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Research Paper

Requirements for the Research Paper:

  • At least 3 full pages (or into a fourth) long BEFORE the Works Cited page, which would then become page four or five. Do not go over six pages total before the Works Cited page.
  • MLA format done properly from start to finish (see the MLA page if you need a refresher-NO EXCUSES!)
  • Represent BOTH sides of the argument – CRUCIAL

    • After you intro the issue and lay a decent groundwork (be careful not to turn this into an informative paper), take your stance, then represent the opposition’s main reasons for being against you, and then break down their arguments one by one. Conclude with a good solid recap of why we should support your stance rather than the opposition’s. This is where the majority of your points for this assignment will come from.
  • Photocopies of the material you use from your print sources and printouts from Internet sources
  • Submitting your two drafts with the final copy
  • Five (5) sources minimum
    • 4 sources must be print material (books, magazines, newspapers, journals). You must be able to physically pick it up off of a shelf somewhere either now or once. Articles retrieved from access.gale.com/tel2 are considered the source of their original publication, not Internet sources.
    • 1 Internet site, and it needs to be from a credible source. Do NOT use Sparknotes or any helper site like it, and do not cite any essays-for-sale sites (i.e., cyberessays.com, 123helpme.com, etc.). WRITE YOUR OWN PAPER!
    • If you meet the requirements above and you need more Internet sources, you may use them. Just make sure you’ve got your four print sources as well. You do not have to stick to just one Internet site.

Research Paper Timeline:

  • 3 April 2009 – TYPED rough draft due in class. This draft should be in MLA format, typed, double spaced, and ready to go as if it was your final draft. Be prepared to peer edit on this date. If you miss this date, you must have two people read, review, revise, and sign off on your paper over the weekend.
  • 6 April 2009 – TYPED revised rough draft in MLA format with corrections from 3 April made as necessary. These drafts will be reviewed by two new people during class.
  • 7-10 April 2009 – Final copy of paper in MLA format due to Mrs. Levi with photocopies/printouts of source material. Please notice that you have all week to make your final revisions and submit your paper to me with all of the necessary components. There are no excuses for not completing this assignment on time, as you’ve been given plenty of it. You will receive a separate grade for each piece of this assignment. The order of your paper packet for submittal should be as follows:
    1. Final Copy – no marks, nothing handwritten on it. You’ve got four days. If you need to write something on your draft as a correction, you’ve got time to take it home or to the library and do it properly.
    2. Revised Draft – this is the second draft from 6 April.
    3. Rough Draft – this is your first draft from 3 April.
    4. Photocopies and printouts – these should be in the order of the Works Cited page, alphabetized as appropriate (author’s last name, title if no discernible author, etc.).

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: A Works Cited page is literally a page that lists the sources you ACTUALLY CITED (quoted/paraphrased/summarized) in your paper. Just because you looked over or read something online or in a book does not mean you get to list it on your Works Cited page, hence the name. You MUST, MUST, MUST have the parenthetical (in-text) references in your paper for your reviewers and me to know what is being cited and what is your own. If you take something out of a source directly (word-for-word), make sure you put “quotation marks” around it. If you’re paraphrasing, you must truly paraphrase. Changing ONE word and calling it a paraphrase is not correct. PARAPHRASING STILL GETS CITED/CREDIT. Just because you paraphrase something doesn’t mean it’s yours now. (We’ll work on this in class some, too, just to give you real practice doing it.)

I want this paper to be full of YOUR ideas. I can read CyberEssays and 123HelpMe (and so on) by myself. I don’t need/want you to print those essays out and give them to me. They’re not good anyway! You say all the time that no one cares about your opinion, and that’s because you don’t give it – you give up your right to have an opinion when you submit someone else’s opinion of something. This is your time. That’s what these papers are. They’re not to punish you. They’re to give you a chance to have a voice about something that’s relevant to you. Don’t throw away that right. Be serious. Stand for something. I want to see that you can rationally, logically, and successfully argue an issue.

HANDOUTS:

Please make use of these handouts. Some will be given in class, others will be left here for you to use if needed. All of them will help you achieve your goals.