Writing Tips with Ms. Masters & Ms. Gogarty

Imperialism Research Essay

DO NOW: Elect ONE person at your table to collect your Plagiarism HW.

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STEP 1:Determine what type of paper you are writing

Tips on Essay Writing

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Is your paper:Analytical- paper breaks down an issue or idea into parts, evaluates the issue, and presents a break down to the audience

Expository- paper explains something

Argumentative- paper justifies a claim with specific evidence (opinion-based)

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Helpful Research Collection Strategies• Re-read

•Close read/“talk-to-the-text”

• Take notes

•Create categories

• Find cause/effect relationships

• Seek out facts

•Define new vocabulary

•Charts, diagrams, maps

•Draft & revise4

STEP 2:

Begin Research&

Collect Supporting Evidence

Why Use Textual Evidence in Your Paper?

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About Providing Excellent Evidence

• character names or factual research materials

• places/setting or location/geography

• specific occurrences

• textual evidence

• facts, facts, facts!

• proves engagement and understanding

• supports thesis, not opinion

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Textual Evidence Requirement:

• At least 3 pieces of textual evidence (actual words from the text) to support your opinion of your main points

• Each must include: a statement of fact + the page #

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Incorporating Evidence into Essay- As stated in “Conquistadors” article, “By 1521,

Tenochtitlan had fallen, the conquest of the Aztec Empire was complete, and Cortes had literally

become a king by his own hand” (2). OR

Through research it can be concluded that “by 1521, Tenochtitlan had fallen, the conquest of the

Aztec Empire was complete, and Cortes had literally become a king by his own

hand” (“Conquistadors” 2).

Original Fact from Research Source- By 1521, Tenochtitlan had fallen, the conquest of

the Aztec Empire was complete, and Cortes had literally become a king by his own hand.

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Let’s take a look at the assignment for

our first essay.

What evidence could we collect at this time based on the summer reading?

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STEP 3:Determine Main Points

Let’s narrow down the research through summarizing & paraphrasing

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Summarizing• to briefly state main points

• “to give the short version”

• uses your own words

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Paraphrasing

• to retell in your own words

• to reword, rephrase

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When summarizing & paraphrasing NEW information you must...• cite your sources correctly

• use MLA format with author’s last name (if given) and the page #

With author’s name:Your paraphrased fact in your own words (Ward 2).

Without author’s name: Your paraphrased fact in your own words (“European exploration” 3).

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Avoiding Plagiarism• cite your sources

• reword without using the same words the original author uses

•main ideas come through, but the wording is your own

•use direct, correctly cited textual evidence

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STEP 4:Draft a Thesis

Statement

Why use a thesis statement in your paper?

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Thesis Statementsdo...

• address the point of your paper

• appear at the END of the first paragraph

• state something a little strange

• creates an argument that builds from one point to the next, giving the paper direction

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Thesis Statements do NOT...

•appear as the first sentence of the paper

•start with “In this paper, I will talk about/address...”

Never Ever Do These!

NEVER EVER EVER

Never Ever Do These!

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...and one more thing

• Never use the first person point of view (“I”) when writing a formal research-based or position essay.

Never Ever Do This!

NEVER EVER EVER

Never Ever Do This!

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Example:Throughout history European Imperialism spread

due to _____, _____, and _____.

Honors

CONSIDER the following...mercantilism (economic) - Industrial Revolution

required countries to colonize and create new markets

spread of religious values (religious) - Christianity

social superiority (social) - Western v. Native Lifestyles

empire construction (political) - more expansion, more land, more power

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Magical Thesis Statement sometimes comes in

handy...

By looking at ________________, we can see _________________, which most do not see; this is important because

__________________.

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STEP 5:Create an Outline

Use an outline format to organize your thoughts.

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USE A GRABBER SENTENCE

REMEMBER to...

...and TRANSITION WORDS

(see handout on transition words)

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Transition Words•Maintain the flow of thought

They can be placed:• at the beginning of a sentence

• at the end of a sentence

•within the sentence

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When Organizing Paragraphs...

• Topic sentences to begin each new paragraph

• Textual evidence to support your statements

• Last body paragraph contains your strongest point

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Topic Sentences:

• usually begin with a transition word

• are the first sentence of each body paragraph

• introduce the topic of the paragraph in a clear, concise way (“mini thesis”)

• reveal details and main ideas of the paragraph

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When writing & citing sources:Remember—

• Titles of books are either underlined or italicized

• The House on Mango Street or The House on Mango Street

• Articles and shorter works are in quotation marks

• “European Exploration”

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When typing the paper...Remember:

• double space entire document

• use 12 point font

• 1 inch margins

• your last name and page # appear on top right corner of each page (in header box)

• use proper heading format28

MLA Paper Format Example

Student Last Name page#

Student First + Last Name

Gogarty/Masters

Humanities 9 Honors - periods #

15 Sept 2014

Title

Introductory paragraph... Grabber Sentence... Throughout

history, specifically in Latin America, . . . Support... Support... Support...

Support... Support... Thesis Statement.

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