A research paper is an expanded essay that presents your own interpretation or evaluation or argument.
When you write an essay, you use everything that you personally know and have thought about a subject.
When you write a research paper you build upon what you know about the subject and make a deliberate attempt to find out what experts know. A research paper involves surveying a field of knowledge in order to find the best possible information in that field. And that survey can be orderly and focused, if you know how to approach it. Don't worry--you won't get lost in a sea of sources.
WARNING! Do not write a research paper! Well... yet. The purpose of these next two weeks will be to learn the process of writing a research paper. If you turn in a research paper without going through this process the you have not completed the goal of these two weeks!
Grab the Research Paper To Do List here.
Time to pick a topic for your research paper. Any of the below topics are approved:
Dragons
Lasers
Leonardo da Vinci
Soccer
Cell Phones
Cats
Volcanoes
Bubble Gum
Automobiles
Comic Books
Horses
Football
Rain Forests
Airplanes
Soft Drinks
Dinosaurs
Oceans
Castles
Math
Genetic Engineering
Surfing
Photosynthesis
Basketball
The Sun
Computers
King Arthur
Video Games
Volleyball
Giant Squids
Cowboys
Chess
Farming
If you want to write on a different topic then it must be approved by Mr. Incorvia.
Think long and hard about your topic. Once your topic is approved you may not change your topic.
Now it is time to generate some questions about your topic. Imagine that your topic is PIRATES. Here are some example questions you might come up with:
Create question cards as described in class. More details to appear here in the future.
Make one as described in class.
Hamburger Outline Graphic Organizer
A Works Cited is a document you add to the end of your research paper showing people where you got all your information. It is important because:
Head over to EasyBib and follow the instructions for creating citations from the web addresses on your question cards.
Next, put all of your different citations in alphabetical order on a google doc called: Research Paper Works Cited.
It is time to use your Hamburger Outline to help you type up your first draft.
You should have 5 paragraphs in the same order as your outline.