10 th Grade Research Paper

Overview Academic Integrity Topic Selection & Thesis Sources (Bibliography Cards) Note-Taking (Note Cards) 2-3 PagesCitations

Academic Integrity What is Academic Integrity? When you are honest in your writing.

What constitutes Academic Dishonesty?  Fabrication –Changing grades –Falsifying research –Inventing sources –Ruining someone else’s work  Plagiarism –Using another’s work as your own –Incorrect sourcing  Cheating –Buying term papers –Copying –Asking neighbors for help or answers  Facilitation –Sharing test questions with students from another class –Letting students copy off of you –Taking an exam for someone else

How can you make sure you are honest in your writing?  Write your own paper  USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!  Paraphrase  Cite your sources –Citations –Works Cited page –Quotations –Do not make up sources Quick Quiz!

Paraphrase  The act or process of restating or rewording. (Webster’s Dictionary)  Practice: Rewrite the following passage in your own words. In what has been dubbed “culinary racism,” the city council of Lucca, in Italy’s Tuscany region, has passed rules denying licenses to new non-Italian restaurants in the town center. Food items such as kebabs, Peking duck and even McDonald’s meals are out. City leaders say the change is meant only to safeguard Lucca’s traditional cultural identity. TIME

Paraphrase, cont.  Example: In the small town of Lucca, Italy, the city council is doing all it can to preserve their Italian culture. They have made a recent decision that some people claim is, “culinary racism.” The council has decided to deny licenses to anyone applying for a restaurant that does not serve Italian cuisine. Good-bye McDonald’s and Chinese food!

Topic Selection 1. Pick a SUBJECT you find interesting. Ex. Health 2. Choose three CATEGORIES for your subject. Ex. Medicine, Cancer, Disorders 3. Research the three CATEGORIES and see on which topic you find the most information. Ex. Antibiotics, Bone Cancer, Autism 4. After reading the research, which topic can you best take a stand? Ex. The use of infant and toddler vaccinations cause Autism in children. Worksheet

Topic Selection, cont.

Creating a Thesis  Needs to answer a question you are about to explore.  Take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree.  Deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the assignment.  Express one main idea.  Assert your conclusions about a subject.

Thesis, cont.  Previous example: The use of infant and toddler vaccinations cause Autism in children. How can we make this better?

Examples of a Good Thesis  “Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives.”  “Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.”  “Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using Web pages that offer both advertising and customer support.”  “Hunger persists in Gandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.” (

Good or Bad Thesis?  The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.  Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.  Although both chefs and cooks can prepare fine meals, chefs differ from cooks in education, professional commitment, and artistry.  Though many people dismiss hip hop as offensive, hip hop music offers urban youth an important opportunity for artistic expression, and allows them to articulate the poetry of the street.  Many people object to today’s violent horror movies.

Thesis, cont.  Check your thesis by asking these questions: –Can your reader ask, “How” or “Why”? –Would a reasonable reader NOT respond with “Duh!” or “So what?” or “Gee, no kidding!” or “Who cares?” –Does the thesis avoid general phrasing and/or sweeping words such as “all” or “none” or “every”? –Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic sentences (the subtopics needed to prove the thesis)? –Can the thesis be adequately developed in the required length of the paper or project? ( Worksheet

What is a “Source”?  Any type of information or complete work you use to build your research paper.  Sources can be found in the library or on- line.  They must be accredited! Especially websites, if you MUST use one.  No Wikipedia!!!

Research Paper Sources NewspaperMagazineJournalInterview BookDocumentaryEncyclopediaAnthology Government Publication DictionaryLecture

Note Cards  A system to organize the information from your sources.  Two different types: –Source Cards –Information Cards See Handout

Creating an Outline  Another, more formal, way to organize your information  Must use Roman numerals, letters, and numbers in a precise order

Steps for Creating an Outline 1. Organize your cards into piles by topics, which are written on the top of your information cards. 2. Place the topics in order by the way they would flow the best in your paper. 3. Each topic will become a roman numeral, sub-topics and information will become letters and numbers.

Writing a First Draft  See Handout

Writing a Final Draft  See Handout