Research Paper

Made for Cyr’s Juniors

What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a written document created after a period of

exploration on a subject.

Still have questions?A research paper is

• An expanded essay written in formal language• Is created after research is done to add to

your background knowledge• Includes quotes from sources• Usually has several sources which are listed on

a Works Cited page• A lengthy process

A Research Paper is Not

• Capable of being done in 1 night

• A collection of snippets cut and pasted from the Internet

• Solved by visiting Wikipedia

The First Step

Choose a subject.• Choosing something you are interested in will

help you enjoy the process.

• Choosing something you know a little about will help you feel confident in your writing.

Options?

• Do not choose too broadly

• Do not choose too narrowly

• Choose a topic that will fit the page parameters given.

• Think about this…–What could you

write about if given Benjamin Franklin as a topic?

Franklin’s Possibilities

• Ben the Scientist• Ben the Politician• Ben the Inventor• Ben the Writer

Potentials?

• Ben’s view of hail in the summertime

• Ben, America’s first diplomat to France

• The Franklin Stove• The invention of swim

fins• Ben as Silence Dogood

How about these?

• Invention Benjamin• Experimental Ben• Ben’s Political

contributions• Ben’s Pen Names• Self Improvement Guru

So Now What?

Research

Internet ResearchLook for Reliable sites• Schools (edu)• Organizations (org)• Government (gov)

Try These• There are links from my website• www.pbs.org• www.shmoop.com• http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/aufram.html• www.americanwriters.org

Avoid These

•Wikipedia•Essay Sites•Fan Pages

Ask Yourself…

• Is it absolutely clear which company or organization is responsible for the information on the site?

• Is there a link to a page describing what the company or organization does and the people who are involved (an “About Us” page)?

• Is there a valid way of making sure the company or organization is legit – meaning, is this a real place that has real contact information (email only is not enough)?

Keep Asking

• Can I easily figure out who wrote the information? • Are all factual claims clearly substantiated, that is, are there

cited (linked) sources? • Are there any glaring grammatical and spelling errors? This

could indicate that the content is not credible. • How long ago was the page updated? Is there a date stamp

on the article somewhere? You’ll need this especially if you’re using MLA-style citation.

• Can you verify the expertise of the author? Are the writer’s qualifications clearly stated somewhere on the site?

So I found my site…

• Fill in the “Internet Citation Organizer” worksheet I gave you

• Print the pages on your author– It saves ink and paper if you copy and paste it into

Word first

• Make sure you have the URL/Address on the worksheet! You will need it!

• You may want to make a good site a favorite incase you lose your print outs

So I found my site…

•DO NOT CUT AND PASTE THE INFORMATION INTO YOUR REPORT. THAT IS

NOT RESEARCH IT IS PLAGIARISM

Book ResearchTry these…

• Our text book• Encyclopedias

• Other reference material

Book ResearchDo This

• Fill out the citation worksheet• If it is just a page or two, try to photocopy the

material• If you cannot photocopy the material, take

clear, detailed notes