280 likes | 491 Views
Research 101. English 1301. Organizing Your Paper. Thesis Statement. After you take your notes, you need to write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement will be the last sentence of your first paragraph. How to write a thesis statement step 1.
E N D
Research 101 English 1301
Thesis Statement • After you take your notes, you need to write a thesis statement. • Your thesis statement will be the last sentence of your first paragraph.
How to write a thesis statement step 1 • What are the main points you researched? List them.
Thesis Statement Step 2 • What did you discover about your three-four main points as you researched? • Write a statement about it. This will be your thesis statement.
Example • Topics studied: • Social structure • Marriage • Work • Education as they happened in the working class
Thesis Statement • The social structure of the middle class in Medieval England underwent many changes, especially in the areas of marriage, work, and education.
Outline • Outline your main points
Arrange Notecards • Arrange your notecards in the order you will write your paper.
Definition of Research • According to MLA, anything that requires you to go “beyond your own personal knowledge” is defined as research.
Differences between personal and research papers Personal Research • Personal essays that present your thoughts, feelings, and opinions about experiences. • This can also define analytical essays about books or texts that you read and write about; even if you quote them, they are not research papers • Happens when we explore an idea, look at all elements of an issue, solve a problem, or make an argument • We need to read what experts have written about these things in order to form an educated opinion—this is research
Types of Research Sources Primary Secondary • Historical documents • Literary texts • Film or performance of a play • Conducting a survey • Lab experiment • Using what other researchers have already written about your subject • Literary criticism • History books • Most academic papers depend on secondary research
Goals of Research • Goal # 1—Increase your knowledge and understanding of a subject • Goal # 2—Continue learning and inquiring about your subject, hopefully after the paper is finished • Goal # 3—the synthesis of several different sources into a coherent, cohesive paper
Definition of Plagiarism • From the Latin word that means “kidnapper” • “to commit literary theft” • “to present as new and original an idea or product that comes from an existing source”
Two Forms of Plagiarism Type # 1 Type # 2 • Using another person’s ideas, information, or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work is intellectual fraud • Passing off another person’s ideas, information, or expressions as your own for some type of gain is also considered fraud. • Plagiarism is usually a moral and ethical offense rather than a legal one.
Avoiding Plagiarism • Make sure to cite direct quotes. • You must also cite anything that you paraphrase. • If the idea belongs to the author, then you must cite that as well. • When in doubt, cite!
Common Knowledge • Information and ideas that are widely accepted as fact by scholars do not need to be cited. This includes • Basic biographical information of an author • Dates of historical events
Step # 1--Topic • Your topic should be in the form of a question that you will answer through consulting research.
Step # 2—Find Sources • 1. Locate a source that you think may answer part of your question. • 2. Use www.easybib.com to create a citation for your source.
Step # 3—Take Notes • Read your source and take notes. • Paraphrase what you read. • Use only very interesting direct quotes. • Make sure you record page numbers. • Do not copy and paste from a data base to a note card. This increases your chances of committing unintentional plagiarism. It will also cause more work when you are actually writing your paper.