Writer’s Workshop:
The Research Paper
Lesson One: Narrowing Topic / Creating Research Question
Materials: White Board and markers, Handout A “The Research Paper: A Step by Step Guide.”
· Mini-Lesson:
o Go over “The Research Paper: A Step by Step Guide” (HANDOUT A).
o Discuss how some assignments give a general topic (for instance, to take one from popular culture: “write about the theme of fatherhood in prime time TV”) while others are very specific (“Who is the better father in the Simpsons: Ned or Homer?”).
o If it’s general, you need to narrow it.
o You can narrow a topic by considering the 5 W’s (see below under “practice” for a sample of this).
· Practice (think / pair / share):
o How would you narrow this topic “Drug Abuse” for the purpose of a 500-750 word essay (roughly 2-3 pages)? They might consider by whom, of what, where, what effects, causes, etc.
§ Ex: Drug abuse might become “Teen abuse of prescription drugs in Canada.”
· Share:
o Discuss how they chose to narrow it. Ask them to think if they would be able to write on their topic for 2-3 pages and say something meaningful. If they have gone too far in their narrowing, they might need to work backwards to broaden the topic.
o Discuss how you would turn a topic into a research question (ex: “What are the effects of teen abuse of prescription drugs in Canada”).
o Discuss how the answer to your research question becomes your THESIS.
The Research Paper
A Step by Step Guide
Step 1: Narrowing your Topic
Sometimes a teacher will give you a specific question to research, but often it will be just a topic. In this case, it is up to you to narrow it down to a question that you can research.
For example, you might be told to write a paper on drug abuse. This is a huge topic. You will need to narrow it. For instance, you might decide you’ll research teenage abuse of prescription drugs in Canada.
Step 2: The Research Question
Once you’ve narrowed your topic, now it’s time to develop a research question. This will be the question that guides your research. For instance, with the above example, you could ask:
· What kinds of prescription drugs do teens abuse in Canada?
· What are the effects of teenage abuse of prescription drugs in Canada?
· What are the reasons why teens abuse prescription drugs in Canada?
The answer to your research question is your THESIS.
Step 3: Begin your Research
After you’ve decided on your research question, brainstorm what kind of information you’ll need. Also think about where you’ll get it from: books, web, interviews, films, and/or newspapers.
Keep track of where you get your information from! You’ll need it for your bibliography. Check with your teacher to see what style of citation you need to use (MLA, APA, etc.).
Step 4: Organize your Research
Once you’ve collected your information, organize it. You might use a graphic organizer or colour coding of your notes.
Step 5: Write and Revise
Write your paper. Make sure you go over it afterwards to make any necessary changes. Proofreading (editing) should be your last step.
Writer’s Workshop: The Research Paper
Lesson 2: Avoiding Plagiarism
Materials: Handout B “Avoiding Plagiarism,” and “Sample Note-Taking Page,” and a print out of a webpage or text that is relevant to your subject. OPTIONAL: If you’d like a sample from local history to use as your text, you can use these pieces on Viola Desmond:
http://section15.ca/features/people/2008/01/29/viola_desmond/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Desmond
Mini-Lesson:
· Begin with a discussion of plagiarism.
o Explain how any time you take information or ideas from somewhere else, you must cite it.
o Even paraphrasing without citation is plagiarism.
· Discuss Handout B “Avoiding Plagiarism,” and “Sample Note-Taking Page.”
o Mention “mining for gold” as a research strategy. Googling “When was [insert name of person here] born?” followed by “Where did he grow up?” is not efficient.
o Instead, use keywords in your search, then take all the relevant information you can for each site. In other words, “mine it for gold!”
Practice:
· Hand students a copy of the text you’d like them to work with.
· Ask students to take notes on this text (using “Sample Note-Taking Page” as their model), making sure that any direct quotes are in quotation marks.
Share:
· Ask students to compare their notes with a partner. Are there differences?
· Discuss as a whole group: “How do you know if something is important?”
· Make sure they keep their notes. They’ll need them for the next lesson.
Avoiding Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is when someone:
· Passes in an essay they’ve copied or purchased.
· Copying a part or all of someone else’s work without giving credit (this includes photos, maps, diagrams).
· Paraphrasing someone else’s work or ideas without giving credit.
· Resubmitting work of your own without citation.
Golden Rule: Give citations for any words, ideas or visuals that you did not create!
What is NOT plagiarism?
· Using your own ideas, images or creations.
· Things that are “common knowledge.” For instance, common sense ideas (“pollution is bad for people and animals”) and even historical events (“World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945”).
· According to the OWL at Purdue, something is common knowledge if you can find it “undocumented in at least 5 credible sources.”
· If you are in doubt, cite it!
Tips to Avoid Plagiarism
· When you take notes, write the source and date at the top of the page.
· Try to take notes in your own words.
· If you take a direct quote from a source, put it in quotation marks.
· Write down “My idea” beside any thoughts that are purely your own.
· If you use someone else’s ideas or words, cite it!
SAMPLE NOTE-TAKING PAGE
Make sure you keep track of your sources!
For a book, write down the author, title, place and year of publication along with publisher:
X., Malcolm and Haley, A. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. With the assistance of Alex Haley. New York: Grove Press, 1965.
For a website include all of the following elements that are available: author’s name, the title of document, the site name, organization name, the editor, publication date or latest update and the date of access (the day you looked at it), as well as the document’s URL.
Carson, Clayborne. "Malcolm X." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.
Writer’s Workshop: The Research Paper
Lesson 3: In-text citation
Materials: LCD projector (optional), the students’ notes from lesson 2, HANDOUT C “Sample MLA Style In-text Citation.”
· Mini-Lesson:
o Discuss in-text citation.
o Use Handout C on the LCD to highlight in-text citation. Focus on:
§ How it looks for different sources (text, journal, website).
§ How paraphrase differs from exact quote.
· Practice:
o Using their notes from Lesson 2, students should write a brief description that uses in-text citation.
· Share:
o Students share their work with each other. They should focus on plagiarism.
Sample MLA Style In Text Citation
When you include research in your essay you must do two things. FIRST, you must have a works cited page at the end of your essay that lists all your sources. It should look like this:
Second, as you write your essay, you must include in-text citations. Even if you paraphrase, you MUST include your source!
IF YOU KNOW THE AUTHOR’S NAME: include the author’s name and the page number the information can be found on. You can put the author’s name in parenthesis (option A) or in the sentence itself (option B):
Option A
According to one expert, “many students do not even realize it when they are plagiarizing” (McKergow 1).
Option B
According to McKergow, “many students do not even realize it when they are plagiarizing” (1).
IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE AUTHOR’S NAME: use a shortened version of the title of the article and the page number if there is one (option C):
Option C
Using proper citation is problematic because “many students do not even realize it when they are plagiarizing” (“Why Students Plagiarize”).
The Research Paper
Lesson 4: Organizing your Research
Materials: White board and markers, HANDOUT D “Writing Organizer.”
· Mini-Lesson:
o Discuss tips for organizing notes (ask students what they do). Tips might include:
· Colour coding
· Re-writing notes on different sheets of paper (ex: all bio info on 1 sheet).
o Why organize? It makes it easier to write because you can see what goes where.
· Practice:
o Whole group: Brainstorm who’s a better dad- Homer Simpson or Peter from Family Guy. Record answers on white board (reminder: brainstorm first, debate later!).
o Develop thesis: Who is best dad?
o Organize information into categories (ex: loving, abusive, etc).
o Fill in “Writing Organizer” (HANDOUT D) with thesis and reasons on OHP.
· Share:
o Discuss how the points must support the thesis. If it doesn’t relate to thesis, eliminate it!
o Discuss how the graphic organizer makes it easy to write the paper.
o Discuss how each reason becomes its own paragraph (at least. Some reasons might turn into more than one).
Writing Organizer