Research PaperMs. Vokally11-13-14

Where do I begin to research?

• Books—use Destiny to find books• Web sites—Be sure to evaluate sites

b/c anyone can create a web site.• Databases—Trustworthy and created

by experts

Evaluating Web SitesAuthority—Who created the site? What organization sponsors it? Is contact info listed?

Accuracy—Are there any factual errors? Grammatical errors?

Objectivity—May pretend to be objective, but only presents one point of view. May provide biased information in order to promote a product.

Currency—Are there dates on the page to indicate when the page was written, when the page was first placed on the Web, or when the page was last revised?

Symbaloo For This Project• Go to wfhighschool.com• Click Media Center• Teacher Assignments• Ms. Vokally• Symbaloo for trusted sites

Databases• Use the NCWiseOwl web sites for reliable sources and ready-

made citations you can copy and paste into your Works Cited page.

• Recommended databases:• Grolier Online• Literature• Brittanica

• Access NCWiseOwl via the WFHS Media Center Web Site

MLA Paper Formatting Guidelines

• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman).

• The font size should be 12 pt.

• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.

• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times.

• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)

Formatting the First Page• Do not make a title page for your paper unless your teacher tells you to do it.

• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.

• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.

• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title.

• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.

Last Page of MLA Format

This should be your Works Cited Page—

see next slide

Sample Works Cited PageWorks Cited

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.

Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.

Creating Citations for the Works Cited Page• Use the citation from the databases.• Go to the media center web page and then

*Quick Links*Destiny*Citation Tools*Citation Machine (choose MLA)

Tips on Works Cited Page• Alphabetize the citations based on the author’s last name.• If no author is given, then use the title of the article.• Indent the second line of each citation.• Include a double space between each entry.