Ms. Walton – English 235 – Research Project – Spring 2016

GOAL

Option 1: Write a persuasive research paper about a “world problem”

  • If you choose to write the persuasive paper the structure of: problem, cause, solution OR cause, effect, solution structures tend to work best with persuasive writing.

Option 2: Write an informative research paper about a “person/event from another country”.

PAPER SPECIFICS

  • 4 to 5 pages + Works Cited Page
  • The Works Cited Page does not count as part of the 4 to 5 pages
  • Parenthetical citations in MLA format.
  • Tons of helpful resources on Ms. Walton’s teacher website!
  • Find and turn in 8 sources, but use 6 in your paper.
  • You may not use encyclopedias (especially Wikipedia). Since you are doing a current problem, the majority of your sources should be current. The only time you should have sources that are older than the 2000 is when you have some historical information. Remember: you need a variety of sources so that you don’t lean primarily on one or two sources for your final paper.
  • You need to be careful with Internet sources. The main Internet sources that are reliable come from indexed magazines or newspaper articles. Avoid general “.com” sources. When in doubt, ask me about your sources.
  • Find and turn in 16 note cards, but use 10 in your paper.
  • 12-point font
  • Times New Roman
  • 1-inch margins
  • Double spaced
  • Include a header with your last name and running page numbers in the upper right hand corner.

General Reminders:

  • 1 day late = 50% deduction.
  • Turn in print copies of each Internet source. If you don’t turn in these copies, your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade.
  • When citing sources, you should not indent or bullet a substantial amount of information or copy and paste large amounts of information. Our goal is to be better analytical thinkers and writers by setting up quotations and analyzing them. Just copying and pasting does not accomplish that goal.
  • On the day that your paper is due, you need to turn in two copies of your paper, and I want to keep one paper on file. I will write comments on the copy that I will give back to you. You will also turn in note cards, but will not get these back.
  • Share your paper with me via Google Drive at or turn in a paper copy before the start of class on 03/23/15.

Final grade: Focus, Support, Organization, Conventions, Integration, MLA Research Paper Format. (See rubric)

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Student & Parent/Guardian signature (below) to acknowledge awareness of dates (5 points)

Tentative Outline for ENG235 World Literature Research Paper

Feb 11 - Introduce & discuss research paper

Feb 16 - Introduce & discuss research paper

Feb 18 - Student and parent signature on research paper information packet due

Feb 19 - Topic and rough draft of thesis statement due

Feb 23 – Learn about Databases to find sources in the library with Mrs. Dahmane

Feb 25 - Comp Cart (Sources 1-4 due)

Feb 26 - Comp Cart (Sources 5-8 due)

Feb 29 - Comp Cart (Create note cards 1-8) & 8 Sources due

Mar 1 - Note cards 1-4 due

Mar 2 - Note cards 5-8 due

Mar 3 - Comp Cart (Create note cards 9-16)

Mar 4- Note cards 9-16 due

Mar 8 - Outline of paper due

Mar 10 - Comp Cart

Mar 11 - Rough draft part 1 (intro & body 1 due)

Mar 14 - Comp Cart

Mar 15 - Rough draft part 2 (body 2, 3, and conclusion due)

Mar 16 - Comp Cart & Draft 2 due (ideas, content, organization)

Mar 18 - Comp Cart

Mar 21 - Draft 3 due (sentence fluency, voice, word choice, grammar)

Mar 22 - Comp Cart

Mar 23 - Final papers due (aka Draft #4)

Mar 24 – Quarter 3 ends & spring break begins

Apr 12 - Oral defense of research papers begin 3:30-4:00 min each

Bibliography vs. Works Cited

A "Bibliography" is not the same as a "Works Cited" or "References" list. In your "Works Cited" or "References" you only list items you have actually cited in your paper. In a "Bibliography" you list all of the material you may have consulted in preparing your essay, whether or not you have actually cited the work. A "Bibliography" may include any sources related to the topic of the research paper.

Source:

For this paper, you are using a “Works Cited” page.