So, you have to write a research paper. . .

You were given a topic, you asked some questions, and you gathered information.

Now, you have to put it into an argument. Most arguments begin with a . . .

THESIS or

CLAIM

Thesis Generator

1. Identify your subject

2. Turn your subject into a guiding question.

– Specific, limited, open to potential disagreement, analytical

Thesis Questions• What should the audience/reader do/feel/believe? • Which are the most important? • What was the impact of? • How can you defend? • What should be? What are/would be the possible

outcomes of? • What are the problems related to? • What is the value or, what is/are the potential benefit(s)

of? • What is the significance of?

Thesis Generator

3. Answer your question with a statement.

4. Refine this statement into a working thesis.

Put your thesis through the machine and see if it works:• Is it clear?

– Will everyone know what you are talking about?• Is it specific?

– Do the limits provide you space in which to complete a reasonable, interesting 5 page paper within 2 weeks? Is it one main point?

• Is it debatable?– Is it too obvious? Has it already been answered?

• Does it pass the “so what?” test?– Do you care? Will others? Does it go beyond personal

opinion?

Put your thesis through the machine and see if it works:

• Does it take a side?– Is it something that should be proven, not just

discussed?• Does it indicate what will be discussed?

– Is it a blueprint that will guide the paper?• Does it have the right shape?• Does this thesis fit the kind of things you want

to discuss and the question you want to answer?

Now that you have a thesis, you have to support it. The best way to plan that support and to judge whether or not it will work is an outline. An outline helps you organize your material and can also help you discover connections between pieces of information that you weren't aware of when you first conceived of your paper. It can also make you aware of material that is not really relevant to the purpose of your paper or material should remove.

Outlining• Are all of your outline’s parts systematically indented and labeled?

– Main ideas = I, II, III, etc.– Concrete Details = A, B, C, etc.

• Are all of the headings are expressed in parallel grammatical form?

• Do topics of equal generality appear in parallel headings? • Do all subdivided headings break into at least two parts because a topic

cannot logically be divided into only one part? – Anytime there is a “I”, there must be a “II”.– Anytime there is an “A”, there must be a “B”.

• Does the outline reflect logical relationships between sections and

subsections and doe each of these section or subsections transition logically to the next?

An Outline about Outlines

I. Reasons to write an outline           A. Organizes your ideas           B. Provides a “map” for the paper           C. Your teacher made you do it           D. You decided to give it a try

II. Parts of the outline           A. Title                1. Should include the subject of the paper                2. Descriptive title will grab reader’s attention           B. Introduction                1. States the subject of the paper                2. States what areas will be focused on                3. Keep introduction concise and brief                     a)   Helps to keep reader’s attention                     b)   Save something for the “Main Body”           C. Main Body                1. Where all your information is presented                2.  It’s time to use your notes                     a) Find all your notes                     b) Review your notes                     c) Put the information in order                     d) Write brief  phrases for ideas to be discussed                          (1) No need to write in complete sentences                          (2) Write just the main ideas down                          (3) Elaborate on the main ideas in the actual paper                     e) The ideas should follow in logical order                     f)  If you have an "A" or an "a" you must have a "B" or "b"                     g) If you have a "1" you must have a "2"          D. Conclusion                1. Think of how you want the paper to end                2. Be sharp, concise and to the point                3. Breathe a sigh of relief!  The outline is done.

Homework: Post your outline on your blog by tomorrow. Your outline should BE SPECIFIC and should include:

• All of the components of an outline• Your thesis• Major arguments you will be

making• Sub points• Evidence, quotations that will

support your points

Once you have your outline, you can begin drafting. Write deliberately, based on your plan, thinking about what you want to say and how to support it. One of the biggest challenges is embedding quotations.

Using secondary sourcesHow do I know when to summarize, paraphrase, or quote? Summarize when you have a longer passage whose main points are

important but whose details are not. Leave out the details, keep the main points, and use your own words. Be sure to cite your source.

Paraphrase when the source is not worth quoting but it contains

details that you need to include. Do not keep the original wording or syntax. Use quotation marks for any part of the paraphrase in which you use the original wording. Of course, you must cite the sources.

Quote when the wording is worth repeating or it makes the point so

well that you can’t or shouldn’t do better. You should also quote if you want to emphasize the source or its authority.

Embedding Quotations- why?

Embedding quotes serves two purposes:

• It allows us to include important information like who said the quote, who they were talking to, and what they were talking about.

• It allows us to make quotes fit our own voices as writers.

Embedding Quotations

• Don’t quote and run- Frame your quotations.• Introduce quotations with signal phrases X

such as acknowledges, agrees, argues, believes, denies, claims, demonstrates, etc.

• Explain your quotation with phrases such as: Basically, X is saying, X is important because, X is insisting, Incidentally, In other words, etc.

Punctuating Quotations

Introductory information needs to be separated from the rest of the quote with a comma or the word that, but not both.

• Antigone says, “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (1023).

• Antigone says that “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands” (1023).

Punctuating Quotations

Page numbers for quotes need to come after the quote, but before the end punctuation. The period always comes after the page number, not before. However, a question mark or exclamation mark still needs to be included within a quote.

• Right: “Is it really the sun?” (35).• Wrong: “Is it really the sun” (35)?• Wrong: “Is it really the sun” (35).

Punctuating QuotationsSometimes you will need to replace a pronoun with a proper name or make other small

changes to quotes to get them to fit the context of your embedded quote. These changes should be made in brackets.

Original quote: “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26).Clarified quote: “Kind of like [Curley’s] mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26). Sometimes you will want to omit parts of a quote that are not necessary. These

omissions should be marked with ellipses. Note: you only have to do this when the part of the omitted quote is in the middle of a sentence, not the beginning or the end.

Original quote: “Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy” (26).Shortened quote: “He’s mad…because he ain’t a big guy” (26). If a quotation itself contains words in quotation marks, use single quotation marks

around those words.The breathless narrator exclaims, “Jack said, ‘You’re pretty,’ and I practically fainted.

Then he said, ‘I like your shoes’!” (1).

Try to avoid these common mistakes:•Calling everything a novel•Incorrect MLA format•Making plurals with apostrophes.•Your common errors.•Not consulting your evaluation guide•Font- 12 pt TNR double space•Title punctuation