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Introduction
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Writing a research paper is a complex process with a number of steps
that must be completed. While there may be specific individual teacher
requirements for any given research paper, many elements are standard.
Every research paper needs a clear organizational plan, and content generated from outside sources. Every research paper needs documentation to avoid plagiarizing other people’s ideas. Each source used and cited in the paper must be included in the Works Cited page, and bibliographic information must be presented in the correct format. Some research papers will require a student-generated thesis,
some a detailed outline, and some various note-taking strategies; information
on each topic is included in the booklet, but may not be necessary for
every research paper assigned by every teacher
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Generating a
Thesis and Topics
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A thesis is a single statement that directs your entire paper.
If you are writing a paper on a work of literature, your thesis must say something about that work of literature, something that both you and authoritative sources see in that particular work. Your thesis could address the manner in which the work approaches courage, family, prejudice, heroism, individuality, revenge, friendship, society, or some other idea about human behavior. Your thesis could focus on the author’s use or development of some element of fiction, such as characters, plot, or setting. Your thesis could also address some aspect of this particular work that is unique, whether it be tone, style, or the presentation of an unusual idea. It is crucial that your thesis actually says something about the work, and about the topic you have chosen as your focus; you cannot say simply that people in a certain work have close family relationships, when that is a fact. You could say that close family relationships help them survive in a cruel world, or that even though they seem to have close family relationships, they really don’t. Once you have a thesis, you need to decide how you will break your information down into supporting topics for your body paragraphs. Topics should not follow the chronological order of the work, nor should they overlap. It is helpful if your topics all fit into the same pattern by having a common denominator: if they ar three reasons, or causes, or results, or aspects or types of something related to your thesis. |
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Creating an Outline
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I. Write the thesis at the top of the outline
II. Use the correct numbers and letters for main points
III. Indent each division of the outline
IV. Do not use a single subheading
V. Punctuation and capitalization
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Outline Example
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Female characters in F. Scott Fitgerald’s The Great Gatsby use subtle
rather than direct means to achieve their goals.
I. Daisy manipulates men with her beauty and lovely voice
III. Muriel uses beauty and energy to achieve her ends
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Taking Notes
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Summary:
The primary purpose of the summary is informational; you should write down all significant facts. You may change the information around, and use phrases instead of complete sentences on your note cards. You must footnote this material Precis:
Paraphrase:
Direct Quotation:
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Documentation
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Internal citations, using line notes, and a Works Cited page
identify the book and page from which you extracted the information presented
in your paper. You must document everything except your own ideas
and explanations. Not only are direct quotes, facts and dates followed
by line notes, but also any information you have summarized and put in
your own words. Usually an author’s last name and the page number
on which the information was found are acceptable for the line note:
Medieval Europe was a place of “raids, pillages, slavery and extortion” and of “traveling merchants, small towns and active farm markets” (Towsen 12). This information came from a book with one author; please note the correct punctuation. Other possibilities: * No author is given: Use the article title or, if there is no
article title,use the book title:
* Two books you are using have the same author: Use the book title to distinguish between sources: (Smith, American History 432) and
* Two articles you are using have the same titles and no author: Use the book title to distinguish between sources: (“Charles Dickens,” Famous Authors 3) and
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M.L.A. Style
for Works Cited
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Book with one author:
Gardner, Harriet. The Shattered Mind. New York: Knopf, 1975. Book with two or more authors:
Book with no author:
Book with editor and no author:
Book with an organization or group as the author:
Encyclopedias:
“Denmark.” The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1995. Signed article or shapter in an edited book or multivolume work.
An introduction, preface, foreword or afterword:
Book in a series:
Magazine articles:
“What’s in an Internet Name?” Forturne 16 Oct. 1995.
38+.
Newspaper:
Interview:
S.I.R.S. article from CD-ROM:
Infotrac:
Grolier Encyclopedia on CD-ROM:
World Wide Web:
Email:
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Works Cited
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Child, Harold. “Jane Austen.” The Cambridge History of
the English Language. London: Cambridge University
Press,
1990. 86-90. “Mandarin.” The Encyclopedia Americana. 1993 ed. Paredes, Americo and Raymond Paredes. Mexican American
Prizker, Thomas. “An Early Look at the Cure.” Online. Ingress
Scotto, Peter. “Censorship, Reading and Interpretation:
A Case
Smith, Edward, ed. A Look at Ralph Waldo Emerson. Chicago:
Taylor, Paul. “Keyboard Grief: Coping with Comupter-Caused
“Thoreau, Henry David.” Encyclopedia of Authors. Ed. William
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Typing the
Final Draft
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Sample Passage
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Daisy cannot get what she wants by direct
means, so she must use delicate approaches instead. When Gatsby first
meets her, he is entranced by her voice, which hints at “bedrooms more
rich and beautiful and cool than other bedrooms” (Fitzgerald 146), showing
that he associates her voice and manner with her luxurious existence.
Her outward attractions—appearance and voice—win his heart, and he spends
the next five years struggling to earn the money that Daisy will require.
Daisy, however, is not content to wait, and accepts Tom’s offer instead.
Daisy cannot work and earn her own money, but feels the need for “a rich
cocoon of protective layer, buffering her from the harsh realities of life”
(Hale 23). When Nick meets her in New York, she is spread out on
the couch like a decorative display, her primary function in life.
When her husband is gone from the room, she calls Nick “a rose, an absolute
rose” (Fitzgerald 15). She is employing the same means to win Nick’s
favor that she has used to achieve her position in life—picture and sound.
Daisy needs the “charm and grace that wealth provide” (Matlock 273),
but her position as a woman can only lead her there through the favor of
powerful males; therefore, she works for what she needs, but with her charms,
not her hands. As Thomas Aquinas says, “‘Daisy’s role in life is
to absorb the gifts and adoration of those around her; she is like a small
child that wants to be the focus of attention, but makes no contribution
other than the cry of “Look at me!”’ “(Aquinas 6). What Aquinas does
not necessarily acknowledge, is that this is the only contribution possible
for a woman in Daisy’s position.
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Updated 8/12/05 |
Sandi Bonesteel |
101 Cummings Drive Brunswick MD 21716 240-236-8600 |
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