The Junior Research Paper

1
The Junior Research Paper

• Rite of Passage
• Graduation Requirement
• Embracing the Challenge
• Rising to the Occasion
• Step by Step
• Completing the project

2
Elements of the Research Paper

• Choosing a topic
• Formulating a question
• Gathering information
• Organizing content
• Developing a thesis
• Writing the rough draft
• Completing the project
• Bravo

3
Choosing Your Topic

• What do you know?
• What would you like to know?
• What are the current hot topics?
• Whats important to you?
• What can you live with for two months?

4
Gathering Information

• Working Bibliography
• Books
• Newspapers
• Interviews
• Magazines
• Internet
• Professional Journals
• Gov. Documents
• Other

5
Formulating the Question

• Read! Think!
• Read some more!
• What do you want
• To Prove?
• To Show?
• To Illuminate?
• To Discover?
• What question will guide your quest?

6
Hard Copy Notes

• The Copy
• Direct Quotes
• Lists
• Paraphrasing
• Ideas
• Outline

• The Format
• Use Note Cards
• Identify Subtopic
• Identify the Source
• Include Page Number
• Where found

7
Electronic Sources

• Highlight useful text.
• Identify subtopics in the margin.
• Clearly record web page.
• Identify author and page number when possible.

• Dont rely solely on the internet!

8
Thesis Statement

• Answers the formulating question.
• Reflects the content of the entire paper.
• One sentence blueprint of the paper.
• Should be stated with simplicity clarity.
• Reflects original thought.
• Guides the writing of the rough draft.

9
Organizing Content

• Thesis Statement
• Introduction
• Formal Outline
• Conclusion

10
Writing the Rough Draft

• Let your thesis guide you
• Use your outline
• Say what you mean
• Mean what you say
• Proofread
• Proofread
• Proofread

11
Giving Credit

• Internal Source Acknowledgement
• Direct quotes
• Paraphrased material
• Unique ideas
• Works Cited Page
• All sources identified within the body of the
  paper appear here in proper form.

12
The Final Draft

• Revise the rough draft
• Submit the final draft with the rough draft
• Proofread
• The process is complete
• Bravo youve met a requirement for graduation

13
BRAVO

• Youve met the challenge.