Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Research Paper English 9

Step 1:Select a Subject Research is the process of gathering facts and evidence about a topic. Once you have gathered your information, you write a formal presentation, called a research paper

Select a Subject: Pick a band or musician that fits teacher’s requirements Your paper presents the results of your investigation. A Research paper makes a claim and then supports that claim with evidence.

Skills Needed for This Project Reading Writing Organizing Planning Note-taking Thinking clearly

Selecting A Subject You have picked ONE musician or band and will show how that person or band influenced a genre of music, society, or politics. You can also choose to argue why they should be inducted in RRHF or CMHF.

UNDERSTAND THE LIMITS OF YOUR RESOURCES  KNOW LENGTH REQUIREMENTS--- 2 ½ -4 PAGES OF TEXT  YOU WILL HAVE A FINAL OUTLINE AND WORKS CITED PAGE THAT WILL NOT COUNT TOWARDS YOUR PAPER LENGTH  KNOW TIME CONSTRAINTS—HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE EACH STEP OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS  SEE YOUR DEADLINES SHEET  MAKE SURE YOU HAVE COLLECTED ENOUGH INFO  YOU WILL NEED AT LEAST 5 SOURCES TO BEGIN BUT HAVE TO USE AT LEAST 3 WHEN TYPING PAPER  STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR TOPIC AND REASONS  CHOOSE CREDIBLE SOURCES  USE THE SCHOOL’S DATABASES  YOU CAN CHECK OUT BOOKS ON YOUR INDUCTEE  USE THE R&R HALL OF FAME WEB SITE OR COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME OR OTHER VALID SITES

Step 2:Narrow the Subject into the Topic Read background information Far East - Japan -- City Life --- Puppets ---- Religion -----Sports Baseball Rituals Sumo Wrestling

Narrow Your Topic  Metallica  Musical influence  Metal  Lyrics, sound, and image Choose an inductee Choose an influence—music, society, or politics After research, select your 3 points or reasons

Step 3: State the Objective Thesis-statement of your objective -point you want to prove -main idea of the entire research paper An easy thesis would be your point plus your 3 reasons in one formal sentence. Your Research paper will contain 5 areas: your intro, reason 1, reason 2, reason 3, and a conclusion

Your Thesis statement must not be an indisputable fact Examples: The Bororo men of the Amazon think that knocking out their front teeth makes them beautiful. George Washington was the first president of the United States

Your Thesis Statement is not to be a personal opinion because it cannot be truly proven. Your angle can have a slight opinionated twist but it has to be supported with evidence. Example: Tattooing hurts too much to be worth it. I think pierced ears are disgusting.

Sample Thesis Statement Topic: Beauty Sample Thesis: People all over the world are willing to suffer for what they think is beautiful by reason #1, reason #2, and reason #3. Not an indisputable fact Not an insupportable opinion

Sample Thesis Statement The Sioux Indians are being treated more unfairly today than they were in the 1890’s. This is a broad thesis. To narrow it more you would add your 3 reasons to your thesis. Words “treated more unfairly” must be defined and then proven in the research paper.

Sample Persuasive Thesis Statement The new universal healthcare plan will negatively impact the United States citizens by reason #1, reason #2, and reason #3. For your research paper, you would use your own ideas and research to develop the following paper:  You would provide 1-3 paragraphs of background information briefly outlining the new plan.  You would then use your 3 reasons in a structured format to discuss how each reason proves the negative impact the healthcare plan will cause.  You will close your research paper with an effective 1-2 paragraph conclusion.

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS Metallica influenced the development of heavy metal by introducing speed, intricate guitar riffs, and politically charged lyrics to the genre. John Lennon tried to influence society’s view on war by promoting peace and love in his song lyrics, actions, and beliefs. The Bee Gees’ sound, lyrics, and sense of fashion made them one of the most memorable musical icons of the 1970s

Metallica influenced the development of heavy metal by introducing speed, intricate guitar riffs, and politically charged lyrics to the genre Metallica = the topic Influenced the development of heavy metal = the angle Introducing speed = point 1 and should be your 1 st point in your paper that you develop because of its order in your thesis Intricate guitar riffs = point 2 and should be your 2 nd point in your paper that you develop because of its order in your thesis Politically charged lyrics = point 3 and should be your 3 rd point in your paper that you develop because of its order in your thesis SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS  Your research would focus on each of these three areas in 1-3 separate paragraphs per each point with examples, cited support, explanation, etc. all to prove how Metallica influenced the development of heavy metal.

Types or Styles of Writing Expository Writing—Also known as explanatory or informative writing where your are providing detailed explanation and examples about your primary topic. Descriptive Writing—The primary focus in this writing is using sensory details or imagery or descriptive language to describe something. This can be done as a solo style in smaller pieces of writing or descriptive details can be used in other styles of writing such as narrative and expository. Persuasive Writing--The primary focus in this writing is to establish a stance on an issue, a belief, a theory, or an argument; and using examples, support, and explanation, the writer focuses on persuading the reader or audience to agree with the writer’s point/stance/argument, etc. Narrative Writing--This style of writing is used to narrate or tell a story in first or third person. The story has a beginning, middle, and end; in other words, this story has a plot development with a protagonist, usually at least one antagonist, an inciting incident, a conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution. True narrative writing also using conversation style which usually includes dialogue.

FYI—Each of the styles of writing can overlap, and there are other styles of writing such as analytical and technical; however, the ones we just discussed are the 4 most commonly used styles of writing What primary type of writing is your research paper going to be? Using your past writing assignments Give me an example of persuasive writing. What would be an example of narrative writing? Types or Styles of Writing Author’s Purpose—Connects to Styles of Writing To Persuade = what style of writing? To Entertain = what style of writing? To Inform = what style of writing?

Now, let us look at the bigger picture before we get started with our research. Let’s take a look at a sample draft of research paper focusing on Nirvana. This sample will be used throughout our research process. You must keep it.