Research Paper Writing Make it fun … and enjoy it

Steps To Effective Research Paper Brainstorm Research Thesis Outline Introduction Paragraph Conclusion MLA style Language Stages of Research paper Prewriting Drafting Citing Sources Revising/Editing Proofreading Publishing

Step by Step Choose Your Topic Give Examples Locate Information Which sources? Prepare Bibliography Cards What’s that?! Prepare Note Cards How? Why? Create your Thesis statement Prepare An Outline Write a Rough Draft then Revise it Prepare Your Bibliography What Style? Prepare a Title Page and a Table of Content

How to Narrow Your Topic The best way to narrow your topic is to apply a few of the old familiar question words, like who, what, where, when, why, and how. Paddling. Paddling in grade school. (where) Emotional effects of paddling in grade school. (what and where) Emotional effects of paddling on female children (what, who) Hip hop. Hip hop as therapy. (what) Hip hop as therapy in Japan. (what and where) Hip hop as therapy for delinquent youth in Japan. (what, where, who)

Information Sources Primary Sources Secondary Sources

Bibliography Look at the back of your books and find the bibliography. What does that mean? Is there a common format?

Sample Bibliography Format   Books Author’s Last name, First name. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Example: Rees, Yvonne.  The Complete Book of Dogs. New York: Crescent Books, c1996 Articles from magazines and newspapers Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Article”. Name of Magazine: Volume Number (Date): Pages. Example: Came, Barry.  “Millenium Countdown.” Maclean’s (November_1, 1999): 38-41 Encyclopedia “Title of Article.” Name of Encyclopedia, <URL> [Date of Access} Example: Diaz, Bartolomeu”.  World Book Encyclopedia, 1997 ed. On-line Encyclopedia “Title of Article.” Name of Encyclopedia, Year ed. Example: “Canada” Britannica Online http://search.ed.com/bol/topic?eu=117918sctn=1#top [October 10,1999] Internet Author’s Last name, First name (if available). “Title of work” Title of complete work.  Complete URL [Date of access] Example: Columbus, Christopher.  “Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal.”  The Internet Medieval Sourcebook. http://fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html [Nov. 5, 1999]

BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMAT: ►  The bibliography is arranged alphabetically by the first letter of the first word in each entry. ►  For each source listed, begin first line at margin and indent each line that follows. ►  If there are two or three authors, the entry is written:  Last name, first name and first name last.  (Example: Wright, William and Benjamin Dewey.) ►  If there are two or three authors, the entry is written:  Last name, first name et al..  (Example: Amento, Beverly, et al.) ►  If required information, such as author or place of publication isn’t available, just leave it out.

Thesis Statement

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,