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Research

In order to avoid being accused of plagiarism, there are a few things that are required in research.

You must always know where you got your information. But this information needs to be given to the reader as well. Two ways that authors do this is by using citations. At the end of a research paper the reader should be able to locate a complete list of sources. This page is called the Works Cited page or the Bibleography.

The second way to give the reader this information is to cite your source after each paragraph or quote. Both of these methods are required in professional research papers.

Here is what a research paper should include from beginning to end.

Top Page

This is called your title page. On this page centered and down the page about half-way is your title. YOu can use large print for this title.

At the bottom of this page is your name and date. Some teachers also require the name of the class beneath this.

Second Page

You begin your paper here. Start with an introduction of what your paper is about. This may include background information or a definition. For example, if I am writing about Pearl Harbor and the attack on American soil I may want to include information about who attacked, when and where, why they attacked, and American involvement in world war two up to this point.

Third Page +

The body of you research paper may begin on page two if you have a short introduction. The body of the paper includes all of the description, statistics, examples and chronological order of events from your research.

For Example, if I am writing a biography of a person I would create an introduction on page two about why this person is important and how they impacted the world. On page three I would follow that up with the events of this person life starting with their early years, who their parents were, childhood experiences that helped to shape their personality for success, etc. Then I would go on to describe their adult years, how they got into activism or their career, and finally how they are continuing to work today or how they died.

Last page

One the final page of your report you must include a complete, alphebatized list of sources.

Some people divide them into catagories. They put all the books together, journals together and web sources together. At this point in students' careers this level of organization is a great habit to get into but not necessary. When students start working with 10 or more sources, then they can start catagorizing their sources.

The works cited must be alphabetized by author's last name.

Example

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. 1813

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Scholastics Publishing. New York, 1993

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Tolkien, J.R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring.

Wrede, Patricia. Talking to Dragons.

Homework

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