Do the Research

1) List questions you need to answer to write your paper. Use these questions to guide your search. 2) Decide what sources you will use by looking at: 1. - your library Book Catalog to find books on your topic; 2. - your library Research Computer Programs and the Internet to find electronic information on your topic. (Do this from the library IF you have a signed Internet Agreement on file. - IF you have the passwords, you can access these programs from any browser using a classroom computer, public library computer, and home computer.); 3. - reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, yearbooks, and atlases. Think about the validity and appropriateness of your sources. 3) Make source cards. 1.- For books:      write the author or editor's complete name, the title, the name and location of the publisher, and the copyright date. 2.- For magazines and newspapers:      write the author's complete name, the article's name, the name and date of the magazine or newspaper, and the page number(s) of the article. 3.- For encyclopedias:      write the author's complete name (if given), the entry title, and the name and copyright date of the encyclopedia. 4.- For Internet sites:      Use rules for [MLA Citation Style Guide], (Modern Language Association). 4) Take notes from your sources on note cards. Make sure you look for information that suits your purpose and answers your research questions. Here are three ways to take notes: 1.- quotation - copy word for word with their punctuation with quotation marks; 2.- paraphrase - rewrite what the author says in your own words, but capture the main idea and supporting details; 3.- summarize - put in your own words the main or general idea of the passage. 4.- Note cards include: a heading of the main idea; the number of the source card in the upper right-hand corner; What type of material the card is : 1.- quotation, 2.- paraphrase, 3.- summary, 4.- own idea; and at the end of the note, the page on which you found the material in your souce.

Write Your Paper

1) Write a thesis statement, which states the main idea of your paper and suggests the organization and purpose. 2) Organize your notes, make a working outline, and begin writing - a process. You need to start and can change things if they need to be changed. Include an analysis of other people's ideas and share your own. Don't just string together facts. 3) Credit the sources of all direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries through parenthetical documentation. This means that next to the quotation or paraphrase you put in parenthesis (),the title of the book or author's name, and the page number where the information can be found. Don't plagiarize. You do not need to document you own thoughts and ideas. 4) Edit your paper. Make sure you have complete, accurate information, that you have met the requirements of the assignment, and that the writing is logical, well-organized, and clear. 5) Decide what changes you need to make and rewrite. 6) Proofread and correct grammar, spelling, and mechanics. 7) Prepare a Works Cited list. This used to be called the Bibliography. The format can be found in The Writer's Craft(our district's English Dept. approved textbook). The basic format is also in a chart below. 8) Write your final draft making sure you have followed the formatting required by your teacher. If you have not received guidelines, the following is a typical standard. Type your paper in 12 point, letter-quality copy. If handwritten, use dark blue or black ink and write neatly and legibly. Use only one side of the paper. The paper should be double-spaced. Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner.

Plagiarism is just plain cheating. It's using someone else's words or ideas in your paper as if they were your own. If you copy someone else's work on purpose, you know that it's wrong. However, if you don't understand how to cite another's work and accidentally plagiarize, you may still get accused of cheating. That's one good reason to learn quotation mechanics.

says,     "Be careful to avoid plagiarism! (like the plague)."

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