How to Write a Research PaperDay Two

How to Write a Research Paper

• Thesis statement• Source cards• Information/note cards• Bibiography

Day Two

Thesis Statement

• the main idea of an essay• “a sentence that expresses the writer’s

position on a certain topic”• “will be supported by evidence”• “an idea the writer intends to support or

‘prove’”

Thesis Statement

S-O-R example formatS - the subject or topic to be discussedO – the opinion about the subjectR – the roadmap, which

forecasts/previews your development

of the essay

Thesis Statement

S-O-R example formatS – Capital punishmentO – should be used in all fifty statesR – because it would decrease the rate

of serious crimes, prevent dangerous criminals from further damaging society, and save taxpayer money.

Thesis Statement

S-O-R example formatS –The setting of MossflowerO – reveals the author’s ominous toneR – through the use of personification, imagery, and diction.

Thesis Statement

Additional example formatIn (title of the work) , (the author) uses

(diction, imagery, assonance, metaphor, etc.) to (reveal, show, explore, portray, etc.) (tone, theme, purpose).

In _____________, the author uses __________ to __________________ ___________________.

Thesis Statement

Additional example format• In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses the

archetype of the demon lover to reveal to the reader the dangers of passionate love.

• In Moby Dick, Herman Melville uses the image of the white whale to reveal the contradictory nature of evil.

Thesis Statement

Too broadJulius Caesar made many changes in Rome.Tom Sawyer is a likeable character.

Too narrowJulius Caesar was killed on March 15, 44, B.C.Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri.

How to Write a Research PaperDay Two

Practice

Source Cards

For a book

Source card numberAuthor (last name, first name)Title of book (underlined)Publisher and placeCopyright date

1

Crawford, Cindy

Birthmarks of the Stars

Celepress Publishers, Los Angeles

1999

Source Cards

2

Zeleny, Robert O., ed.

“Birthmark”

The World Book Encyclopedia

1992

Vol. 2

380

For an encyclopedia article

Source card numberAuthor (if given, or editor – found in volume 1)Article title or entry word (in quotations)Full name of encyclopediaCopyright dateVolume number or letterPages on which article appears

Source Cards3

“Skin Care with Dr. Dorine – Glossary”

21 Nov. 2000

<http://www.drdorine.com/glossary.html>

For online sources

Source card numberAuthor (if given)Title of article or topic referenceName of publication (if given)Volume and/or issue number (if given)Publication date (date info published)Access date (date you accessed info)Electronic address (enclose in angle brackets)

*Do not leave blank lines if some information is missing. Simply omit it and continue with other information.

Source Cards

4

“Birthmarks Concern Parents of Newborns”

Sillycity Daily Gazette

13 Nov. 2000

4C

For a newspaper or magazine article

Source card numberAuthor (if given)Article titleTitle of publication (underlined)Publication datePage number of article

Source Cards

5

Moleman, Joe M.D.

“Birthmarks and You”

Medicine Chest Medical Ointment Distributors

Chicago

1997

For pamphlet, booklet, or brochure

Source card numberAuthor or editor (if given)Title of publicationOrganization that published the workLocation of organization (if given)Publication date (if given)

Source Cards

6

Adams, Hunter P., ed.

“Birthmarks”

Family Medical Guide

Reader’s Digest Association. New York

1998

652

For a book selection (an edited book with several sections/authors)

Source card numberAuthor (if given)Selection or chapter titleBook titlePublisher and placeCopyright dateSection pages

Source Cards

7

“Birthmark”

Encarta Encyclopedia

Microsoft Corporation

2001

For an electronic publication (for example, an encyclopedia on CD-ROM)

Source card numberAuthor (if given)Title of article or subjectTitle of publicationPublisher and placeCopyright date

Practice

Now you try!

Take your assigned book and practice creating a source card for it.

Note Cards

A – source number in upper left corner

B – card number in upper right corner

C – subtopic at top center

D – information paraphrased, summarized, or directly quoted “ ”)

E – brief reference to the source used and its page number on bottom line

Note Cards

3 Treatment 8

-surgery is only treatment for some types

-Cosmetic cover-ups sometimes effective

-Some can be faded out w/ concentrated high energy light beams from lasers

World Book, p. 380

Note Cards

2 Definition of birthmark 9

“any persistent area of discolored skin that appears at birth or shortly afterward”

Fam. Med. Guide, p. 652

Note Cards

When taking notes from a source, use a variety of techniques:

• Summarizing: rewriting the main points without your own interpretations or ideas

• Paraphrasing: rewriting the passage in your own words without your own interpretations or ideas

• Quoting: copying the words exactly as they are and placing them within quotation marks; use the same punctuation and capitalization

Practice

Now you try!

Take your assigned book and practice creating a note card for it. Use one technique on three different cards.

Bibliography

At the end of your finished essay, you must include a bibliography, which is a list of all the sources you used in composing your essay.

• Type all information from your source cards in the same order, but put all information on one line, placing a period and a space after each item.

• Alphabetize all entries• Double-space all lines• Do not indent the first line of each entry; indent the

second and other lines of each entry

Bibliography

Bibliography

Hewitt, Ben. "Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters." Popular Mechanics Nov. 2004: 83-88.

Midge, T. "Powwows." Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Ed. D.L. Birchfield. 11 vols. New

York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997.

Nordland, Rod, Sami Yousafzai, and Babak Dehghanpisheh. "How Al Qaeda Slipped Away."

Newsweek 19 Aug. 2002: 34-41.

Osen, Diane, ed. The Book That Changed My Life: Interviews with National Book Award Winners and

Finalists. New York: Modern, 2002.