Transcript Learning to Love the Research Paper
Learning to Love the Research Paper
Or
…
at least learning to do it well!
MLA Made Easy
Table Contents
Step 1—
Choosing a topic and Brainstorming
Step 2—
Step 3—
Gather information and Create Notes
Step 4—
Categorize Notes and Develop an Outline
Step 5—
Step 1
Choosing a topic and Brainstorming
Getting Started You must find a research question
Generate a list of possible questions/topics that of interest to you. Sometimes your instructor may choose your topic. Nonetheless, you must create smaller questions which can be further researched.
Finding a Topic Write about what you know.
Whenever possible, seek out a research topic that interests you and that you care about.
Aim to build on knowledge that you already have.
If the topic is assigned, try to develop an angle that will interest you, then run the idea by your instructor.
Developing an Effective Research Question
The best research papers begin with a question because …
Questions help you to find direction.
Questions help you to narrow your scope.
Be careful of questions that are too broad.
Make sure that your question is relevant to the length of your paper. Most students use research questions that are not focused enough.
Developing an Effective Research Question
Too Broad: ---- What is Attention Deficit Disorder?
More Focused: ---- Is diet an effective treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder?
Techniques to Help You Start Writing
Brainstorming Freewriting Clustering Using Drafts
Brainstorming
Before you begin doing any research, take some time to brainstorm.
When you brainstorm, list everything that comes to mind about your topic, all of your thoughts and ideas, in the order in which they occur to you.
Let your mind free associate and make connections.
Write down everything — even those things which appear silly and unimportant at first.
Freewriting
Freewriting is nonstop writing. Set aside ten or fifteen minutes, and write whatever comes to you without thinking of word choice, spelling, organization, etc.
Don’t stop. Don’t get in your own way—you will be surprised what gets down on paper.
Freewriting is similar to brainstorming, in that you write what comes to you in the order it comes to you. However, rather than a list of your ideas, you develop your thoughts by having more of a conversation with yourself.
Clustering
While brainstorming and freewriting are ways to get information down on paper, clustering allows you to begin to see relationships among ideas.
To cluster, put the main idea in the center of the page, circle it, and list other sub-topics around it, connecting ideas that belong together with lines.
The result looks a lot like a spider’s web and will do wonders when you being to organize your paper.
Summary
Whatever the technique you use, the goal is to try to get all of your thoughts down on paper:
what you already know about your topic what you want to know more about why you ’ ve chosen the topic questions you have how you plan to answer those questions
You will be surprised how helpful this first draft will be when you start to gather your research.
Once you start, make sure you go to a library. The library is a wonderful resource.
Internet
Speaking of web sites…Even if you have Internet access on your home computer, you should still visit a library. Let’s play “True or False.”
The Internet has been called an information highway. TRUE.
It is free.
It is vast.
It is democratic.
It is accessible 24 hours a day.
Anyone can post anything.
You can believe everything you read on the Internet . FALSE.
Step 2
Finding Research
Bringing Research Into Your Paper
Points to Remember What Are Sources?
What Are Citations?
Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing Avoiding Plagiarism
The information highway known as the Internet has potholes.
Anyone can post anything on the Internet. There are no editors or experts reviewing the material. Yes, you can access legitimate sites like the American Cancer Society or university research centers, but you can also access pornography, incorrect or misleading information, biased opinions, and prejudiced information.
You CANNOT always trust the internet.
Points to Remember
(About Writing a Research Paper)
Writing a research paper is like writing any other academic paper, with the difference that you are bringing into your essay the words, ideas, and theories of others, often experts in that field of study.
In the process of writing your research paper, you will learn a new set of vocabulary words and concepts.
What follows is a list of these words/concepts and their definitions. Becoming familiar with them will help you in the research process.
What Are Sources?
A source is what you turn to for information about your topic.
A source can include any of the following:
a book a magazine or newspaper article
a scholarly journal article a film, television show, or radio program
a web site a personal interview
They generally fall under print sources, non print sources, and electronic sources.
Print Sources
A print source can be a periodical or a non periodical.
A periodical is a publication that is issued periodically, such as any of the following:
a newspaper (The Boston Globe); a magazine (Newsweek); a journal (Journal of Naturopathic Medicine).
A non-periodical most often refers to a book.
Non-Print Sources
A non-print source can include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
a television or radio program a film a personal interview a class lecture a recording
Types of Sources
Primary sources are original
materials on which other research is based. It includes documents such as poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, and fieldwork. It also includes research results generated by experiments, which are published as journal articles in some fields of study.
Types of Source
Secondary sources describe or
analyze the primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and articles that interpret or review research works.
A few secondary sources are available on the Web.
Step 3
Gather information and Create Notes
Note Card Front
One fact that you found from your source.
Try to put the fact into your own words.
If you copy a fact word for word,
remember to use “
quotation marks
.”
Note Card Back
Work Cited Information
Author(s): Date Published:
Website Address: Title of article/book: Publisher/Creator Date Accessed:
Sample (web-site):
Back
Kissenger, Maryanne.
“Ecology.” Pearson Education Date of Access: 22 April 2006 http://www.factmonster.com/ce 6/sci/A0816715.html
Sample-Text book
Back
Kinsella, Kate, Kevin Feldam, Collen Stump, Joyce Carrooll, Edward Wilson. Prentice Hall Literature. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002.
Sample
Front
Ecology is the study of the relationships and interactions of organisms to their physical environment and to one another.
What is a Citation?
When you bring research (quotations, paraphrases, facts, statistics, etc.) into your paper, you must give credit to the source and its author(s).
Giving credit to a source is also called citing a source.
You do this with in-text or parenthetical citations. They are called parenthetical citations because the bibliographic information goes inside parentheses.
What to Cite
Quotations: Someone else’s exact words, enclosed in quotation marks.
The ideas, opinions, and theories of someone else—even if you restate them in your own words in a paraphrase or summary.
Facts and statistics—unless they are common knowledge and are accessible in many sources.
What to Cite
(continue) Common Knowledge is information that can be found in many sources and that no one can claim owning. It is information that “belongs” to everyone. Often, it is the stuff of encyclopedias. Examples:
6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust.
The Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall.
The Civil War ended in 1865.
You may not have known this before you started your research, but it is still common knowledge. Often, you will encounter knowledge that is common in your field of study, even if the general population may not know it.
Quoting
When you quote, you borrow an author’s exact words.
Use a quotation when…
the wording is so memorable or expresses a point so well that you cannot improve or shorten it without weakening it; when the author is a respected authority whose opinion supports your own ideas; when an author challenges or disagrees profoundly with others in the field.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is putting material (including major and minor points) into your own words and sentence structure.
You can paraphrase a theory, an idea, the results of a study, or a passage in an original source, as long as you use your own words to describe it.
A paraphrase is often the same length as the original, but it is in your own words.
Example of a Paraphrase
Original Text (from James C. Stalker, “Official English or English Only”) According to James C. Stalker, he claims, “We cannot legislate the language of the home, the street, the bar, the club, unless we are willing to set up a cadre of language police who will ticket and arrest us if we speak something other than English” (21).
Paraphrase Stalker points out that in a democracy like the United States, it is not feasible to have laws against the use of a language and it certainly would not be possible to make police enforce such laws in homes and public places (21).
Summarizing
Summaries are often less detailed than paraphrases.
In a summary, you provide your reader with the gist of the most important sources you find in your own words.
Summaries give readers basic information and are always in your own words.
When you include a summary in your paper, introduce the author’s name and/or the work.
What is Plagiarism?
It is fine to bring the words and ideas of other writers into your paper.
However, when you do so, you must acknowledge your debt to the writers of these sources.
If not, you are guilty of plagiarism, a serious academic offense.
Step 4
Categorize Notes and Develop an Outline
The Benefits of an Outline
An outline of an essay can be very helpful for two reasons: An outline will help make your essay more organized. A careful plan will help your body paragraphs stay focused on the ideas in your thesis statement.
An outline saves time for writers. Preparing an outline can take time, but when you are finished, you will be able to write the rough draft of your essay more quickly than if you didn’t have an outline.
Example Outline
Here is an example of how a blank outline might look: Essay Outline I.
Introduction: Thesis: _____________________ II.
III.
IV.
V.
Body Paragraph #1- Topic Sentence: _____________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea Body Paragraph #2- Topic Sentence: ____________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea Body Paragraph #3- Topic Sentence: ____________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea Conclusion
The Process
Making an Outline
In a formal outline, Roman numerals can be used to represent paragraphs. Capital letters can be used to represent supporting details for the paragraphs.
Click here to see a list of Roman numerals.
I. Introduction V. Conclusion Essay Outline Thesis: ____________________ II. Body Paragraph #1- Topic Sentence: _________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea III. Body Paragraph #2- Topic Sentence: _________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea IV. Body Paragraph #3- Topic Sentence: _________ A. supporting idea B. supporting idea
The Process
Thesis Statement
To begin an outline, you need to start with your thesis statement. The thesis statement will be your guide throughout the process of writing your essay. From the thesis statement, you can begin writing the topic sentences for the body paragraphs in the outline.
ESSAY OUTLINE Thesis Statement
Topic Sentence #1 Topic Sentence #2 Topic Sentence #3
The Process
Topic Sentences
The topic sentence for each body paragraph should support the thesis statement. The topic sentences need to agree with the main idea or Sub-points in the thesis statement; otherwise, the essay could be confusing.
The Process
Topic Sentences
Thesis Statement A job interview can often make or break your chances of getting your dream job. There are several things that you can do in an interview to increase the possibility of your success such as dressing properly, answering interview questions thoroughly, and asking good questions at the end of the interview.
Topic Sentence Paragraph #1: The way you dress can have a big impact on an interview panel’s first impressions of you.
Topic Sentence- Paragraph #2: An interview is an opportunity for potential employers to get to know you better, so it is important that you answer each question as completely as possible. Topic Sentence- Paragraph #3: By preparing some thoughtful questions for the end of the interview, you can show the panel that you have prepared for the interview and want the job.
The Process
Supporting Details
Under the topic sentence for each paragraph, list some of the supporting details, examples, or ideas you want to include in each paragraph.
The Process
Supporting Details
supporting details, examples, and ideas II. Body Paragraph #1: Topic Sentence: The way you dress can have a big impact on an interview panel’s first impressions of you.
A. Men and women should consider wearing dark suits.
B. Conservative dress will show the interview panel you are serious about what you do.
C. Don’t carry too many things into the interview. A notebook, pens, and/or laptop computer should be carried in a briefcase.
D. Hair and nails should be clean and neat.
Example Outline I.
II.
Introduction- Thesis Statement: A job interview can often make or break your chances of getting your dream job. There are several things that you can do in an interview to increase the possibility of your success such as, dressing properly, answering interview questions thoroughly, and asking good questions at the end of the interview.
Body Paragraph #1: Topic Sentence: The way you dress can have a big impact on an interview panel’s first impressions of you.
A. Men and women should consider wearing dark suits.
B. Conservative dress will show the interview panel you are serious about what you do.
C. Don’t carry too many things into the interview. A notebook, pens, and/or laptop computer should be carried in a briefcase.
III.
D. Hair and nails should be clean and neat.
Body Paragraph #2: Topic Sentence: An interview is an opportunity for potential employers to get to know you better, so it is important that you answer each question as completely as possible.
A. Ask interviewers to repeat questions you don’t understand.
B. Take some time to think about the questions before you answer.
C. A notebook to write down key words in interview questions is sometimes helpful.
IV.
Body Paragraph #3: Topic Sentence: By preparing some thoughtful questions for the end of the interview, you can show the panel that you have prepared for the interview and want the job.
A. Research the job and/or company before you go to the interview.
B. The interview is your opportunity to get to know your potential employer. Ask questions about company goals, mission, expectations of employees, etc.
IV.
C. Don’t ask questions about benefits or salary during the interview. You should try to get this information before you apply for the job.
Conclusion: Don’t underestimate the importance of a good interview.
Step 5
Rough Draft and Formatting
MLA Style Documentation
What is MLA?
How To Integrate Research Into the Body of Your Paper How to Create a “Works Cited” Page
What is MLA?
If you are writing a research paper in English, foreign languages, or other humanities classes, use MLA-style documentation.
MLA stands for the Modern Language Association.
The MLA publishes the MLA Handbook for Writing Research Papers. This book contains all of the rules that govern MLA-style documentation.
Points to Remember
(About MLA-Style Documentation)
All written material (the body of your paper and the “ Works Cited ” page) is double-spaced.
MLA-style has two main elements:
In-text Citations
“ Works Cited ” Page
In-text Citation
Use in-text citations in the body of your paper when you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or use other borrowed material. Citations should be as concise as possible, while still giving readers enough information to find the full bibliographic information on the “ Works Cited ” page.
The ” Works Cited ” page is a separate page and carries the heading “ Works Cited ” (or “ Work Cited ” if you are using only one source). This is where you list all of your sources, giving the reader full bibliographic information.
Work Cited Page
On the “ Works Cited ” page, sources are always listed alphabetically by the author ’ s last name.
If your source has no author, go by the first word of the title to alphabetize.
When listing sources, indent every line after the first line five spaces or one-half inch.
Underline book titles and web sites.
Use quotation marks around articles, stories, poems, and essays.
Integrating Research
There are only two pieces of information that need to go inside the parentheses of an in-text citation:
the author’s last name the page number
This information refers readers to the full bibliographic information on the “Works Cited” page.
Parenthetical Documentation
An in-text citation looks like this:
(Smith 165)
If there are two authors, give both last names:
(Jones and Nichols 18)
If there is no author, give the first word of the title:
( “ Recent ” 23) If there is no page number, give the paragraph number:
(McKnight par. 10)
Examples
Many young women, from all races and classes, have taken on the idea of the American Dream, however difficult it might be for them to achieve it (Sidel 19-20).
The adult mountain lion population in California is now estimated at four to six thousand (Reyes and Messina B1).
More Examples
In California, fish and game officials estimate that since 1972 lion numbers have increased from 2,400 to at least 6,000 ( “ Lion ” A21).
An article that appeared in Research Quarterly states that, afflictions ” “ Their recovery process parallels the steps taken by those recovering from other (Russo par. 3).
Signal Phrases
Signal phrases help you to transition from your words and ideas to the words and ideas of others.
In most cases, it is preferable to include the author parentheses.
’ s name in a signal phrase that precedes the quote, fact, statistic, etc. Because the author is already named, you need only list the page or paragraph number in the
Examples
Michelle Russo ’ s article from Research Quarterly states, “ Their recovery process parallels the steps taken by those recovering from other afflictions ” (par. 3).
According to World Encyclopedia, it claims that the “ South was in political, social and economic turmoil, and eleven Confederate states had seceded from the Union during the wartime unrest” (Hayward 208).
Signal Phrases
The following signal phrases are good examples of ways you can introduce the findings of your research in your paper:
According to …
In the words of …
In a recent study by …
Current research proves that …
Reminders
Avoid overusing the verb “said” in your paper. Here is a list of strong, active verbs that you can use in your signal phrases.
You can write that someone…
acknowledges, adds, admits, or agrees
argues, asserts, claims, or comments
confirms, believes, declares, or implies
insists, notes, observes, or points out,
reports, states, theorizes, or writes
Creating a “Works Cited” Page
A work cited page is a list of resources that allows your reader to see that you have thoroughly researched your topic and obtained your supporting facts from valid and credible sources. When creating your Works Cited Page, remember to:
Begin the Works Cited on a new page, but number consecutively. For example, if the last page of your essay is page 3, the Works Cited is page 4)
Alphabetize each entry by first letter.
Underline all titles of books, magazines, films, etc.
Put quotation marks around the titles of poems, short stories, and articles. Indent the 2nd line, the 3rd line, and all subsequent lines of each citation.
Double-space all entries (the examples which follow are single-spaced only to save space on this handout ).
Work Cited Page
There are many different ways to cite sources on your “Works Cited” page, depending on whether your source is a book, an article, a web page, etc.
You are not expected to memorize each way; you are expected to know how to find the format you need for your particular source.
Once you find the format, follow it to the letter. Do not add information not in the example.
The following is an example of a “Works Cited” page. (On the left is the name of the kind of source; this is only to help you in the presentation and does not appear on your “Works Cited” page.)
Sample Work Cited
General format for a book Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Type of Publication.
General format for an anthology Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Type of Publication.
General format for a Magazine Last name, First name " Title of article.” Title of magazine. day month year: page.
Sample Work Cited
General format for an encyclopedia Last name, First name " Title of article." Title of encyclopedia. Edition. 1995. General format for an newspaper Last name, First name "Title of article.” Title of newspaper. day month year: page.
General format for an online article Last name, First name. Name of Web Page. Date of Posting/ Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (if any). Date You Accessed the Site
Final Comments
While this presentation attempts to give a brief introduction to MLA, it cannot cover all aspects of it. If you still have questions, it is best to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers, which is available in the Academic Support Center, or any of the English handbooks mentioned in this presentation.
You can also visit MLA ’ s web site at http://www.mla.org/ . Click on MLA-Style.