Research 101 English 1301 Organizing Your Paper Thesis

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 �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Types of Research Sources Primary Secondary �Historical documents �Literary texts �Film or performance of a play �Conducting a survey �Lab experiment �Using what other researchers have already written about your subject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

Plagiarism

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

Steps for Effective Research

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.