
your topic and asking yourself questions to discover the major
categories (main topics) and supporting information (subtopics).
Refer to page 36 of your research packet Use this format as your
guide as you develop the outline for your research paper. Keep in
mind that the outline you will be working on (at this point) is a
TOPIC outline.
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Descending Outlines: MLA Format When writing in MLA style, you
should use the DESCENDING OUTLINE format:
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Sample Outlines Follow the example on page 36 of your research
packet
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Your goals for today List all of the points you wish to make
throughout your research paper. Write a working thesis statement
indicating what the main idea of your paper will be. Develop a
topic outline for your paper. Any work not completed during class
today will become HOME WORK and will be collected next class.
Slide 44
What your paper should look like: DUE: Fri. 12/05 Mon. 12/08
Points to be made: (list your points here) Thesis statement: (in
the form of a single sentence) Preliminary Topic Outline: (begin on
the BACKSIDE of your paper) ** follow the directions on pg. 40 **
Research Paper: (title your research paper) Since this is a DRAFT,
it does not need to be typed, but it MUST be NEAT and legible.