Research Paper Requirements & MLA Format

Basic Requirements Research Partners – Two Separate Papers Works Cited Page/Sources = same Papers = different (Write them separately!) They shouldn’t even be close… 3-4 Pages (Typed, Double-Spaced) MLA Format 4-5 In-Text Citations Works Cited Page

Topics Broad on purpose – narrow them down! Once a team chooses one, it’s gone (first come, first served!) Once you choose one, it’s yours (no changes!)

Topic List Roman government, politics, law Roman women, social codes, marriage Roman customs, food, clothing Roman housing, architecture, buildings Roman religion, religious holdiays, festivals Roman history, wars, emperors Roman gladiators, entertainment, Coliseum Roman theater, art, music Roman soldiers, weapons, army Roman commerce, trade, slavery Roman education, philosophy, training

Notecards for Sources Title/subtitle Author(s) Publication Information (publisher, date, database, city, etc.) Page Numbers Anything Else You Might Need for an MLA Citation Database (AVL, Card Catalog) On back: a short summary (2-3 sentences of the information)

Plagiary If something does not come from your own brain, you cannot type it as if it does No copying & pasting No changing a few words here and there Don’t summarize without saying whose work you are summarizing Paraphrasing—putting an author’s idea into your own words— is plagiary, too! Exception = common knowledge (find the info. in all your sources) Rule = 7

In-Text Citations You’ll need at least 4 references to sources Include enough information to refer the reader to the Works Cited page (usually author/title) Give page numbers or paragraph numbers for quotes Copies/printout of each source (what you’re quoting needs to be highlighted).

In-Text Citations Direct Quotes According to Richard Jones, “Siskel and Ebert think Pleasantville will top the charts” (72). Indirect Quotes Siskel and Ebert say Pleasantville is fabulous (Jones 72). Paraphrase/Summary In his article in Rolling Stone, Jones says that Siskel and Ebert rate really enjoyed Pleasantville (72).

Works Cited Page Includes each source that you cite (4-5) Alphabetical Order MLA Format (will have to look up) Make sure notecards include enough information for you to do this!

Works Cited Gilbert, Sandra M. Emily’s Bread: Poems. New York: Norton, Ghost Volcano: Poems. New York: Norton, Johnson, George J. “A Distinctive Model of Serial Learning.” Psychological Review 98.1 (1991): Lukacs, John. “The End of the Twentieth Century.” Harper’s Jan. 1993: Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Ed. Gary Goshgarian, Kathleen Krueger, and Janet Barnett Minc. 4 th ed. New York: Longman, “Reading Between the Lines.” New Yorker 24 May 1993: Segal, Gabriel. “Seeing What Is Not There.” Philosophical Review 98 (1989):