Research Paper Step-by-Step

Formatting 1. USE GOOGLE CHROME! SIGN IN IMMEDIATELY (click on the three horizontal lines in top right corner of Chrome and go to “Sign in”) WITH YOUR SCHOOL ACCOUNT.

2. Go to your Apps page (button in top left corner) 3. Click on “Google Drive” 4. Click on grid in top right corner 5. Find “Docs.” If it’s not there, click on “More” or “Even more” until you find “Docs.” 6. Click big blue circle with a plus sign in bottom right corner to open a new Google Doc. 7. Click on “Untitled document” and name your document like this: “Sylvester’s Research Paper” (use your name, of course).

Next, paginate. Here’s how: 8. This entire paper should be in Times New Roman, size 12 font. Change these settings now. 9. Then click on “Insert” and choose “Page number” and “Top of page.”

10. Put the cursor in front of the 1 and type your last name in front of the 1, with a space between. (Now your last name will appear on every page with the page number in sequence.) 11. Click below the line to get out of the page number mode.

Double-space the entire paper before you even start writing: 12. Click on “Format” and choose “Line spacing” and “Double”

13. Type your personal info. on the left, BELOW the imaginary line, so it’s NOT part of the pagination (otherwise, it would appear on every page). The personal info. goes only on the first page. You have just set the entire paper to be double-spaced, so don’t do any extra spacing when you type your personal info. Just type it, so that the paper is double-spaced evenly all the way down (no extra white space in the personal info. or before/after the title). Your Name Teacher Name Course Name Day Month (full spelling) Year (no comma)

14. Give your paper a title and center it. Your title can simply be your topic (e.g., The Media in World War II) or something more clever. This title should NOT be enlarged, NOT underlined, and NOT put into quotation marks.

Writing the Essay 1. Make sure you have set the font to Times New Roman 12 pt. for the whole paper (you already should have set it in the previous steps). 2. Go to the next line under your title. Make sure the cursor isn’t centered anymore. 3. Hit the TAB button to indent the first line of your first paragraph. Now that you have summarized 5 articles, you should have a pretty good perspective on what is being said about your topic. You have seen what the issues are and what people are arguing about, so now you should be able to develop your own point of view, which can be put in the form of a thesis statement. Type your thesis statement like this…

These are the parts a thesis statement should have: State the general subject (A definition of your topic). State the opposition (Some people believe…) State your position, which must be an arguable opinion of yours (I believe...) So, it’s made up of three parts: –the subject –other side –my side Also: the thesis must be appropriate for the sources you’ve summarized (what are your sources collectively proving?) the goal is that the thesis will be supported by each paragraph of your paper

Student Example Thesis Statement: Video games have been a popular form of entertainment for decades, and many of them contain violence (the subject). Some people believe this violence causes the players to act out violence in real life (other side). I believe that violence in video games does not substantially affect the behavior of people who play them (my side). If you can’t think of one yet, skip down to the next item and come back to the thesis later when you have a better idea of what your sources are collectively proving.

The goal is that the thesis will be supported by each paragraph of your paper: 4. Get out your Source Worksheets and open the articles you saved on your Google Drive. 5. After your thesis statement, go to the next line and hit the TAB button to start a second paragraph, where you will put your first piece of information from an article to support your thesis—the next slide will show you how…

You will “sandwich” the information between a top layer of where it comes from (signal phrase) and a bottom layer of opinion. Start setting up the sandwich like this: The top bread: This is very short. It is called the signal phrase. Tell what author--or article title if no author--the information comes from (you may get this from your Source Worksheet). Also put says Student Example: Harry Henderson says Unknown Author: The article “Perspectives and Issues” says

The meat: After the top bread, summarize the information from the article or use an exact quote--or a mix of both (you may get this from your Source Worksheet). Make sure you don’t create sentence fragments. Student Example of an Exact Quote: Harry Henderson says, “All these channels of information can be tapped by people interested in persuading other people,” thanks to technology like the Internet. Student Example of a Summary: Harry Henderson says that there are so many ways the average person can try to convince the public, thanks to technology like the Internet.

The bottom bread – in the same paragraph, give your opinion about the information/meat that you just put. * It is very important that you distinguish where your opinion sentences begin. You don’t want the reader to think your opinions are the author’s, so start your opinion by commenting on the author, similar to this: - I believe this author (or this article) makes a good point because… - I believe this author (or this article) is not very reasonable because…

Student Example of Bottom Bread: I believe this author makes a good point because reporting seems to have become something that anybody with a blog can do, whether they are qualified to comment on current events or not.

The whole paragraph sandwich would look like this: Harry Henderson says that there are so many ways the average person can try to convince the public, thanks to technology like the Internet. I believe this author makes a good point because reporting seems to have become something that anybody with a blog can do, whether they are qualified to comment on current events or not. (Your paragraph can certainly be longer than this.)

At the end of class each day, make sure you back up your files in another location. They will be saved to your Google Drive, but never put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to technology. Glitches happen. Back up your files by ing them to yourself or saving them to your own flash/thumb drive. Lost files are not an excuse to miss deadlines because I’m warning you to back up files in another location.

6. Go to the next line and hit the TAB button to start the next paragraph, where you will put your next piece of information from an article. Follow the “sandwich” procedure from the previous steps for every paragraph of your paper as you continue to put in information from articles. Without the top bread/signal phrase, you are plagiarizing—even if you’re summarizing instead of using an exact quote. If you decide you don’t like the articles you wrote about in your Source Worksheets, or if they don’t really support your thesis statement, go back to the database and use other articles to write your “sandwiches” (you don’t need to write a new Source Worksheets).

The top bread/signal phrase doesn’t always have to be so-and-so says. Choose from these words, so you don’t use “says” too often: acknowledgesaddsadmitsagrees arguesassertsbelievesclaims commentscomparesconfirmscontends declaresdeniesdisputesemphasizes endorsesgrantsillustratesimplies insistsnotesobservespoints out reasonsrefutesrejectsreports respondssuggeststhinkswrites Student Example: Harry Henderson asserts…

Plagiarism Make sure the way you summarized on your source worksheets is not plagiarism: –One form of plagiarism is using the author’s exact words but not using quotation marks—that makes it look like a summary when it really isn’t. –See the next slides for how to summarize without plagiarizing…

When You Summarize You can NOT simply copy all the information you want to use—you must word it in a different way. Here is how to summarize an article without plagiarizing it: 1. Read the part you want to use. 2. Look away from it. Then write what you remember in your own words. 3. Then compare your version with the original to make sure you’ve changed the words and their order, so that you are giving the same information but in alternative style (like retelling a story your own way).

4. Remember, you do NOT have to change words like numbers, dates, names of people, companies, organizations, cities, countries, or other proper nouns, names of religions, races, species, titles of books, films, or albums. Follow these instructions carefully! I can tell if you plagiarized even if Turnitin.com doesn’t catch it! I only use Turnitin.com as a tool. If it says you didn’t plagiarize, but you actually did, I will still catch it myself.

Example Pretend this is a paragraph from one of your articles by Mark Leets: Hate-based Web sites have grown dramatically in recent years. In 1995 at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, there was only one hate site, but today, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League have documented about 2,800 hate sites. The Internet has put the problem of incendiary hate into sharp relief, raising many difficult political, legal, and social questions.

Example of plagiarism: Leets says that hate-based Internet sites have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. In 1995 at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, there was only one website devoted to hate, but today, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League have listed about 2,800 hate sites. The Electronic Highway has put the problem of fiery hate into sharp focus, raising many difficult political, legal, and social questions.

Example of plagiarism: Leets says that hate-based Internet sites have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. In 1995 at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, there was only one website devoted to hate, but today, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League have listed about 2,800 hate sites. The Electronic Highway has put the problem of fiery hate into sharp focus, raising many difficult political, legal, and social questions.

Correct summary Your own words but the same info: Leets says that when the Murrah federal office building in Oklahoma City was bombed in 1995, only one website was devoted to hate speech; however, groups that keep track of such things— the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League—reported in 2010 that approximately 2,800 hate- motivated sites appeared on the Web.

When You Quote Exactly - Also use DIRECT QUOTES when it is crucial to keep an author’s original wording. You should use a direct quote when a writer’s words are especially interesting or important. Copy a direct quote exactly and enclose it in quotation marks. - You MAY NOT fill your paper with direct quotations, so make sure you write just as many summaries as quotes.

When You Quote Exactly Your exact quotes must be done correctly: 1.Comma after says, and a capital letter to begin the quote. Student Example: Gene Busnar asserts, “The Beatles’ neat, cuddly image was easy to caricature.” 2.No comma after says that and no capital letter beginning the quote. Student Example: Alan Axelrod adds that “at this point the feud had begun.”

3. When you blend an exact quote into your own words, make sure it flows grammatically and use no comma and no capital letter. Student Example: According to John Hudson, King Henry’s attempt at transferring these cases was seen to Thomas as “a distinct threat to the church’s independence from secular authority.”

4. It is okay to put in a quote in the middle of a paragraph, as long as you put a top bread/signal phrase. Student Example: Frederick Lane believes “roughly the equivalent of installing a gazillion-channel television set for each employee.” Frederick Lane believes that the personal computer has posed new challenges for employers worried about workplace productivity. Technology has become so sophisticated that it now makes non- work-related computer activities easy and inviting. Giving employees access to the Internet is “roughly the equivalent of installing a gazillion-channel television set for each employee.” The author makes a good point because employees are not being paid to play around, yet that is what essentially happens in most businesses.

5. Exact quotes should not go past four lines long. Do not use back-to-back exact quotes because that is equivalent to having one quote that is too long.Student Example: Jonathan Frakes says, “The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars launched against the Muslims.” “In 1065, Jerusalem was taken by the Turks. Three thousand Christians were massacred” (Smith). Brent McFadden says, “The defeat of the Byzantine army led the Byzantine emperor to appeal to the pope for aid against the Muslims.”

When Giving Your Opinions If you aren’t sure what opinions to give about the information you use in a paragraph, try answering a couple of these questions: 1. Do you agree with the author? Why? 2. Does the author seem biased or overly emotional about the topic? How? 3. How does the information compare to your personal experience? 4. How does the information compare to what goes on in the world?