1. The VIP of the whole mess…
Research Paper
The VIP of the whole mess…

2. What is a research paper?
A “research paper” is taking and combining “information you find by doing research” and “your own ideas” to prove a “thesis statement”.
Information + Ideas = Research

3. What is a research paper?
What is considered “my own ideas”?
Any “general” information
You MUST “cite” any information that has numbers
Dates (birth and death)
Statistics (% of free-throw)
Ect.

4. What is a research paper continued…
EXAMPLE
Billy the Kid
Wild West outlaw (this we already know)
“was an orphan at the age of 15” (what we learn through research)
So we create a statement…
Billy the Kid, a well known Wild West outlaw, most likely turned to violence after becoming an orphan at age 15 (Source, 12). After Billy’s parents were…
(The statement above was “paraphrased” but we still “cited” the source.)

5. How long does this have to be…
Remember essays?
Essays are 5 paragraphs: 1st is the introductory, then 3 body paragraphs, and the last is the concluding.
RESEARCH PAPERS ARE TO BE “8 (EIGHT) PARAGRAPHS” :
1st is the introductory
Then 6 (six) body paragraphs
The last is the concluding

6. What’s up? Choosing a topic (a good one) Making a statement
Questioning a topic

7. Choosing A Topic See what is available
Ask yourself, “Is my topic too contemporary?”
NARROW your topic
“Football” should become a “specific player” or “team”
“WWII” should become a “specific event” or a “few battles”

8. The “Thesis” Statement
This is the “Main Idea” of you paper
It becomes a “Focus” for your thoughts
__________________ made/had
a big impact on ______________.
Fill in the “Blanks” and get a “Thesis”

9. Narrow your topic for your Thesis Statement
“Football” is too BROAD a topic to cover for your “THESIS STATEMENT”
Football made/had a big impact on ?
BUT “Troy Aikman” as a topic should be okay (if there are books available.)
Troy Aikman made/had a big impact on football .

10. The “Thesis Statement” Continued
Once you come up with a thesis statement you are ready to research
You now need to QUESTION your topic

11. Questioning Your Topic
Ask yourself…
What do I already know?
What do I want to learn by doing research?
Organize your questions in to three subtopics
(Examples)
Youth, Adult, Death
Before, During, After
You should have 21 different questions total (about 7 for each category)

12. What’s next? Source Cards Note Cards Reliability Dewey Encyclopedia
Book
Ebsco (Magazine)
Internet
Note Cards
Reliability
Dewey

13. Source Cards
Encyclopedia
Author Last name, First. “Subject Title.” Encyclopedia Name. Year of publication.
Gold, John. “Edison, Thomas.” World Book Encyclopedia ed.
Classroom
Don’t forget
to indent

14. Encyclopedia: Author Last name, First.
After each “subject entry” in an encyclopedia there is an author. You will find that it is written in VERY small print at the very end of the article.
Each “subject entry” is BOLD and is ALWAYS lined up on the left. Subcategories are also bold but they are indented slightly.

15. Encyclopedia: “Subject Title.”
This one is easy…
The “Subject Title” is what you are looking for
“Football” is a “Subject Title.”
“Ali, Muhammad” is a “Subject Title.”
“Cow” is a “Subject Title.”
RULE: ALWAYS look for “people” by their LAST NAME first

16. Source Cards
Book
Author Last name, First. Book Title. City of Publication:Publisher, Year of publication.
Josephson, Matthew. Edison: A Biography. Portland: Wiley, 1992.

17. Book: City of Publication and Publisher
This information can be found on the “TITLE PAGE”
The “Title Page” is the page in book that contains the title, author, publisher, publisher address, and copyright date. The “copyright” date is found by the ©
The “Title Page” is everything you need to create a “Book Source Card”

18. Source Cards
Magazine
Author or editor Last name, First name. “Article title.” Name of Magazine. Date of Magazine published: Page numbers.
Saunders, Fenella. “They Invented it.” Discover Magazine. Oct 2006: 2-3.
Ebsco-host

19. Source Cards
Internet
Author or editor Last name, first name. Web site title. Date of publication of site. <Internet address>.
Beals, Gerry. Thomas Edison’s Home Page <
Internet

20. Reliability on the Internet
Reliable sources on the internet will always include an “author”, a “date”, and should always be “cross referenced”
“Cross referenced” means you check the information with info from another web site.

21. Note Cards
RULES:
Write a “direct quote” word-for-word
A “direct quote” is the information you are getting from a source. The “direct quote” should answer one of your “research questions.”
You need to record the “author’s last name” from your source because you will need this when you “cite” your information in your paper.

22. Note Cards Continued… A sample for you… Inventions
The author’s last name
The “Direct Quote”
“The most famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb.” Jose
Inventions

23. …and then? Outlines Citing in Writing and the Rough Draft Works Cited
Title Page
Final Production or Final Draft

24. Outline
The research paper “outline” should be easy to organize…if your note cards are organized.
The outline for the body will be easy to write…it may be that the “Intro” and “Conclusion” will be more difficult
The “Intro” and “Conclusion” are… YOUR OWN WORDS…NO CITATIONS!!

25. Citing in Writing: What you Need
Note Cards
Source Cards
From the “Note Cards” you need the “Direct Quote” and “author’s last name.

26. Citing in Writing: The Cards
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A Biography. Portland: Wiley,
School Library
“The most famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb.” Jose
Inventions
<<<<<Source Card
Note Card >>>>>>

27. Citing in Writing: What you Do
Research is Citing. You must tell the “reader” where you get your information and we do this by “CITING” our source.
The way we do this…

28. Citing in Writing: The Way We Do This…
You take the direct quote and include your own thoughts to create a sentence in your research paper…
Thomas Edison made many inventions in his lifetime. Some inventions are more famous than others. “The most famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb” (Jose).

29. Citing in Writing: Now what?
EVERY TIME you use a “quote” from a note card you “Cite” the source.
RULES:
Use the first item on your Source Card (Usually the author’s last name)
Use the page number from the Note Card
DO NOT write the word “page” in the “citation”
EXAMPLE: …” (Last Name).

30. The “WORKS CITED” Page
Definition: The “sources” you “cited” in your research paper are written “collectively” on one page. This page is called the “Works Cited” page.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
Type all your source cards IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (by the first item on the card usually the Author’s Last name).
REMEMBER: Indent ALL lines after the first.

31. The “WORKS CITED” Page You need ALL your “Source Cards”
NOW… you need to type them…but there are rules…
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A Biography. Portland: Wiley,
School Library
Beals, Gerry. Thomas Edison’s Home Page <
edison.com/>
Ebsco

32. The “WORKS CITED” Page
So…your “Works Cited” page should look like this…
ALPHABETICAL ORDER by Author’s last name
Single spaced source information
Double space between each source
Works Cited
Beals, Gerry. Thomas Edison’s Home Page <
edison.com/>
“Edison, Thomas.” World Book Encyclopedia ed.
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A Biography. Portland: Wiley, 1992.
Saunders, Fenella. “R&D: They Invented it.” Discover Magazine. Oct 200: 1.

33. Title Page: Let’s Name this Baby!
The “title page” is the cover page for your research.
What do you want on the “title page”?
The title
Your name
Your teacher’s name
The date you turn in your paper
Your class hour
USE: the Center button or (Ctrl + E) to Center the “cursor”

34. Production: Format Formatting Your Paper Times New Roman (font)
12 Pt (size of font)
Double Space (Format; Line Spacing; Double)
1 inch margins (already set)
NO BOLD
NO ITALICS
Include charts and pictures where necessary be sure to cite these pictures or charts. You did not do the research to get this information.

35. Things to keep in mind:
Keep in mind that you will have a rubric to refer back to during the entire process.
If you are making an invention you will not have as much research as the research paper.
If you are doing an experiment your research will be made up mostly by what other people have discovered or did for their experiment. The rest will be information from your own experiments that should be done more than once.