Canadian History 11 C.P.

Allen High School

Unit V: Independent Study Research Essay Guidelines The purpose of this research essay is to help you become familiar with two things: 1. The art of formal essay writing 2. The process of researching a topic A perfect essay does not come out of nowhere, it takes planning, organization, and revision (editing).

Sample Topic: World War I World War I is a broad topic. You MUST narrow down your topic to something more specific relating to World War I and explain how it was significant to Canadian History.

THE TOPIC IS NOT YOUR THESIS STATEMENT. You will have to do research and come up with a thesis statement and argument on your own, though I am available to help you. Do Not Plagiarize!!!!! Definition: An act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author. Plagiarism is a serious offence and will be dealt with by administration! You must give credit for other peoples ideas, opinions or theories!!!! If in doubt, cite! Your essay will be marked based on the scale used in class for other written work. Length: 750 1000 words (3-5 pages) 12 point font (Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman, etc.) The entire paper (including title page, body, & references) need to be double-spaced. Do not add extra spaces between paragraphs!!! All paragraphs need to be indented Do not use contractions in a formal essay. Instead of using dont use do not. Do not write in the first person. Instead of stating: I think use one may think if appropriate. Write out numbers from 1 to 10 and any other short number i.e. forty instead of 40, but keep 2013 as is. At least five in-text citations (quotes and/or researched evidence) At least five sources o Three can be from the internet (credible sources; not same article on different sites) o You need at least two non-internet (i.e. magazines, journal articles, encyclopedias, books, etc.) APA Format (title page, page #s, citations, and reference page)
APA Title Page:

A sample title page is shown at right make sure you have all of the required elements An abbreviated (shortened) version of your essays title should appear in the upper left corner along with the page number. All pages throughout the document should have this header. An original title Your first and last name Course name and block Teachers name Due date of the essay Apart from the header, all information should be centered

Vimy Ridge 1

The Battle of Vimy Ridge April 1917: Canadas Real Birthday John Smith CH XI Block B Mr. Brewer 22 April 2014

Canadian History 11 C.P. Allen High School

Revision Checklist for Research Essays Introduction: o Does the beginning catch the readers attention? o Does the introductory paragraph lead into the thesis statement? o Does the thesis statement clearly outline your principle arguments? o Is your thesis statement the last sentence in your introduction? Body: o Does each paragraph have a topic sentence that links back to your thesis statement? o Do the examples you use support your principle arguments? o Is your writing focused and clear? Do you stay on topic and state things clearly? o Is the writing organized logically? (cause/effect, chronological, example/analysis) o Are the details sufficiently described? (saying who exactly instead of they; stating exactly where; and when) o Have you deleted details that dont relate to the topic of each paragraph or the thesis? o Are there any details that should be added to make the topic clearer? o Do you have transitions? 1. Using transitional words and phrases helps papers read more smoothly by providing coherence 2. A coherent paper allows the reader to flow from the first supporting point to the next; 3. Transitions indicate relations, whether from sentence to sentence, from paragraph to paragraph, or from one idea to the next. Word Choice: o Have any words been unnecessarily repeated? o Have you replaced weak, general words with specific ones? o Have you turned all contractions into two words? (isnt = is not) o Have you spelled out small numbers? (1 = one) Research: o Have you included a variety of evidence: quotes, summarizing others ideas, statistics? o Have you properly cited where your information comes from? Do you attribute ideas to their original sources? o Do you use all of your references in your research, or do you lean too heavily on one reference for information? o Are your citations in proper APA format? (Author, date, p.#); (Author, date, ); (Author, ); ( Title of Article, date, ); (Title of Article, ) o Is your reference page in proper APA format? Heading (References) and page # Alphabetical order 2nd and subsequent lines are indented Double-space entire page Titles are in italics Last name of author, first name. Conclusion: o Does your conclusion restate your thesis statement and summarize your main points again? o No new information should be presented in the conclusion. Editing Checklist for Research Essays: o I have corrected all misspellings o I have corrected punctuation errors (commas, colons, semicolons, end punctuation) o My writing contains correct capitalization of sentences and proper nouns o All of the verbs agree with their subjects (i.e. people = eat, she = eats) o All contractions are two words. Apostrophes are only used for possessives (i.e. Abdullahs hat). o I have eliminated all run-on sentences. o I have checked for commonly misused homonyms (their, there, theyre [they are]; to, too, two; threw, through; weather, whether plus of vs have)

Canadian History 11 C.P. Allen High School

Unit V: Independent Study Research Essay Guidelines Important Dates:
Topic Selection: Due: Monday, 24 March 2014 You will have time to start your research in the library on Monday, 17 March 2014 and the topic for your essay will need to be chosen by Monday, 24 March 2014. Essay Plan & Source List: Due Monday, 7 April 2014 You are expected to produce a rough essay plan and initial source list approximately half-way through the month or so that you have to work on the assignment. This will need to be handed in to me on Monday, 7 April 2014. Final Draft Due: The final draft of your essay is due after Easter Weekend, on Tuesday, 22 April 2014. Tuesday, 22 April 2014

APA In-Text Citations: Use APA in-text citations, which will direct the reader to a list of references at the end of the paper. They identify the authors name and the year of publication. For direct quotes, also include the page number. Reminder on how to use citations: Author, date, page # No date = (Author, page #) No author = (Abb. Title, date, page #) Web site = same, but instead of page # use paragraph # ( = symbol for paragraph) (Brewer, 2014, 5) or (Brewer, 2014, para. 5) Use citations when you: A. Use quotes (exact words from someone else) B. Use ideas from someone else C. Summarize and paraphrase other sources D. Statistics E. Visual information such as tables, graphs, diagrams & illustrations You do not need to use citations when: A. It is your original thoughts and ideas B. Common Knowledge (i.e. Ottawa is the capital of Canada)
Examples: 1. Quotations, summary, or paraphrase

If the authors name is mentioned in the text Ms. Reid (2005) states "Africa is in an economic crisis due to European colonization and the aftermath of the Triangular Trade" (p.5). If the authors name is not mentioned in the text In a recent publication, one observer noted "Africa is in an economic crisis due to European colonization and the aftermath of the Triangular Trade" (Reid, 2005, p.5). 2. 3. Two Authors (Clarkson & McCall, 2005). Three to Five Authors - Provide the last names of all the authors for the first citation. For subsequent citations of the same source, use only the first authors last name and abbreviation et al. Example: (Reid et al., 2005, p. #) Unknown Author - Use the title of the work. Example: (Crisis in Africa, 2005, p. #). Electronic Sources A. Same as above, but use paragraph #s instead of page #s. Use the symbol or by the abbreviation "para." Example: (Reid, 2005, 5) or (Reid, 2005, para. 5) B. If neither a page nor a paragraph number is given and the document contains headings, cite the appropriate heading and indicate which paragraph under that heading you are referring to. Example: (Shared Path section, para. 6). C. If you use a source that was cited in another source (a secondary source), name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include it in your parenthetical citation, preceded by the words "as cited in." In the following example, Booth is the secondary source. Example: Historian Ms. Reid states "Africa is in an economic crisis due to European colonization and the aftermath of the Triangular Trade" (as cited in Rhymes, 2005, p.5).

4. 5.

Canadian History 11 C.P. Allen High School

APA References: Center the title References at the top of the page. Do not italicize, underline or use quotation marks around the title. Number your page the same way you do did for the entire paper. Arrange all sources you used in a single alphabetical list by authors last name or by title if no author is given. Double-space all entries in your reference list. DO NOT indent the first line, but always indent the second or third lines (five spaces). This is called Hanging Indentation. Always leave one space after commas and two spaces after periods and colons. Do not # entries. Titles should be in italics If there is no author, place title (in italics) first in your entry. Reference Examples: This is just a quick guide on how certain types of entries should look your finished APA Reference List will not be formatted in this way. Entries are not to be categorized and must be alphabetized.
Source Book Editor Example Author. (Date). Title. Place of Publication: Publisher. Name of Editor. (Ed.). (Date). Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Electronic Encyclopedia Encyclopedia Magazine/Newspaper

Title of Article. (Date). Name of Encyclopedia. Publisher. Author (if given). (Date). Title of Article. Name of Encyclopedia. Volume #, Pages. Author (if given). (Date, Month). Title of Article. Name of Magazine/Newspaper, Pages.

Film

Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.

Song

Songwriter, W. W. (Date of copyright). Title of song [Recorded by artist if different from song writer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label. (Recording date if different from copyright date).

Internet with author and date

Author. (Date). Title of Article. Retrieved September 20th, 2005 from URL Nielsen, M. E. (2000). Notable People in Psychology of Religion. Retrieved August 3, 2001, from http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm

Internet with no date

Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable People in Psychology of religion. Retrieved Aug. 3, 2001, from http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm

Internet with no author and no date

Gender and society. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2001, from http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/gender.html