Learning to Love the Research Paper

Transcription

1 Learning to Love the Research Paper Or at least learning to do it well! MLA Made Easy BORROWED AND SLIGHTLY ALTERED FROM The Academic Support Center M.W.C.C 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Getting Started 2. The Importance of a First Draft 3. Doing Research 4. Bringing Research Into Your Paper Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing Avoiding Plagiarism 5. MLA-Style Documentation 6. Proofreading Strategies 2

3 Getting Started Finding a Topic Developing an Effective Research Question 3

4 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. 4

5 Why should you write about what you know? Starting with your own views and opinions will motivate you. Writing about a topic familiar to you will help you to ask the right questions. If you care about the topic, you will care about your paper. 5

6 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. 6

7 Too Broad: ---- What is Attention Deficit Disorder? More Focused: ---- Is diet an effective treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder? 7

8 Constructing a Thesis Form a thesis Write what you know or think about the subject Research 8

9 Constructing a Thesis The purpose of your paper is to EFFICIENTLY ARGUE YOUR THESIS & SUPPORT YOURSELF W/ YOUR RESEARCH When you formulate a thesis, you are defining your position on a topic 9

10 Constructing a Thesis The thesis statement should NEVER be a question A good thesis statement focuses on a specific, narrow aspect of the topic 10

11 Constructing a Thesis A thesis statement should NEVER be an obvious opinion which everyone already shares. Ex: Smoking is deadly and leads to cancer 11

12 Constructing a Thesis A thesis statement: 1. is clear 2. is specific 3. can be defined by reason rather than emotion 4. asserts a definite position 12

13 Constructing a Thesis Subject: Violence in The Great Gatsby Topic: Symbols of violence and technological destruction in The Great Gatsby 13

14 Constructing a Thesis Thesis: Symbols of modern technology, such as the train, the car, and the telephone, support one of The Great Gatsby s main themes: the violent death of the American Dream in the twentieth century. 14

15 Constructing a Thesis Thesis: The United States should not provide free health care. Weak or strong? 15

16 Constructing a Thesis Thesis: Legalizing the practice of euthanasia will ultimately result in a society desensitized to the unacceptable murder of the elderly and terminally ill. 16

17 Constructing a Thesis Thesis: English must be declared the official language of the United States. 17

18 The Importance of a First Draft Techniques to Help You Start Writing Brainstorming Freewriting Clustering Using Drafts 18

19 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. 19

20 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. 20

21 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. 21

22 Using Drafts Most writers cannot sit down and, in one setting, produce quality work. Most writers write in steps or stages. The first step is a rough draft. It is the get down draft where you get down your ideas onto paper. You do not need to worry yet about spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. This first draft is also called the discovery or exploratory draft. Why? Because it is where you explore your topic and discover what you want to say about it. 22

23 But, I hear you say to yourself I don t know anything about my topic what can I write about before I do research? Think about this: A good research paper comes from wanting to know more about something. 23

24 A good research paper contains facts and quotes and statistics yes, but these have been integrated with and filtered through the writer s own ideas and experiences. A good research paper is not a factfinding mission; it is a synthesis of what you already know and what you learn in the process of your research. USE YOUR TIME WISELY. 24

25 Brainstorming, Freewriting, Clustering, and Using Drafts These strategies help you to explore your topic before you begin researching it. They give you the opportunity to get your thoughts down on paper without worrying about organization, grammar, spelling, etc. (There will be plenty of time to worry about these things when you revise your later drafts.) You can use all of these techniques or only one of them. 25

26 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 26

27 Performing Research The Internet has been called an information highway. It is free. It is vast. It is democratic. It is accessible 24 hours a day. Anyone can post anything. You can t believe everything you read on the Internet. 27

28 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. While the Internet may provide you with some good information, your paper will be stronger for having searched many different kinds of sources. 28

29 Using the Galileo Database type in the following web address: 1. You may use any of the databases on this website to find information. If you need a password, the password for all of the databases is BROKE 29

30 Using the Card Catalogue database Click on the Catalogue icon on the desktop Type in a keyword or phrase for the topic on which you are performing your research in the rectangular box at the top of the screen The computer will compile for you a list of all the materials that can be found in this library 30

31 Bringing Research Into Your Paper Points to Remember What Are Sources? What Are Citations? Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing Avoiding Plagiarism 31

32 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. 32

33 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. 33

34 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. 34

35 Journals and Magazines How do we tell the difference between a JOURNAL and a MAGAZINE? Look at the publication date JOURNALS are published quarterly or yearly and will often have seasonal dates (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) MAGAZINES can be published weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly This is important because they must be cited differently 35

36 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 36

37 Electronic Sources An electronic source can refer to a source found on the Internet, such as a personal or professional web site. There are some electronic sources that originally appeared in print form. These include articles found on databases such as EbscoHost and Galileo and articles in newspapers and magazines that publish on the web and in print. 37

38 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. 38

39 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. 39

40 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 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. 40

41 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. 41

42 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. 42

43 Example of a Paraphrase Original Text (from James C. Stalker, Official English or English Only ) 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). Example taken from Pocket Keys for Writers by Ann Raimes 43

44 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. 44

45 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. 45

46 The Most Egregious Form The most blatant and egregious form of plagiarism is putting your name as the author of a paper you did not write. The Internet has certainly made it easier for students to find papers on any number of topics. However, professors also know how to use the Internet and are quite adept at searching the same sites that students use. 46

47 The Subtle Forms Other types of plagiarism are more subtle and include any of the following: failure to cite quotations and borrowed ideas; failure to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks; failure to put summaries and paraphrases into your own words. Most students who plagiarize are simply unaware of the proper way to document sources in academic writing. 47

48 Avoiding Plagiarism In order to avoid plagiarism, be sure that you not only give credit where credit is due, but that you follow the appropriate formats, often either MLA (Modern Languages Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) styles of documentation. There are also several good publications available with which students should be familiar. They will be mentioned later in this presentation. 48

49 Getting the Right Info As you conduct your research, be sure to acquire the proper information from your sources to ensure a proper Works Cited page. Be sure that you have the following information for the specific type of media: 1. To cite a BOOK: author s name, full title (including any subtitles) publication information (city, publisher s name, and year of publication) 2. To cite a NEWSPAPER or MAGAZINE: author s name, title of article, title of periodical, date of publication, inclusive page numbers or section in a newspaper 3. To cite a SCHOLARLY JOURNAL: author s name, title of article, title of journal, volume number, year of publication, inclusive page numbers 4. To cite a WEBSITE: Title of the project or database, name of the editor of project or database, electronic publication information (date of electronic publication, name of any sponsoring institution), date of access and computer address or URL 49

50 MLA Style Documentation I Have all My Sources, so Now What? What is MLA? How To Integrate Research Into the Body of Your Paper How to Create a Works Cited Page 50

51 I HAVE ALL OF MY SOURCES, SO NOW WHAT DO I DO? SO NOW WHAT DO I DO? Make sure you have all the pertinent information for the Works Cited page for the sources you are using Begin assimilating information reading and highlighting pertinent information in each of the sources you have found Begin developing your argument Begin drafting 51

52 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. 52

53 Points to Remember (About MLA-Style Documentation) All written material (the body of your paper and the Works Cited page) is double-spaced & have running headers (name & p. #) on the top of each page MLA-style has two main elements: In-text Citations Works Cited Page 53

54 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. 54

55 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, you must use REVERSE INDENTATION that is, you must indent every line AFTER the first line five spaces or one-half inch (or, just hit the TAB key once) Underline book titles and web sites. Use quotation marks around articles, stories, poems, and essays. 55

56 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 (DO NOT USE A p. to denote the page) This information refers readers to the full bibliographic information on the Works Cited page. 56

57 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) 57

58 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). 58

59 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, Their recovery process parallels the steps taken by those recovering from other afflictions (Russo par. 3). 59

60 Signal Phrases Signal phrases help you to transition from your words and ideas to the words and ideas of others. With practice, you will learn how to integrate research smoothly into your paper. In most cases, it is preferable to include the author 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 parentheses. 60

61 Examples The sociologist Ruth Sidel s interviews with young woman provide examples of what Sidel sees as the impossible dream (19). Michelle Russo s article from Research Quarterly states that Their recovery process parallels the steps taken by those recovering from other afflictions (par. 3). 61

62 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 62

63 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 63

64 Often in your research you will encounter quotes, facts, statistics, etc. that are written by someone other than the author of the piece you are reading. Use the following format: We generate words unconsciously, without thinking about them; they appear, as James Britton says, at the point of utterance (qtd. in Smith 108). We only used seven signs in his presence, says Fouts. All of his signs were learned from the other chimps at the laboratory (qtd. in Toner). NOTE: On the Works Cited page give the bibliographic information for the source you read, not the source quoted from since you haven t read that. 64

65 If you encounter an actual quote within a source that you wish to use that is written by someone other than the author (a quote within a quote), you must use the following format: Original Text as it appears in article by Joe Schad: "They can stop the presses, quit killing trees and move on to other things," Lewis said, defending Johnson despite the wide receiver's critical comments about the team. "There is, at no point, anyone in the Bengals organization who has ever uttered anything about trading Chad Johnson. Nor will he be traded." How it would appear in your paper: Coaches seem to always defend their players. In a recently published article, Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Bengals, argues that there is, at no point, anyone in the Bengals organization who has uttered anything about trading Chad Johnson (qtd. in Schad 34). Notice the use of double and single quotation marks 65

66 Creating a Works Cited Page A Works Cited page contains the full bibliographic information to which you have been referring in the body of your paper. The Work Cited page is the last page of your paper double-spaced alphabetized 66

67 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.) 67

68 Works Cited work from an anthology Allende, Isabel. An Act of Vengeance. Literature and Its Writers. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: St. Martin s Press, on-line professional site Center for Reformation and Renaissance Studies. Ed. Laura E. Hunt and William Barek. May U of Toronto. 11 May 1999 < anon. article in a magazine article in a journal that pages issues separately book two authors The Decade of the Spy. Newsweek 7 Mar. 1994: Hallin, Daniel C. Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections, Journal of Communication 49.2 (1992): Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: U of Chicago P,

69 Works Cited article in a newspaper Navarro, Mireya. Bricks, Mortar, and Coalition Building. New York Times 13 July 2001: A1+. journal article with continuous pagination (from a database) Russo, Michelle Cash. Recovering from Bibliographic Instruction Blahs. RQ: Research Quarterly 32 (1992): Infotrac: Magazine Index Plus. CD-Rom. Information Access. Dec book one author Sidel, Ruth. On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream. New York: Penguin, on-line professional site with author interview Spanoudis, Steve. Poet s Corner. 2 Feb Feb < geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems>. Zacharias, Peter. Personal Interview. 23 Nov

70 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 on my shelves. You can also visit MLA s web site at Click on MLA-Style. 70

71 Proofreading Strategies How to Make Your Paper Perfect (or at least your best work) Time Patience Will Time Patience Will Time Patience Will 71

72 Time Proofreading takes time. There is no way around it. Once you have begun to finalize your paper, you need to give yourself ample time to read it over (and over) again. Proofreading is another kind of writing. It is not as creative, perhaps, as brainstorming or developing your ideas, but it is still a part of the writing process. Reading your paper one time through is not adequate proofreading. Here are some tips. 72

73 Don t wait until the night before a paper is due to proofread it; you won t be allowing yourself enough time to correct it. Always correct a hard (paper) copy of your essay; you will catch things on paper that you can t on screen. Read through your paper not for meaning but for clarity and presentation. You ve already developed meaning in earlier drafts proofreading is about making sure that your meaning is clear. 73

74 Decide on the areas that you should pay attention to. For instance Punctuation Spelling In-text citations For each of these areas, read through your paper at least once, paying attention to only one area at a time. 74

75 Go back to the computer after several readings and make corrections on the screen. Print out another clean copy. Ask a friend, parent, or tutor, to be a second set of eyes. This is not cheating; it is common sense. Even great writers get help. 75

76 Read the paper backwards, sentence by sentence. Sounds crazy? It works. Out of context, sentences with problems stand out in ways they don t when you are reading along for meaning. 76

77 Patience Does this method sound like a lot of work? It is. Have patience with yourself. The more you write the better writer you will become. You will make less mistakes and get better at catching the inevitable ones. Hey, we re human; we all make mistakes occasionally. However, skillful proofreading eliminates many of the most common mistakes. 77

78 Will Writing (even a research paper) is a craft. Mastering the craft requires practice and hard work. Most of the mistakes that students make are made out of carelessness. Once the mistake is pointed out, they know hot to fix it and why it s wrong. Those students who take the time are able to produce polished final drafts that reflect intelligence, thoughtfulness, care, and hard work qualities professors and future employers value. 78

79 Confucius says I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. The more you write the more research papers you write the easier writing will be and the better writer you will become. This is the truth! Good luck! 79