Final Paper Format and Submission

YOU DID IT!!! Congratulations, you are finally finished with your research paper! Now what?

You will submit your paper in the brown envelope I gave you when we first started. You will not staple anything together at all. In that brown envelope should be the following components:

Index Cards (Source and Note)
Outline
Works Cited Page
Cover Sheet (this needs to have your name, the title of the paper, the date)
6-8 page research paper complete with in-text citations (and it should follow the outline) and numbered pages 2-___ (they should be in the upper right hand corner of pages 2-___ and should say your last name and the page number)-- YOU DO NOT NUMBER PAGE ONE. NOR DO YOU PUT A HEADING ON IT OR ANY OTHERS.

Today, you are going to work on finishing your paper and writing your abstract. I am also giving you a mini Frankenstein research topic but all you will need to do with it is look up your topic and then make a few notes on scrap paper or in your phone if you prefer.

Tomorrow, papers are due to be submitted to me at the beginning of the period and you must have your abstract in your hand in order to take part in research presentations. If you don't, it's a big fat zero. HAVE IT.

Frankenstein research needs to be finished by Friday.

Research Abstracts

Research Paper Abstract

Presentations

You need to compose an abstract of your paper that is about a paragraph or two in length.  This abstract will be used for your research presentations. Below is an excerpt from Carnegie-Mellon University on the contents of an abstract.

•       Motivation:

•       Why do we care about the problem and the results? (Why did you pick this topic? How is it a “legitimate” topic?)

•       Problem statement:

•       What problem are you trying to solve? What is the scope of your work? (What is your researchable question?)

•        Approach:

•       How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? (What did you run into through the course of your research? Too broad? Too narrow? Hard time sorting through sources?)  What was the extent of your work? (What were your main points for and against?)

•       Results:

•       What's the answer? (What is your best argument for the side you chose to support?)

•       Conclusions:

•       What are the implications of your answer? (What is your call to action?)

Week of December 5

Monday, 12/5
Research
Type Paper

Tuesday, 12/6
No Class

Wednesday, 12/7
Abstracts
Research for Frank
Long class

Thursday, 12/8
Research Presentations
Papers due

Friday, 12/9
Mercy Day

Easy Sample Outline

Bold should be printed in your own outline exactly as it appears here. Italics should be personalized to fit your own topic, but make sure something is present everywhere there is italicized information. Everything in regular print can be eliminated from your outline.

I. Introduction
       A. Hook-- TVA snail darter story, featuring Zygmunt Plater's class
       B. Claim/Thesis-- There should be restoration of habitats for          endangered animals in order to protect all members of the environment.

II. Definition/Historical Context
      A. Terms
              1. Habitat
              2. Endangered
      B. Endangered Species Act History

III. Proof-- Reasons why habitats should be restored
      A. One species helps another
            1. Elk in North Carolina
            2. Panther in Florida
      B. Encourages conservation of natural resources
            1. Tennessee River
            2. St. John's River
            3. East Coast Inlets

IV. Counterclaim
      A. Restoring habitats is expensive.
            1. Money spent on elk project
            2. Money spent on American chestnut project
      B. Restoration is not guaranteed.
            1. Wolf project
            2. Panther project

V. Concession-- Yes, restoration is expensive and cannot be guaranteed.

VI. Rebuttal-- The loss of human quality of life is incalculable.
      A. Loss of productive farmland
      B. Loss of natural resources

VII. Conclusion
      A. Brief Summary
      B. Memorable Final Statement and/or Call to Action
          1. Contribute to National Wildlife Organization
          2. Quote from President of Sierra Club

Week of 11/28

Monday, 11/28
Research
Outlines

Tuesday, 11/29
Research

Wednesday, 11/30
Papers

Thursday, 12/1
Papers

Friday, 12/2
Papers
JOURNALS DUE

Thursday Plan

I'm sorry I am not here to answer questions, I didn't expect to be out today. I will be checking notecards first thing Friday morning, so make sure you have them finished. Use today to finish notecards. IF you are finished already, your next step is the works cited page. The directions to doing it are in the next post. If you were to finish that, your next step is to start thinking about your paper and the organization of it. The directions in doing the outline are on the following link. You are welcome to go ahead and work on your outline once your works cited page is complete. I will talk more about that on Friday, but you can start a rough outline now if you wish.

Works Cited

Below is a link to a sample works cited page. A works cited page is a simple document that provides a list of the sources you used in your paper. The format of the works cited page consists of copying your source cards in their EXACT format onto a word processing document. There are a few
very important things to note about this document.
1. The works cited page should be in alphabetical order by the FIRST WORD OF THE ENTRY. In some cases, that will be the author last name. In others, it may be the title of the article. WHATEVER WORD COMES FIRST ON YOUR SOURCE CARD, THAT IS WHAT SHOULD COME FIRST ON THE WORKS CITED PAGE.
2. The first line of each entry is LEFT JUSTIFIED. The second (and third and fourth and so on, if there are more) OF EACH ENTRY should be indented (by pressing "tab").
3. Do not include the URL (I know it says to, and apparently they have added it back, but we aren't doing that this time).
4. Double space the entire document (no extra lines between sources).
5. Put the words "Works Cited" at the top, centered.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/

Toulmin Model

Here are some links to the Toulmin model information.

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/toulminprint.html

http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/rgass/toulmin2.htm

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/03/

http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=58

The basic breakdown is this: Stephen Toulmin noticed that good, realistic arguments consist of six parts:

Data-- facts or evidence used to prove the argument
Claim-- statement being argued (thesis)
Warrants-- general, hypothetical logical arguments that bridge between claim and data
Qualifiers-- statements that limit the strength of the argument
Rebuttals-- Counter-arguments or statements indicating circumstances when the general argument doesn't hold true
Backing-- statements that serve to support the warrants


Outline Form for Toulmin Model
I. Introduction of the problem or topic
   A. Hook (gets reader's attention)
   B. Introduce problem or topic
   C.  Introduce our CLAIM or thesis, possibly with qualifiers
II. Offer data to support argument
III. Explore warrants to show how data is connected to claim
    A. Warrant #1 (Reason 1)
    B. Warrant #2 (Reason 2)
IV. Offer factual backing to show that logic used in the warrants is good in terms of realism as well as theory
    A. Backing for Warrant #1
    B. Backing for Warrant #2
V. Discuss counter-argument
VI. Rebuttal (Reason #3)
VII. Conclusion -- implications of the argument, summation of points, or final evocative thought to ensure the reader remembers the argument

Databases

http://www.chslibrarymedia.com/databases

Research Beginnings

Today's task is merely to acquaint yourself with possible topics. The main thing you need to remember is that your research paper serves to address a RESEARCHABLE QUESTION. Therefore, you need to first select an issue, then come up with a researchable question for that particular issue.

Example:
When I start to think about research topics, I ask myself what issues I am particularly interested in right now. I quickly dismiss the cliche topics such as capital punishment, abortion, etc.. I consider what I have read lately, what issues in the news have piqued my interest. I remember that the current refugee situation (specifically Syrian, but also all around the world) has always held interest for me. It is a very current hot topic, so there should be scads of information about it. 

I choose the very, very broad topic of "Refugees". Now, I need to both narrow that down AND come up with a researchable question. This question may get more narrow as my research goes on, but today I need to end class with something. 

Using the search website below, I am going to find viewpoints on refugees.

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/AdvancedSearchPage?u=tel_s_tsla&p=OVIC

Then I will narrow the topic down and search through these sites.

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsFullListPage/ViewpointsFullListWindow?failOverType=&query=KE+refugees&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=KE+refugees&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=AC+y&u=tel_s_tsla&currPage=1&displayGroups=&totalSearchResultCount=&source=fullList&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=AdvancedSearch&scanId=CSH

After perusing these different links, I think that my researchable question is going to be, at least in the beginning, "Do National Governments have an obligation to Refugees?"

Spoiler alert, as I continue in research, I will narrow this down further to "Does the United States have an obligation to Syrian Refugees?" 

For today, you need to click on this link
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/?p=OVIC&u=tel_s_tsla

Be sure to click "view all" beside each broad topic. You will see a list of between 20 and 75 topics. Find one that interests you, click on it, then look on the right side of the page at the "On the Page" list. You want to click and look at "viewpoints" links, "academic journals" links.

Look around (a LOT) and hone in on some topics and researchable questions. At the end of the period today, I need you to turn in the index card with your broad topic and researchable question. It HAS to be a topic with two clear sides to it.... two DEBATABLE sides. You don't have to pick a side right now. You will actually research BOTH sides before you choose the side you are going to argue. As you look and pick, make sure that there is enough information for you to get a 6-8 page research paper (with 10 sources) on it.