Common Errors in Body Paragraphs Starting your paragraph with a quote. Ending your paragraph with a quote. Having no transitions between quotes or having no personal comments.

Body Paragraphs Does each paragraph start with a topic sentence telling what that particular paragraph is about? Do you have personal comments explaining quotes? Does the paragraph end with a personal conclusion statement (a short summative thought about the information in that paragraph)?

Point of View  You should maintain the same point of view throughout your research paper just like in essays! 1 st Person---I, me, my (we is difficult because it contains you and me) 2 nd Person---You, your, yourself 3 rd Person---one, they, anyone, and general references (this is the most common point of view for research papers that aren’t personal---- LIKE OURS!)  The only time you can deviate from your chosen point of view is in direct quotations. Paraphrased information should be in your chosen Point of View!

Quote to Quote Errors! BAD The salary for pet morticians is a very reasonable one. “In Nebraska, the average salary was $35,000 in 1998” (CIS). * “It is believed that the salary for Pet Morticians will range from $25,000-52,000 in the next decade” (Smith 532). * “The average annual salary for pet morticians was $47,000 in 1999” (Newsweek 24).* GOOD The salary for pet morticians is a very reasonable one. An article in Newsweek said, “The average annual salary for pet morticians was $47,000 in 1999”(24). It would be great to make that kind of money. For Nebraska the yearly wage is a little lower. “In Nebraska, the average salary was $35,000 in 1998” (CIS). Another source said that “It is believed that the salary for Pet Morticians will range from $25,000-57,000 in the next decade” (Smith 532). For those who plan on entering the work force in the next decade, that should be good to hear.

Punctuating Textual Citation Put end punctuation outside of the parenthesis, not by the quotation marks. BAD---”astounding percentages.” (“Career Salaries” 35) GOOD---”astounding percentages” (“Career Salaries” 35) BAD---(Smith, p. 35) GOOD--- “astounding percent” (Smith 35). ---According to Newsweek, there will be an “astounding percent” of job openings in the next decade (35).

Direct/Indirect Quotes The actual source says “Motion picture camera operators often travel to varied and exotic locales during several months of shooting.” If you write ---People who film sometimes go to exotic locales and can spend many months away (Smith 22). {IT IS PLAGIARISM!} *****It looks like you paraphrased, but you used the words “exotic locales”.----Therefore, the phrase “exotic locales” should have quotation marks around it. It is paraphrased if you write ---People who film go all over the world to special locations and sometimes spend a lot of time away from home (Smith 22).

Paraphrased Quotes For Example: One source says that people who film go all over the world to special locations and sometimes spend a lot of time away from home (Smith 55). or John Smith says that people who film go all over the world to special locations and sometimes spend a lot of time away from home (55). It’s a good idea to introduce paraphrase information from a source. This is done, so the reader can easily tell where the writer’s personal thoughts end and where the source’s begin.

Poorly Worded Quotes The Bad News stiff competition low pay to start frequent deadline pressure periods of unemployment are common The source says You can add bracketed information to help make this information grammatically correct. Smith said some disadvantages were “stiff competition, [having] low pay to start, [dealing with] frequent deadline pressure, [and that] periods of unemployment are common” (55).

Misquotes The actual source says “Motion picture camera operators often travel to varied and exotic locales during several months of shooting.” This quote would be misquoted if You put----- “Motion picture camera operators often go to varied and exotic locales” (you changed one word) or ---- “Motion picture camera operators often travel to exotic locales” (you skipped the words “varied and”) ***If you do skip words, the quote should read---“Motion picture camera operators often travel to... exotic locales during several months of shooting” (that way the reader knows that words have been omitted!)

Bibliography Reminders 1.Don’t split up dates---move entire date to next line if needed. 2.Make sure each entry is punctuated correctly according to the guidelines in your Composition book,or the OWL website. 3.Make sure each entry has everything needed for citing the source correctly! 4.Make sure they are in alphabetical order by whatever the first word in the entry is (unless it’s a, an, or the). If your entry is “30 Reason Why Money Matters.” ---this entry would come before your other alphabetized entries. 5.If the source has no date or no page use these abbreviations in that part of the entry n.d. or n.pag.