ResearchMrs. Greene’s class

To Kill a Mockingbird Research paper

Choosing a Topic• You can choose from the following

categories:- Status of African-Americans in the

1930s- Women of the 1930s- Economic Concerns of 1930s- Political Concerns of the 1930s

*Please see the handout for more specific topics within each category.

• If you have your heart set on something else related to the 1930s, you need to see me for special approval.

Brainstorming

• Jot down any words, phrases, or ideas that you have about your topic

• For example (since you can’t use this)

Holocaust

Many people diedGermans were

in chargeJewish people were

targeted

Burned to death Men, women, and children

Gathering Research and Info

• One of the first tasks that must be completed is gathering sources for the project.

• Any time that you gather research and create a report, paper, or presentation using that research, you must give credit to those sources.

• If you don’t give credit to those sources, you are committing what is called Plagiarism.

• We need to learn about plagiarism now so we can avoid getting a zero for doing this.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism• Plagiarism – the use of another person’s words,

images, or ideas without giving that person proper credit.

• Committing this offense will result in a zero on the assignment.

• Even if you change the words around or reword it, you are still borrowing someone’s ideas, and it must be cited.

• When using information from sources, there must be a works cited page containing the sources used, and there must also be a parenthetical citation at the end of each piece of borrowed info.

Plagiarism

• Information can be placed in a paper as a direct quote, or a paraphrase. – A direct quote is where the information is

copied word-for-word from the original text.– A paraphrase is when the author’s idea is

incorporated but using your own wording and voice.

• A direct quote must have quotations around it to indicate that it is word-for-word.* See handout for more information

Plagiarism

• Proper citation is essential to avoid plagiarism and create a good research paper or project.

• successful vs. unsuccessful paraphrases

• Let’s look at a few examples!

Works Cited Info• Citing sources is important and there

is a very specific format to follow.• We will be using MLA style.• However, why reinvent the wheel?• You can use these online citation tools

to create your works consulted and works cited list. However, they may not always be accurate, and you must compare them to the SAND guide to be sure it’s correct.

Works Cited Info

• In addition to checking that the information is correct, you will need to know how to locate the pieces of information needed for the works cited.

• For print sources:– Most information (author’s name, possibly editor’s

name, title, place of publication, etc.) will be found on the title page of the book.

– The copyright date is on the back of title page.– The article/section title and author of that section will

be on the first page of the article/section.

Works Cited Info

• For internet or database sources:– The information is usually either at the very

top of the site or at the very bottom.– With websites, you will often need to look on

the homepage and the specific site to find all of the necessary information.

**You must find all necessary information or your citation will be incorrect.

Let’s Practice!

• Using some books, multivolume works, internet sites, and Power library sources, find the necessary information and create a works cited entry for each.

Internet 1 Power Library 1Internet 2 Power Library 2Internet 3 Power Library 3

Parenthetical Citations

• If the source has an author, the in-text citation is the author’s last name and the page number where the info was found.

• EX: The source is…Thurman, Lisa. “Realities of Space.” Time

Travel and Space Exploration. Chicago: Bloomburg Publishing, 2001. 3: 45-48.

• The citation is…(Thurman 46).

Parenthetical Citations (cont’d)

• If a source does not have an author, use the title and page # for the in-text citation. If it has a title of a section and a title of the book, use both. If it only has a title of the book, use that.

• EX: The source is…“Realities of Space.” Time Travel and Space Exploration.

Ed. John Sellers. Chicago: Bloomburg Publishing, 2001. 45-48.

• The citation would be…(“Realities” Time 46).• EX: The source is…Things That Go Bump in the Night. Detroit: Hoystar Inc.,

1991.• The citation would be…(Things 108).

Parenthetical Citations (cont’d)

• For internet sources, you should follow the same rules as above, but the citation will not include page numbers.

• EX: The source is…Henderson, Bridget. “Veterinarian Tranining.” Association

of Medicine. 13 Mar 2006. US Medical Group. 17 Mar 2006 <http://www.aom.org/usmed/vets.htm>

• The citation would be…(Henderson).• EX: The source is…“Veterinarian Tranining.” Association of Medicine. 13 Mar

2006. US Medical Group. 17 Mar 2006 <http://www.aom.org/usmed/vets.htm>.

• The citation would be…(“Veterinarian” Association).

Taking notes is like fishing for information and ideas.

Taking Notes

• You must take notes from your sources to gather information for your paper.

• When you take notes, you must take direct quotations (word-for-word notes) so that you have the information directly in front of you when you prepare your paper.

Taking Notes

Student’s Last name

“Direct Quote from Source!”

(Parenthetical Citation for Source)

1 or 2 word Heading

Front of the index card

Taking Notes

• You also must know how to paraphrase the information so that you can do so in your paper.

• How to paraphrase

Taking NotesBack of the Index Card

Student’s paraphrase/summary of the direct quote on the front of

the card.

Taking Notes

• Taking notes can be a mind-boggling task. However, it doesn’t have to be.

• How do I know which type of source to use?

• You also need to know how to find the main ideas. – Find important details that support your main

points.

Creating an Outline

• To prepare, you will create an outline for your paper.

• Any main ideas of your paper (the biggest categories and most important points, which will be the topics of each body paragraph) should be listed as a Roman numeral.

• Any sub points (pieces of information that elaborate on and support the main points) should be written next to the capital letters.

Creating an Outline

• Any details or further points (specific examples, details, etc.) about that idea should be written next to the numbers.

• You will then use this outline to organize and prepare your paper.

Good Luck!!

Have fun and learn a lot!