The introduction let’s the reader know what your paper will be about It should capture their attention Notice the difference between “Tarsiers are particularly adept climbers that reside in Southeast Asia” and “Tarsiers leap from tree to tree and stealthily climb limbs as the move through tropical forests in Southeast Asia.” Introduction

Thesis The thesis is your argument! In your thesis you take a stance on your topic It should be clear and concise The thesis needs to be specific! “Tarsiers are the coolest monkeys.” Typically the thesis is the last sentence of the introduction paragraph The thesis must be contentious!!!!!!!!! Thesis

Arguments and Counterarguments Must be concise and build to a point The arguments should link together and be inter-related Should come from a variety of sources These sources should be cited! Counterarguments These are possible flaws or objections in your arguments You should anticipate all counter arguments and address them in your paper Addressing all sides of an issue makes a research paper stand out Arguments and Counterarguments

This should first sum up your entire paper (arguments and counterarguments) Then you should answer your own research question, turn the question over to the reader, or deepen the reader’s understanding of an issue The reader should be left with some room for further inquiry or at the very least a stronger opinion of the issue Conclusion

Sources-Step 3 Material falls into three categories General Primary References books (dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, etc.) Primary Original works (documentaries, autobiographies, artwork, essays, letters, etc.) Secondary Work about primary sources (biographies, articles, essays, editorials, reviews) Sources-Step 3

To steal and pass off (the ideas and words of another) as one’s own; use (another’s production) without crediting the source (Merriam-Webster) You must cite the source of everything! Even paraphrasing an idea!!! Plagiarism

Creating a Thesis-Step 4 After you have done some research your hypothesis should be taking on a more definite shape Your thesis is your concise assertion/opinion on your topic The thesis presents your point of view on the topic as supported by your research It should be succinct and presented early in the paper Creating a Thesis-Step 4

Thesis You should really brainstorm three or four theses The “right” thesis will just click and you will begin imagining your arguments and counter-arguments You don’t even have to agree with your thesis, sometimes it’s better if you don’t! But make sure your thesis is opinionated!!!! A good thesis can be completely undermined if it doesn’t take a stance on the issue/topic A good thesis should cause disagreement among readers It also must be backed by research! Thesis

Your works cited page should only include sources you actually cited within your paper For the works cited page the citation should contain: The author’s name The title of the work Place of publication Publisher Publication year Page numbers (if necessary) Citing

Citing for a website Author’s name Material’s title Website’s title Name of the editor(s) Publication date or last update Name of the sponsoring organization Date you accessed the site The URL in angle brackets http://www.networksolutions.com/index-v3.jsp?siteid=662&channelid=P99C662S532N0B9A1D38E0000V104&AID=10437536&PID=2203897&afsrc=1&clickid=8909180928 Citing for a website

Sometimes all of that information is not available, so you just put in everything that is available to you Whether the source is a book or article will determine if the title should be underline or italicized If a work has multiple authors (3 or more) it is only necessary to put the first author’s name then use “et al.” Using the MLA website is extremely helpful in checking your citations There are a ton of free plug-in online cites for creating sources. Just double check them after for correctness. I don’t expect you to memorize the rules for MLA citations Works Cited

In text citations should include the author’s name and the page number -> (Foley 27). If you don’t know the author, then put the title of the work (“Tarsiers” 27). If there are two authors, then put both of their last names If there are more than two authors use “et al” -> (Foley et al. 27). In Text citations

Formatting Use standard computer paper Paper clip your pages don’t staple them There shouldn’t be a title page On the first page your heading should include the following information on the left hand upper corner Your name My name The title of the course The date of the submission of your paper Your paper should be double spaced with 1” margins Formatting

Revise the body paragraphs first because they are the meat of your paper How you revise your body paragraphs will guide the revisions that are necessary for your introduction and conclusion Improve your topic sentences Strengthen your evidence and remove unnecessary sentences Keep a consistent tone! Try to always use an active voice! Print out your paper to revise grammatical mistakes Revision