Incorporating Research Materials into Papers

I’ve found my notes and quotes… now what?

After you gather all of your note cards, you are ready to write your paper.

Each paper should contain the following main parts: IntroductionBody Paragraphs (examples)

Political, intellectual, & economic influences

Rise, reign, and fallConclusion

The Process of IncorporatingWhere does the information go?

Determine where in your paper the source material can be used to support your own ideas

How do I start?Start paragraph with topic sentenceUse a lead-in to introduce the source

material by identifying the source before the quotation or paraphrase.

Quote/paraphrase/summarize from note card

End with a citationContinue paragraph with more ideas,

discussion

THE NOTE SANDWICH

Use LEAD-IN

(introduce

note from

source)

Present

quote or

paraphrase

or summary

with

CITATION

Explain note,

relate to topic

sentence

PlagiarismAll information from sources (whether

quoted or paraphrased or summarized) must be properly presented with a lead-in and a citation.

Failure to do so is plagiarism and will result in a zero on the final copy.

Papers receiving a zero must be revised for the student to get a reduced grade on the assignment.

Sample Lead-insBook with one authorAccording to Samuel Morison in his

book The Oxford History of the American People, “This [Mayflower] compact . . . is an almost startling revelation of the capacity of Englishmen in that era for self-government” (55).

The Oxford History of the American People points out that the Mayflower Compact is evidence of the desire many British colonists had in shaping local laws for their own communities (Morison 55).

Sample Lead-insAn encyclopedia article with authorIn her article “Mayflower Compact,”

Gunderson maintains that “Mayflower Compact was the first agreement for self-government ever put in force in America” (327).

The article “Mayflower Compact” mentions that the American tradition of a political contract among a group of people giving them control over their local affairs began with the Mayflower Compact (Gunderson 327).

Sample Lead-insBook without authorAccording to Encyclopaedia Britannica,

“The document was not a constitution but rather an adaptation of the usual church covenant to a civil situation” (“Mayflower Compact” 974).

According to the article “Mayflower Compact,” the agreement was not an official political statement, but it was an application of a common practice in religious institutions of the time in which church members agreed to obey guidelines set up by the local group (Britannica 974).

Sample Lead-insInternet source with authorChris Raible comments on the

significance of this event: “The signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 has often been cited as an early example—perhaps the only historically valid example—of a ‘social contract’ ” (“Mayflower Compact and Family Compact”).

The article “Mayflower Compact and Family Compact” comments that the Plymouth colonists established one of the first instances of the “social contract” in history by writing and signing the agreement aboard the Mayflower in 1620 (Raible).

Sample Lead-insInternet source without author“Mayflower Compact—the Common Anchor”

explains the reason why the document is significant: “John Adams and many historians have referred to the Mayflower Compact as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution written more than 150 years later” (All About History).

The website All About History explains that in the opinion of many specialists in American history, the Mayflower Compact written in 1620 influenced the writing of the Constitution more than a century and a half later (“Mayflower Compact—the Common Anchor”). Use partial or whole title in citation.

Ways to vary wording of lead-insWork in phrases:

according to__________, in the book ___________,

Use action verbs: says writespoints out comments elaboratesillustrates clarifies revealsshows

describes defines brings out makes plain tellsnotes remarksstatesreports

YOUR TURNChoose one of the following Disney quotes. Write a

clear topic sentence; then introduce, present, and explain the quote in a short paragraph about the

valuable lessons learned through Disney books and movies.

"The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.” - Timothy Mouse from Dumbo (page 11)

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." - The Emperor from Mulan (page 12)

"Even miracles take a little time." - the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella (page 13)

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten.” –Nani in Lilo and Stitch (page 14)

“I can’t stop Andy from growing up. But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”- Woody in Toy Story (page 15)

“The past can hurt. You can either run from it or learn from it.” – Rafiki in The Lion King (page 16)

IntroductionsShorter than body

paragraphsConsists of an attention

getter, linking sentence, and thesis statement

Placed just before first body paragraph

Put thesis statement last in introduction

Keystoning Introductions Shaped like an inverted

trapezoid Start with some general ideas Narrow down to more specific ideas Then present your thesis

Techniques for Attention-GettersMake a dramatic or surprising

statementAsk a rhetorical questionTell brief anecdote (personal

experience)Give an intriguing definitionUse a figure of speech (simile or

metaphor)Begin with a startling quotation or

statisticRefer to a current event, situation, or

controversy