Research Paper
REQUIREMENTS
- Length (double-spaced, not including the Works Cited page):
- English 9 = 1.5-2 pages
- Honors English 9 = 2-3 pages
- English 10 = 2.5-4 pages
- At least three reliable sources, one of which must be considered a "print" source (an actual book, a PDF, or an online newspaper/magazine/journal)
- MLA style (using the Purdue OWL) with Works Cited and parenthetical citations
NOTECARDS
Use these formats to create your cards:
One Reason Cards
Fact Cards
Source Cards
- 3-5 (one for each reason)
Fact Cards
- minimum number:
- English 9 = 15
- Honors English 9 = 20
- English 10 = 25
- one fact, quote, statistic, or anecdote per card
- at least three for each reason
- Feel free to use colored pens, highlighters, shapes, etc., if they help you organize your thoughts.
Source Cards
- one for each source
- These don't count as part of your minimum number of fact cards.
MLA FORMAT
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Click each image below for a larger version or for more information.
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
When you cite your sources, go in this order:
If you put the author's name in the sentence, you don't need a citation, unless it's a book with page numbers. Important: The citation must be the SAME THING that's on the first line of the Works Cited entry. Click here for some more examples of how to do it. |
WORKS CITED
We'll go over this later, and I'll update this page.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction (▼ = broad to narrow)
QQSS: These are some good ways to write the FIRST sentence. Don't do ALL of these; just pick one to begin your paragraph. Then you narrow it down to your specific topic.
Here's a sample introduction: No one should have to live in constant fear. What kind of life would that be, to always be looking over your shoulder and wondering if someone is about to harm or even kill you? Schools, especially, are places where people shouldn't have to wonder whether today is the day that they're going to die. But with school shootings becoming more and more common, that kind of anxiety is also becoming prevalent. Many people hold that giving teachers guns would help alleviate that fear, and that makes sense. Trained teachers should be allowed to carry guns at school because of students' anxiety, the ineffectiveness of existing security measures, and the growing frequency of intruders at schools. |
Feel free to look online for other ways to do an introduction. These are some good suggestions but not the only ways.
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CONCLUSION
Conclusion (▲ = narrow to broad)
One way to think of the entire paper is PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE:
Here's a sample conclusion: Because of increasing levels of anxiety among today's students, the lack of adequate security measures at many schools, and the increasing numbers of intruders, teachers with sufficient training should be allowed to carry a gun while at school. Of course, no one ever intended for society to get to this point; in a perfect world, children could go to school and know that they were completely insulated from any chance of harm. But that's unfortunately not the state of today's world. Gun control laws have proven ineffective at stopping bad people from obtaining guns, and as long as these criminals see schools as easy targets, they will continue to endanger the lives of innocent children. It's time to begin allowing the good guys to carry weapons and protect those who can't protect themselves. BTW, I don't necessarily agree with this. It's just an example. :-) |
Feel free to look online for other ways to do a conclusion. This is not the only way.
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EDITING / PROOFREADING
Common Mistakes
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