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The OWL at Purdue University: MLA and APA

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Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using the WORDS or THOUGHTS of another person without giving that person proper credit. Anytime you take a direct quote from a written or audio source, you must provide a citation and place the quote in "quotation marks."  If you write anything in your research paper that is not your own idea, or is a fact that is not general knowledge (something you would not be expected to know already), then it must be cited. Understand that any information that is not cited constitutes plagiarism and will automatically result in a zero for the assignment. Please see the Student Handbook for more information on plagiarism.

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Selecting Sources

Begin by selecting appropriate sources. Wikipedia DOES NOT qualify as appropriate. Yahoo! Answers and any other sites that are not written by experts are also inappropriate for research. Use newspaper articles, magazines, educational sites, and organizations that specialize in a particular topic.

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Use:

• primary and secondary sources

• books

• newspapers

• magazines

• journals

• video

• speeches

• letters/correspondence

• interviews

• digital libraries that contain the above (cite the document, not the library)

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Do Not Use:

• tertiary sources - encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, databases

• Sparknotes, Cliffnotes, Shmoop, LitCharts, etc.

• blogs, unless the author is considered a reputable source - that means you have to investigate who the author is

• WIKIPEDIA!!!!!!!!!!! (your paper will be given a zero in thick red ink, it will then be ripped up in front of you, tossed in the garbage can, and set on fire - anyone who tries to put out said fire will be failed on the spot)

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Works Cited

Use the information you gathered as you selected sources to create a works cited page. This can be done by going to easybib.com, creating an account (or log in with your Facebook or Twitter account), setting up a new project, and then using the tools on the page to set up a works cited. Once all of the entries have been input, check that all of the information is correct (do this while you are entering the information as well) and then click the button that says "Print as Word Doc." This will generate a works cited page that you can copy and paste onto the last page of your paper. This page should have nothing on it but the works cited entries.

If you decide to attempt putting the works cited page together on your own, understand that it must be double-spaced, the entries must be in alphaetical order, and the indentations are done opposite a normal paragraph.

Understand that only those sources cited in the final paper can appear on the works cited page.

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Notes

After reading through each source be sure to take notes. This is an important part of the writing process. The collected information determines the direction of the paper. I suggest taking down all of the information for each source that will later be needed for creating a works cited page. This may include, but is not limited to, the author's name, the title of the article, the name of the website, the name of the publisher, the date the article/book was published, the date it was first accessed, and the URL. Check easybib.com for any other information you may need.

As you take down notes be sure to write the name of the author in parentheses at the end of each note. This will help in the final writing process when you must internally cite each piece of information.

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Outlines

The next step in the process is to take your notes and put them into an outline. The outline required for this class will be in the I. A. 1. a. i. format. There are rules that must be followed to create an acceptable outline. As the outline moves further and further to the right, the information must be more detailed. It is useful to create a broad skeleton outline of the major topics you would like to cover in your paper. Once you have done this you can slot in the notes you took during your research as the detailed information.

Roman numeral I will always be the introduction. It is a good idea to create a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a combination of a topic and an opinion. Once you create a thesis statement you must prove or defend it. That is where your notes come in. It will not be necessary for you to include your thesis statement in the outline, but it is not a bad idea to include it, either.

My advice is as you add a note or piece of information into your outline, cross it off or highlight it on your notes page so you know that information has already been placed somewhere in your paper.

 

Rough Draft
If you have followed the process up to this point, writing the paper shouldn't be all that difficult. Use your outline to construct your final paper, adding topic sentences and transitions as you write.

Include a Works Cited page at the end of both the Rough Draft and the Final Draft. Failure to do so will result in a significant loss of points.

Follow the rules listed below as you write your paper:

• "also" means too; it does not go at the beginning of a sentence

• avoid unnecessary adverbs such as very; you may not realize it but they weaken your paper

• don't use don't, can't, wouldn't, or any other contraction; speech in the paper needs to be formal

• you shouldn't use you or any other second person pronouns; be careful not to imply "you" either

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Editing/Revising/Group Edits

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Final Draft

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