ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING A RESEARCH PAPERBy Kaitlyn Froelich

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Welcome

As you make your way through this PowerPoint

presentation, you will learn how to effectively write a

well-written research paper.

Click here to begin!

Menu:Why do we research?

Taking ControlTypes of Sources

Plagiarism and How to Avoid itMaking Your Voice Present

Writing Formats

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Self-Test

Why Research?

We research because intuition can be completely wrong. As we grow older, we

assume ideas and thoughts and believe

them to be true. However, once a person

researches a specific topic, we open up our

minds to learning more about the subject.

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Why Research?

(cont.)

An article was published in 2013, around late February,

that discussed which was more dangerous: motorcycles or horseback riding. Naturally,

many people assume the motorcycles are more

dangerous. However, the articles main point was that

horseback riding is more dangerous because the horse is alive and the motorcycle is

not.

Want an Example?

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Taking Control of the Essay

Whose your

audience? Are they an expert on the topic?

Or, are they going to be new to

the topic?Will your paper be friendly?

Or hostile?

Who are you?Expert

?

Novice?Amateu

r?

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What’s your goal?

Present the

information?Or argue an opinion?

Remember!

You can always sharpen your research paper, but not

broaden your research paper once it has been started!

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Types of Sources:There

are Two Types of Sources

PrimarySeconda

ry

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Primary

Sources

A Primary source is original information

.

For example: a survey I conducted myself on campus.

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Secondary

Sources

A secondary source is about primary

sources.

For example: a book on the life of Martin Luther King.

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Where to find sources?Typically, the first place many people go

to find sources for their research is the library. This is an excellent place to go because you can find printed sources, whether they are books, magazines, or brochures, to find information on the

topic you have chosen.

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Other Types of Sources: interviews with people who have specialized

knowledge on the topic

Radio

Television

conducting your own survey

Conducting your own experiment

a letter to a person who knows about the topic.

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Remember!There are many sources out there to choose from, just make sure the information you decide to put into

your paper is actually credible knowledge.

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So what are “Credible

Sources?”

Credible

Sources

Popular Scholarly

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Scholarly Information

When writing your research paper you want to mainly obtain scholarly information.

Can be from places such as Universities, Government foundations (like The National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and doctors or organizations that specialize in the area.

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Popular Information

Anything with authority and does not look boring.

Note: Sometimes a source can be scholarly and popular, like a photography magazine.

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Plagiarism

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Plagiarism

A common mistake that many students make when writing research papers is plagiarism-- notice I said, “mistake.”

This is because many students do not intentionally mean to not give credit, they just forget that the information they wrote in that word document was from a website they read two weeks ago.

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Avoiding Plagiarism

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to bold sentences that were taken from sources; then immediately cite that source. You can unbold once you are ready to turn in your final draft.

It is important to keep in mind however, that if you are directly quoting information, that you put quotation marks around it. If you paraphrased the information you found from your source, quotation marks are not necessary-- but an in-text citation is required to give credit to the author. Previo

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Making Your Voice Present

What does this mean?

Never open with a source, especially in your introduction and conclusions.

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Making Your Voice Present:

In your introduction, you want to set the stage for your paper. Your mission is

to give the audience a reason to read your paper.

~Why is what you are about to share significant? ~Why should readers care?

Last but not least, your introduction should include a thesis that tells the readers

what the paper will be covering.

In your conclusion, make sure you do not

include any sources. If you include a source, then you are still arguing your point,

and that is the body paragraph’s job. In your

conclusion you want to leave the audience something new to think about. Continue to

keep your audience interested until the end;

however, do not go off on an entirely new topic.

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TYPES OF WRITING FORMATS

MLA

APA

Chicago Style

CSE

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MLA Modern Language

Association

Page numbers for in-text citation

Works Cited page for sources

Mainly writers use this format.

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APA American Psychological Administration

Instead of page numbers for the in-text citations, writers will put the year.

Mainly Nurses and Social Sciences use this format.

“Reference” page, instead of a “Works Cited” page, and in the Reference page, there will not be capitals except at the beginning of the citation.

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CHICAGO STYLE Oldest writing style there is.

Mostly historians use Chicago Style, however theology, humanities, and people studying the arts will also use this format as well

Footnotes are either at the bottom of the page, or on a separate page attached to the back of the reading material.

“Ibid” which means, “Same as above.”

Works Cited page is referred to as “Bibliography”

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CSE• Counsel of Science Editors

• Used by people in the math and science departments.

• Authors will put a number at the end of the sentence in the paper; and then, in the Reference page, there will be information about the source listed by number.

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Self-TestInstructions:There will be a set of 12 questions to

answer– all of which are either True/False or Multiple Choice.

Simply click on the answer in which you believe to be right. If right, move on to the next question. If inncorrect, go ahead and try again until you know the correct answer.

Have fun! Previo

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Good Luck!

Begin Test

Question 1

Why do we research?

A) The teacher has given us a paper to write.B) Because we may have thoughts and ideas that could be completely wrong. C) To impress the ladies.

Correct!

We research because intuition can be completely wrong. As we grow older, we assume ideas and thoughts and believe them to be true. However, once a person researches a specific topic, we open up our minds to learning more about the subject.

Next Question

Incorrect

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

Back to Question

Question 2

What’s the very first thing you should do before you even write your name in a Microsoft Word document? A) Understand the guidelines your

teacher wants you to write about.B) Pick out what font and color you

want to type in.C) Find books on the topic.

D) Take control of the essay.

Correct!The very first thing you must do before you even write your name in a Microsoft Word document is take control of the essay.

Next Question

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Incorrect

Question 3

True or False: You can always sharpen your research paper, but not broaden your research paper once it has been started

True False

You must get focused quickly when writing a research paper, but one thing to keep in mind before you start writing is that you can always sharpen your research paper, but not broaden your research paper once it has been started.

Next Question

Correct!

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Incorrect

Question 4

What are the two types of sources?

A) Popular and Scholarly

B) Primary and SecondaryC) Alpha and Omega

D) Good and Bad

There are two types of sources: Primary and Secondary.A Primary source is original information; for example, a survey I conducted myself on campus. A Secondary source is about primary sources; for example, a book on the life of Martin Luther King.

Next Question

Correct!

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Incorrect

Question 5

What are the two types of credible sources?

A) Popular and Scholarly

B) Primary and SecondaryC) Alpha and Omega

D) Good and Bad

Credible sources can be sorted in two categories: popular and scholarly. If it looks boring, it is most likely scholarly. However, sometimes a source can be scholarly and popular, like a photography magazine. When writing your research paper however, you want to mainly obtain scholarly information. Scholarly information can be from places such as Universities, Government foundations (like The National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and doctors or organizations that specialize in the area. For example, you may not want to ask Billy-Joe walking down the promenade how many acres of pizza American’s eat per year. This is because unless Billy-Joe has a Ph.D. in Italian Cuisine Intake, he will not be very credible and will not be the best source to use for your research paper.

Next Question

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Incorrect

Question 6

Often, plagiarism by students is…

A) A smart move.

B) Due to staying up too late at night. C) A mistake.

A common mistake that many students make when writing research papers is plagiarism-- notice I said, “mistake.” This is because many students do not intentionally mean to not-give-credit, they just forget that the information they wrote in that word document was from a website they read two weeks ago. Next Question

Correct!

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Incorrect

Question 7

How can one avoid plagiarism?

B) Never copy and paste from a website directly.

C) Get plenty of sleep at night.

A) Bold the copied sentences once you write them in your paper.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to bold sentences that were taken from sources; then immediately cite that source. You can unbold once you are ready to turn in your final draft.

Next Question

Correct!

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Incorrect

Question 8

True or False: If you are directly quoting something, you do not need quotation marks as long as you use in-text citations.

True False

If you are directly quoting information you must put quotation marks around it. If you paraphrased the information you found from your source, quotation marks are not necessary-- but an in-text citation is required to give credit to the author.

Next Question

Correct!

Good guess! But maybe you should try again.

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Question 9

True or False: Writers should always open and close their papers with sources.

True False

Never open with a source, especially in your introduction and conclusions. In your introduction, you want to set the stage for your paper. Your mission is to give the audience a reason to read your paper. In your conclusion, make sure you do not include any sources. If you include a source, then you are still arguing your point, and that is the body paragraph’s job.

Next Question

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Question 10

In your conclusion…

A) you should repeat your introduction paragraph.

B) you want to leave the audience something new to think about.

Continue to keep your audience interested until the end; however, do not go off on an entirely new topic. For example, it would not be wise for a person to write a paper about Hemophilia and then in the conclusion start talking about whale watching.

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Question 11

APA style writing is mainly used by…

A) Historians

B) Writers

C) Nurses

D) Math and Science Departments

Typically nurses and social sciences use this style when writing research because instead of page numbers for the in-text citations, writers will put the year. This is important because people in those fields of study (nurses and social sciences) must have up to date information because there is continuously new information being researched and discovered in the medical field.

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Question 12In Chicago Style, there is a Latin term known as “Ibid.” What does this mean?

A) “Same as above”

B) “Author Unknown”

C) “Cannot be sited”

D) It’s an acronym for “I bet it does”

In the footnotes, there will be the term called “Ibid” which means, “Same as above.” Writer will use this term if the source is the same as what was included previously in the reading material, or just on a different page or chapter of the source.

Finish Self-Test

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I hope you learned

something today! Go out and research!

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