Research Paper

The VIP of the whole mess…

 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

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.
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.)
 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
 What’s up?
• Choosing a topic (a good one)
• Making a statement
• Questioning a topic
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”
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”
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 .
The “Thesis Statement” Continued

• Once you come up with a thesis

statement you are ready to research
• You now need to QUESTION your
topic
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)
 What’s next?
• Source Cards
– Encyclopedia
– Book
– Ebsco (Magazine)
– Internet
• Note Cards
• Reliability
• Dewey
 Source Cards
• Encyclopedia
Author Last name, First. “Subject Title.”
Encyclopedia Name. Year of publication.

Gold, John. “Edison, Thomas.”

World Book Encyclopedia.
Don’t forget 1992 ed.
to indent

Classroom
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.
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
 Source Cards
• Book
Author Last name, First. Book Title. City of
Publication:Publisher, Year of publication.

Josephson, Matthew. Edison:

A Biography. Portland:
Wiley, 1992.
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”
 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
Magazine (Ebscohost):
Easy to use, once you set it up right
• Go to the Woodland Website:
www.woodland.k12.mo.us
• Click on High School
• Click on High School Library
• On the Far left you’ll see “Ebsco”
(click on it)
• AND THEN…
Magazine (Ebscohost):
And then…

• Click on EBSCOhost Web

• Now under “choose a database” click

the most appropriate database for
your research (the more the better
is NOT better) so BE PICKY!
• AND THEN?
Magazine (Ebscohost):
And then…
• Click the button… Continue
• NOW this is Very Important click on the
“FULL TEXT” check-box
• NOW in the box that is next to the word
“find” you type in your “keywords” for
the search
– “Football” and “Troy Aikman”
• Hit the “search” button and away you go!
Magazine (Ebscohost):
And then…
• You should see something like this…
1.CBS earns passing grade on Super Bowl coverage By: Michael
Hiestand. USA Today, 02/05/2007; (AN J0E168755534107)
HTML Full Text

• Click on the “title” or the words “HTML Full

Text” to get to the article
 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. 1999.
<http://www.thomasedison.com>

Internet
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.
Note Cards
• RULES:
– Write a “direct quote” word-for-word
– Always record the “page number”
• 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 “page number”
from your source because you will need
this when you “cite” your information in
your paper.
 Note Cards Continued…
• A sample for you…
» The page number
» The “Direct Quote”

“The most famous of his inventions was

an incandescent light bulb.” Pg 89

Inventions
Dewey
he’s the man…
• Use the “Dewey Decimal System” and
the “Cat-5” to find your “non-fiction”
book.
• DDS = categorize books by a number
system
• Cat-5 = Online Catalogue of books 5
 …and then?

• Outlines
• Citing in Writing and the Rough Draft
• Works Cited
• Title Page
• Final Production or Final Draft
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!!
Citing in Writing:
What you Need
• What you need…
• Note Cards
• Source Cards
• From the “Note Cards” you need the
“Direct Quote” and “page number”
• From the “Source Cards” you need
the “Authors Last Name”
Citing in Writing: The Cards

<<<<<Source Card
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A
Biography. Portland: Wiley,
1992.

“The most famous of his

School Library
inventions was an incandescent
light bulb.” Pg 89
Note Card >>>>>>

Inventions
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…
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, 89).
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, Number).
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.
The “WORKS CITED” Page
• You need ALL your “Source Cards”
NOW… you
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A need to type
Biography. Portland: Wiley, them…but
1992. there are rules…

Beals, Gerry. Thomas Edison’s Home

School Library Page. 1999. <http://www.thomas
edison.com/>

Ebsco
The “WORKS CITED” Page
• So…your
“Works Cited” Works Cited
page should
look like this… Beals, Gerry. Thomas Edison’s Home
Page. 1999. <http://www.thomas
• ALPHABETICAL
ORDER by
edison.com/>
Author’s last name
“Edison, Thomas.” World Book
• Single spaced
Encyclopedia. 1992 ed.
source information
• Double space
Jose, Matthew. Edison: A Biography.
between each
Portland: Wiley, 1992.
source
Saunders, Fenella. “R&D: They Invented
it.” Discover Magazine. Oct 200: 1.
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”
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
– NO PICTURES
• This is a “FORMAL” piece of writing and it should
look like it
 Are we
there yet?
YES…
• Scoring Guide >>>
• Order to turn in
– Scoring guide
– Title Page
– Research paper
– Works Cited
– Rough Draft
– Outline
– Note Cards