Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Research Paper Outline

Research Paper Outline

I. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs)
A. Engage the reader
B. Establish background, necessary context, or special terms
C. Thesis Statement
1. Topic
2. Position
3. Subtopics
a. Subtopic 1
b. Subtopic 2
c. Subtopic 3

II. Subtopic 1
A. Subtopic 1, pt. 1
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next part of Subtopic 1.
B. Subtopic 1, pt. 2
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next subtopic. Suggest a relationship to the last part of
Subtopic 1.
C. Subtopic 1, pt. 3
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next Subtopic. Suggest a relationship to the next
Subtopic.

III. Subtopic 2
A. Subtopic 2, pt. 1
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next subtopic to the next part of Subtopic 2.
B. Subtopic 2, pt. 2
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next subtopic. Suggest a relationship to the last part of
Subtopic 2.
C. Subtopic 2, pt. 3
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next subtopic. Suggest a relationship to the next Subtopic.

IV. Subtopic 3
A. Subtopic 3, pt. 1
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next part of Subtopic 3.
B. Subtopic 3, pt. 2
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the next subtopic. Suggest a relationship to the last part of
Subtopic 3.
C. Subtopic 3, pt. 3
1. Topic sentence
2. Present evidence (usually a quote from the text, but could be a paraphrase).
NOTE: Cite the source immediately following a quotation, e.g. (Miner 224).
3. Explain in your own words explain what the quote is saying, or "means."
4. Analyze why the quote is important to your the position in your thesis.
5. Connect this idea to the Conclusion

V. Conclusion
A. Restate your thesis (in different words. Do not cut and paste the thesis from
your introduction).
B. Pull together the three subtopics by explaining how they are connected to each
other and how they support the position in your thesis.
C. Expand on the implications
1. Suggest potential ramifications, solutions, next steps in analysis.
2. Make general observations based on your close analysis of the specifics of the
topic.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Bibliography Advice from Elinor

* Look carefully at your web source before you select a format to build your citation from. You may need to click around (About Us, FAQ, Contact, etc.) to learn whether you are looking at a website or a magazine, and if a magazine whether it is also available in print or only an e-zine. Each type of source is cited a little differently.
* Check your titles for incorrect capitalization. MLA requires proper upper and lower-case capitalization, so tweak as needed once you have cut and pasted your title (article or publication) into the web form. Even if an article title is in a database or online with all lower-case letters, you still need to capitalize correctly in MLA format.


We have both the Handbook and the Style Manual behind the reference desk should you need them.

Across from the reference desk, in the rack, are blue handouts: “MLA Advanced in Noodlebib” and “MLA Citation Style Guide.”