Introduction to Research Papers The 5Ws and H of Writing Research Papers
WHY on earth would I ever research? How would you go about finding a car? How do you plan to look for a job? What is your hobby? How do you know so much about it? What are you thinking of doing after high school? Job? College?
WHAT is a research paper? Its basic purpose is to INFORM. It explores a topic and explains it using research gathered about that topic. It takes everything you learned from your research and reports it.
WHY write a research paper? To learn more about a topic Develop a better understanding To inform others of what you’ve learned To explore your world Video game research Fashion research
WHERE can I find the info for a research paper? Library: books, magazines, journals Online: valid web sites, online journals For our purposes, web sites must end in .edu, .org, or .gov Videos Speeches Public records Practically ANYWHERE
WHO would want to read my research paper? Audience: others interested in your topic Consider audience carefully Give them more than what they know
WHEN should I begin my paper? Only after you have gathered ample information for explaining your topic, and AFTER you: Make note cards of important info Prewrite or Brainstorm Outline Write a thesis using your information
HOW on earth do I write one of these papers? Not to worry—I’ll show you. Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Publishing
What about all that MLA business? MLA is a way of acknowledging the information that we use from someone else’s work We’ll refer to someone else’s work both in our text and on our Works Cited page Without BOTH of these, we are plagiarizing Text: Maintaining student engagement is a daily challenge teachers face, and cooperating with peers can be a “powerful motivator for young adolescents” (Irvin 57). Works Cited Irvin, Judith L. Reading and the Middle School Student: Strategies to Enhance Literacy. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998. Print.
Topics “The Devil and Tom Walker” “Young Goodman Brown” “The Raven” Hypocrisy, archetypes, symbolism “Young Goodman Brown” “The Raven” Sound devices, imagery, symbolism, melancholy “The Pit and the Pendulum” Terror/suspense, light/darkness, sensory details, time Moby Dick Symbolism, nature, madness, color