Research Paper Steps

Listing Key Words for Your Topic SWBAT: Write key words that will help them find the information they are looking for quickly and efficiently

Warm-up: Take out a sheet of paper List your topic at the top Under that write one or two sentences about your topic. For example, “I want to do my research on how slaughterhouses are unsanitary and produce beef that can contain diseases such as Ecoli.” Stop

Warm-up: Underline the key words in you sentence(s). For example, “I want to do my research on how slaughterhouses are unsanitary and produce beef that can contain diseases such as Ecoli.” Then list each of those words in a column, and next to them write related words or synonyms

Listing Related Words and Synonyms Slaughterhouses—meat packing plants Unsanitary—unclean—dirty—unhealthy Beef—meat—steak—hamburger Diseases—health problems—illnesses—death Ecoli—mad cow—salmonella

Organizing Key Words Synonyms and Related Terms Larger Categories Slaughterhouses meat packing plants Unsanitary Unclean Dirty unhealthy Beef Diseases illnesses Larger Categories Meat health problems death Beef industry Smaller Categories Steak Hamburger Ecoli Mad cow disease salmonella

What Next? Leave yourself room on the chart to add more key words and phrases as you discover them in your searching. You will use these key words in the next step of research, "Getting an Overview".

Evaluating Websites Using the article, “ School Lunch Nutrition Worse Than Fast-Food, Says USA Today,” complete the evaluating websites worksheet. Homework: Complete the back of the evaluating websites worksheet for one of the web sources you printed out. Also, Go to the wikispace…www.parkwayenglish3.wikispaces.com Scroll down to 4th marking period Click “Research Paper” Scroll down and click ****Start to Finish: Research Paper Resources**** Click and read “Getting an Overview”

Warm-up Take out the print out of the article/web site you printed last night (and completed the “Evaluating a Website” worksheet for). Underline all key words/phrases in the article that you could add to the list of key words you generated yesterday and the day before. Write a brief (1-2 sentences) summary of the article (you can write the summary at the end of the article). Staple your article to your “Evaluating a Website” worksheet and turn in.

Writing a Statement of Purpose SWBAT: A Statement of Purpose is a sentence that you write, which states, in some detail, what you want to learn about in your research project. The statement guides you as you work so that you will read and take notes only on what's needed for your project.

Why do I need to do it? Writing a statement of purpose will do 4 things to help you: You will get more interested in your project. It will keep you from getting overwhelmed and panicky at all the information you may find. It will help you develop a Thesis Statement, which comes later on in the research process. It saves you valuable time and effort.

When and How to do it: After you focus your topic, after some overview reading, write a sentence that says what you want to learn about. Don't worry if you're not totally sure, your Statement of Purpose may change 3 or 4 times before you're done. To write the sentence, first answer these questions for yourself as best as you can:1. What is my real personal interest in the topic? (There will always be something that can interest you) 2. What do I specifically want to learn about my topic? (Don't overwhelm yourself with too many things. Two or three are plenty.) Start your Statement of Purpose with words like "I want to learn about..."

Make sure your Statement of Purpose is specific enough. A Bit Too General Much Better, More Specific I want to learn about the Dalai Lama.” "I want to learn about AIDS." "I want to know what role the Dalai Lama plays as the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.” "I want to know how close we are to a cure for AIDS."

Write your own: Now, I want you to write your own statement of purpose in one to three sentences on the handout provided.

Brainstorming Research Questions SWBAT: write down a set of questions that you want to answer about the research topic you have selected.

How do I do it? You will be making two lists of questions. One for "factual" questions and one for "interpretive" questions. The answers to factual questions will give your reader the basic background information they need to understand your topic. The answers to interpretive questions show your creative thinking in your project and can become the basis for your thesis statement.

Factual Questions Asking factual questions: Assume your reader knows nothing about your subject. Make an effort to tell them everything they need to know to understand what you will say in your project. Make a list of specific questions that ask : Who? What? When? Where? Example: For a report about President Abraham Lincoln's attitude and policies towards slavery, people will have to know; Who was Abraham Lincoln? Where and when was he born? What political party did he belong to? When was he elected president? What were the attitudes and laws about slavery during his lifetime? How did his actions affect slavery?

Interpretive Questions Asking Interpretive Questions: These kinds of questions are the result of your own original thinking. They can be based on the preliminary research you have done on your chosen topic. They can be the basis of forming a thesis statement.

Types of Interpretive Questions A. Hypothetical: How would things be different today if something in the past had been different? Example: How would our lives be different today if the Confederate (southern) states had won the United States Civil War? What would have happened to the course of World War Two if the Atomic Bomb hadn't been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? B. Prediction: How will something look or be in the future, based on the way it is now? Example: What will happen to sea levels if global warming due to ozone layer depletion continues and the polar caps melt significantly? If the population of China continues to grow at the current rate for the next fifty years, how will that impact its role in world politics?

Types of Interpretive Questions C. Solution: What solutions can be offered to a problem that exists today? Example: How could global warming be stopped? What can be done to stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers? D. Comparison or Analogy: Find the similarities and differences between your main subject and a similar subject, or with another subject in the same time period or place. Example: In what ways is the Civil War in the former Yugoslavia similar to (or different from) the United States Civil War? What is the difference in performance between a Porsche and a Lamborghini?

Types of Interpretive Questions E. Judgment: Based on the information you find, what can you say as your informed opinion about the subject? Example: How does tobacco advertising affect teen cigarette smoking? What are the major causes of eating disorders among young women? How does teen parenthood affect the future lives of young women and men?

Writing your own research questions Now, brainstorm a list of research questions (5 minimum for each type: factual and interpretive), and write them on the handout provided.

Creating Subtopic Headings Subtopic headings are phrases that identify the sections of your paper or project. They come from the words you select to label and then group your own questions.

How to do it: Look over the questions you brain stormed in Tip Sheet 10. Decide on some words or phrases that are common to groups of questions. Turn those words or phrases into specific subtopic headings. On a sheet of notebook paper (or cut and paste if using a word processor) write each subtopic heading and rewrite under it the questions that go with it. Now add any other new questions that come to mind under any of the headings.

What do I do now? For example: Say you have to do a project about local water pollution and you pick the Charles River as a body of water to research. Your general topic in this case is "Charles River Pollution".  First, you may have brain stormed some questions like the following:  How much is the Charles River polluted? What causes pollution in the Charles? Does the government do anything to clean up the pollution? How does the pollution in the river affect plant or animal life? How does the pollution in the river affect people? Will I ever be able to swim in the Charles?

What do I do now? Next, you can identify and choose some categories these questions fit into, and select words that label those categories. It helps to think of these words as part of a phrase that includes your general topic. Keep reading and this will become more clear.   Statistics: How much is the Charles River polluted?  Causes: What causes pollution in the Charles? Solutions: Does the government do anything to clean up the pollution?  Effects: How does the pollution in the river affect plant or animal life?  Effects: How does the pollution in the river affect people?  Future: Will I ever be able to swim in the Charles?

What do I do now? Now, turn those categorizing words into subtopic headings by linking them to your general topic which is Charles River Pollution.  How? Write your subtopic headings like this, leaving space under them for your questions:  Statistics about Charles River Pollution Causes of Charles River Pollution Effects of Charles River Pollution Solutions to Charles River Pollution Future of Charles River Pollution

What do I do now? Now, you can rewrite your questions under these subtopic headings.  LIKE THIS:  Statistics about Charles River Pollution  
 How much is the Charles River polluted? Causes of Charles River Pollution  
 What causes Charles River pollution? Effects of Charles River Pollution  
 How does the pollution in the river affect plant or animal life?  
 How does the pollution in the river affect people? Solutions to Charles River Pollution  
 Does the government do anything to clean up the pollution? Future of Charles River Pollution  
 Will people ever be able to swim in the Charles River? Now you can add any new questions you can think of under the subtopic headings. You are now on your way to making an outline.

Creating your own subtopics Now, create subtopics for the research questions you have brainstormed.

Making Note Cards

How do I do it? On a Word document, list your subtopic headings (don’t create a new one; just rename/resave your subtopic headings and research questions document); As you find sources that support your subtopic headings, copy and paste the URL and make a brief note as to the importance of the website under each subtopic heading; You will need to have two (2) sources minimum per subtopic heading. Some of your sources may address more than one subtopic.

Writing a Thesis Statement Research + Opinion = Thesis Statement

What is it? A thesis statement is a strong statement that you can prove with evidence. It is not a simple statement of fact. A thesis statement should be the product of your own critical thinking after you have done some research.  Your thesis statement will be the main idea of your entire project.

When do I write it? You will develop a thesis statement about your research topic after you have written a Statement of Purpose and done some actual research into the topic. You will then present your thesis statement in your introduction, prove it with evidence in the body of your paper, project, or presentation, and finally restate it along with a summary of your evidence in your conclusion.

How do I write it? Look again at your Statement of Purpose Look at the kinds of information you have been finding while taking notes. Decide what kind of statement you have enough evidence to prove.(Be sure that you have done enough research to make a strong argument. You may be challenged.) Write that as your thesis statement.

How do I write it? Here are some ways to approach it: Define a problem and state your opinion about it Discuss the current state of an issue or problem and predict how it might resolve Put forth a possible solution to a problem Look at an issue/topic from a new, interesting perspective Theorize how the world might be different today if something had/had not happened in the past Compare two or more of something similar and give your rating about them (cars, authors, computers, colleges, books) Put out your ideas about how something was influenced to be the way it is or was (music, art, political leadership, genocide)

What does it look like? Statement of Purpose Possible Thesis Statement "I want to know how close we are to a cure for AIDS." Although much research has gone into finding a cure for the AIDS virus, we are no closer to a real cure than we were when the disease first became known. OR After years of research , scientists are on the verge of discovering a cure for the AIDS virus.

What does it look like? Statement of Purpose Possible Thesis Statement "I want to find out some ways to stop teen gang activity." Teen gang activity in the United States can be stopped by a combined approach which consists of supervised youth programs, more job availability, and closer family relationships. OR Teenage gang activity can only be stopped with early education in the public school systems.

Making An Outline

What is it? An outline is an abbreviated picture of the parts of your paper or project and the order in which they will come. You can think of it as a "road map" of your journey toward making a final product.

How to do it: Figure out the most logical flow of information, the best order for the information to be in, using the subtopics you created earlier. Put your subtopics with the key points that support them, in words or short phrases, into a list or diagram that shows how they will flow from beginning to end. There are many different types of outline diagrams. You can use the Inspiration program or complete one of the following worksheets: Outline Worksheet (handwritten) or Outline Worksheet (online and interactive). You can check the wiki for a sample annotated outline.

Writing the Body Of the Paper

How do I begin to write the body of a research paper? Take out your outline, subheadings/research questions/web page URL’s and any web pages/articles you’ve printed out. Organize your material according to your outline. You will write your first paragraph about the first subtopic in your outline. (Your introduction will be written later.) Introduce that subtopic in the first sentence. The body of that paragraph will be more information about the first subtopic and your evidence for why it supports your thesis statement.

How do I begin to write the body of a research paper? Use quotes, statistics, expert testimony from the printed web pages/articles as evidence. Remember that you need to cite all borrowed material immediately after you use it. You will continue in this manner until you reach the conclusion section of your outline. Once you are done, do a first proof read to check for spelling and grammatical errors, and make sure that all borrowed material is properly cited.

Citing Sources: Parenthetical Documentation

What in the world is that? It is way to let people know where your information comes from. Whenever you use material that you got from another source in your research project, you must let your audience know immediately where it came from, right after you use it.

Why should I do it? It lets your reader know that you want to make clear to them which are your ideas/words/pictures, etc. and which are someone else's. If you do not cite your sources, you are committing plagiarism (Plagiarism is an unlawful act in which you use someone else's work as if it is your own. It can get you in big trouble. Avoid it.). It gives your thesis statement a lot more credibility because you obviously didn't just make up what you are claiming. You did your research! Your reader can check the original source for more information or for accuracy if they want to challenge you.

When do I have to do it? You must cite your sources when using the following kinds of materials, in whole or in part: Direct quotations whether in written or oral formats (includes stories, speeches, fiction and nonfiction) Paraphrased quotations (these are quotes whose words you have changed somewhat) Statistical Data (numbers about things)Images that are attributed to someone (includes cartoons, photos, maps, artwork, computer graphics-but not free "clip art") Song lyrics Original ideas that are attributed to someone else, even if you put them in your own words

How do I do it? Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers, but often, these sorts of entries do not require any sort of parenthetical citation at all. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines: First, use EasyBib.com to create a reference for any source you use in your paper.

How do I do it? In the text include the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name). You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function. Unless you must list the website name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

For example: According to a CNN.com article, “… No parenthetical reference needed because you reference CNN.com (the source of your article).

Writing an Introduction

What is it? An introduction is the first paragraph of a written research paper, or the first thing you say in an oral presentation, or the first thing people see, hear, or experience about your project. It has two parts: 1. A general introduction to the topic you will be discussing 2. Your Thesis Statement

How do I do it? Start with a couple of sentences that introduce your topic to your reader. You do not have to give too much detailed information; save that for the body of your paper. Make these sentences as interesting as you can. Through them, you can hook a reader and get them very interested in the line of thinking you are going to develop in your project. Then state your thesis, which may be done in one or more sentences. The length of your introduction depends on the length and complexity of your project, but generally it should not exceed one page unless it is a very long project or a book. The average length of an introduction is one half a page.

Some Examples: For the example, the regular text is the general introduction to the topic. The BOLD text is the writer's Thesis Statement.

Example 1 Teenagers in many American cities have been involved in more gangs in the last five years than ever before. These gangs of teens have been committing a lot of violent crimes. The victims of these crimes are both gang members and people outside of gangs. Many people do not want to travel to areas in our cities because of the danger from this problem.  For this terrible situation to stop, it is going to take a combined effort on the part of many people. Excellent, supervised after-school programs, more jobs available for teens, and healthy family relationships will go a long way towards ending this crisis in our society.

Example 2 During the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East there was much armed conflict between Christians and Muslims. Christians called these conflicts the Crusades because they were fighting under the sign of the cross to save the holy lands of the Bible from being desecrated by non-Christians. However, the true reason for fighting for these lands was less than holy. It was mainly a desire for economic gain that prompted the Christian leaders to send soldiers to fight in the Holy Land.

Writing a Conclusion

How do I do it? A conclusion is, in some ways, like your introduction. You restate your thesis and summarize your main points of evidence for the reader.You can usually do this in one paragraph. In the following example, the thesis statement is in bold. Notice that it is written in 2 sentences. This is a stylistic choice for impact.

Example: The problem of teen gang violence can be eliminated. It will, however, take time, money, and a combined effort on the part of many people. Organized, free, after-school programs such as: sports teams and games; art, music, and drama activities; internships in local area businesses and professional organizations; and interesting volunteer activities in the community would help engage teens in worthwhile pursuits outside of school hours.  More job opportunities for teens, especially those funded by state and local programs, would offer income for teens as well as productive work for the community. (Cont’d)

Example (Continued): Outreach to families through schools, community organizations, and places of worship would help promote inter-generational activities that could improve family closeness, helping teens to work on their problems at the family level, instead of taking them to the streets. If these programs can be implemented, we will surely see a decrease in teen gang activity and safer streets and neighborhoods for us all.

Title Page

What should your title page look like? Sample Title Page

Works Cited Page

How to do a works cited page You must include every web page you use in your works cited page. Go to EasyBib Copy and paste the URL (www.the_website_you_are _citing.com) and click “Cite This” Fill-in any missing information from the web site that was not automatically filled-in Click “Create Citation” Click “Save as Word Doc” Click “Click to continue without registration” When you have done this for all of your sources, put them in alphabetical order

Rubric

You will be graded using the following rubric