Ms. Dang’s7th Grade Research

Paper Packet

My Name:____________________________

My Paper Topic:____________________________________

(If found, please return this to Ms. Dang – Room 120)

Table of Contents

1. Ms. Dang’s Research Paper Information – pg. 3 2. MLA Formatting Guide – pg. 43. MLA Guide for Parenthetical Citations – pg. 6 4. Researching Your Topic – pg. 95. Thesis Statement Generator – pg. 106. “Assistance for Writing Your Research Paper Outline” Handout

– pg. 11 7. Writing an Outline – pg. 138. Creating Your Electronic Source Cards – pg. 149. Writing Good Paragraphs/Writing Good Sentences – pg. 1510. Transition Words – pg. 1611. MLA Guide for Creating Your Works Cited Page – pg. 1812. MLA Style Format for Citing Sources – pg. 1913. “Things” I Should Never See in Your Research Paper – pg. 2214. Rough Draft – Peer Edit Sheet – pg. 2315. Grading Rubric – pg. 24

Ms. Dang’s 7th grade Research Paper Information

What I Will Need: Research Paper Packet (I will provide you with this.) Highlighter Flash Drive/Jump Drive to save your information and paper on

What I Will Do: At least Three (3) Electronic Source Card Pages Two Internet source (“Wikipedia” or “About.com” or other sites like those are NOT acceptable!) One database source (You CANNOT use a search engine (i.e. Google or Yahoo) for this source!) Research Paper Outline Rough Draft Works Cited Page Final/Complete Draft (at least 5 paragraph) Research Paper

When I’ll Turn It In: Three Electronic Source Cards – Due __________________ Research Paper Outline – Due _________________ Rough Draft – Due ________________ Works Cited Page – Due ________________ Final/Complete Research Paper (with Works Cited Page) – Due ______________ (NO LATE

PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!)This Is How I Will Do It:

Prewriting: Selecting & Researching Your Topic You will pick a topic and research for your writing. You will find your sources and create your electronic source cards. You will collect research and keep track of it on your electronic source card pages.

Prewriting: Outlining Your Paper You will create an outline for your research paper. This will help you know what you are going to write about in each paragraph.

Drafting: Writing/Typing the Rough Draft of your Paper Using the research you have found, you will write and type the rough draft version of your

research paper.Citing Your Works: Writing your Works Cited Page

You will create a Works Cited Page to show your reader where you found the information/research that you included in your paper.

Revising & Editing: Making corrections to Rough Draft You will make the necessary revisions and corrections to your paper and re-type it. (When

you finish this process, your paper should be ready to turn in for grading.)Submitting: Turn in the final/complete version of your paper

You will turn in your completed and typed five paragraph research paper on April 13th.

***Remember the following: Research Papers take time...Bring your work (AND YOUR PACKET) to class every single day...Deadlines are always closer than they appear...You will have to do a lot of work on your own...Don’t freak out about this...If you do what I ask and ask for help when you are confused, you’ll be fine! ***

MLA Formatting GuidePlease Visit The Purdue Online Writing Lab For more information

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Summary: MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.Contributors: Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli, Russell Keck Last Edited: 2012-01-31 01:51:34

General FormatMLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.

Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material by other writers.

If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition). Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd edition). The MLA Handbook is available in most writing centers and reference libraries; it is also widely available in bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources section of this handout for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA style.

Paper FormatThe preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA style is covered in chapter four of the MLA Handbook, and chapter four of the MLA Style Manual. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style.

General Guidelines Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper. Double-space the text of your paper Paper should be written in Times New Roman font. The font size should be 12 pt. Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks. 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. Your heading should be typed – DO NOT USE HEADER OR FOOTER FOR THIS. 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. Omit the page number from the first page.

Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works ONLY.

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

Do not make a title page for your paper.

For your heading (Do not use a “header” for this) type 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.o Example:

John Doe

Ms. Dang

7th grade Life Science

13 April 2012

For your title, hit enter ONCE after you finish the date on your paper. 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, just as you would in your text: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"Hit enter ONCE after your title and begin the first line of your introductory paragraph. Creating your page numbers with last name:

Do this once you have typed at least TWO pages of your paper! Your page number and last name will NOT show up on the first page of your paper.

Click the “Insert” Tab Click the “Page Number” Icon Chose the “Top of Page” option Select “Plain Number 3” Then check the box labeled “Different First Page” (This will start your numbers and last name on the

second page and keep you from have the page number on your first page.) Then move your cursor to the left (in front of) your page number (You should only see the number

two at this point.) Type your last name. Make sure you leave ONE space between your last name and the page number. Change the font of the last name and page number to 12pt Times New Roman font.

o You do this by highlighting the text and number with your cursor. Then click on the “Home” tab and select to change your font and size.

Click somewhere else on your paper to exit out of the header for your page number and last name. It should look like the example that is at the top right hand corner of this page.

MLA Guide for PARENTHETICAL CITATIONSThis information can be found at

http://www.studyguide.org/MLA_format_parenthetical_citations.htm General Rules for Parenthetical Citations:

USING AUTHOR NAMEThe author of a source is always mentioned either in your text or in the parenthetical citation--unless no author is provided.

o Author's name mentioned in text Use the author's name in a single sentence to introduce the material. Then, cite the page number(s) in parentheses.

ExamplePope was clear to point out that, although many of his ideas were idealistic, Rousseau held ambivalent feelings toward women (138).

o Author's name not mentioned in text When you do not include the author's name in the text, place the author's last name in the parenthetical citation before the page number(s). There is no punctuation between the author's name and the page number(s).

ExampleDuring World War I, British and American women could, for the first time, earn first-class pay for first-class work (Gilbert 236- 7).

o More than one work by the same author(s) If you use more than one work from a single author, when you refer to either of the sources, give the author's last name, an abbreviated title of the work, and the relevant page number(s). A comma separates the author's last name and the title; however, there is no punctuation between the title and the page number(s).

ExampleWhen calculating the number of homeless animals in the United States, the author comically stated that "Maybe man would not overrun the planet, but his pet poodles and Siamese cats might" (Westin, Pethood 6). She then further stated that there are fifty million homeless animals in the country (Westin, "Planning" 10).

Note: If you mention the author's last name in the sentence, you do not need to include the author's last name in parentheses.

o Two authors with the same last name If you use sources by authors with the same last name, always include the author's first and last name in the sentence or in the parenthetical citation.

ExampleChildren will learn to write if they are given the freedom to choose their own subjects, Allison Faye argues, citing the city school council study of the early 1970s (42-51); however, Robert Faye believes that children will learn how to write regardless of their school subjects (102-115).

o Two or three authors in a single source If a source is written by two or three authors, place all of the authors' last names in the single sentence or in the parenthetical citation.

ExampleRichards, Jones, and Moore maintain that college students who actively participate in extracurricular activities achieve greater academic excellence because they learn how to manage their time more effectively (185).orThe authors maintain that college students who actively participate in extracurricular activities achieve greater academic excellence because they learn how to manage their time more effectively (Richards, Jones, and Moore 185).

o Four or more authors in a single source If a source is written by four or more authors, use the first author's last name followed by "et al." (Latin for "and others") either in the single sentence or in the parenthetical citation. You can also name all of the authors in the single sentence or in the parenthetical citation.

ExampleChazon et al. argued that ethnic groups are culturally based social organizations in which members have multiple identities (105-6).orThe authors argued that ethnic groups are culturally based social organizations in which members have multiple identities (Chazon, Riley, Jacobs, and Rutherford 105-6).

SPECIAL CASES : No author identified in a source

If you use a source that does not supply an author's name, substitute, by using the title or an abbreviated title, for the author's name in the sentence or in the parenthetical citation. In the citation, do not forget to include the page number(s) unless the source is one page or less in length. Be sure to italicize the title if the source is a book, and if the source is an article, place quotation marks around the title.

ExampleGoddess religions are thought to have originated somewhere between 25,000 and 7,000 BCE (When God Was a Woman).

Indirect quotationsIf you are citing an author who was quoted by another author, include both names. First, give the name of the author whose words you are citing, followed by "qtd. in." Then, give the name of the author of the source you used. If you include the author whose words you are quoting in your text, you do not need to include the author's name again in your citation.

ExampleIn last month's issue of Rolling Stone, Lenny Cravitz admitted that Jimmy Hendrix was an "extraordinary man" (qtd. in Riverwell 220).

Note: Whenever you can, try to take material from the original source and not from a secondhand one. Your credibility as a writer could suffer if you depend too heavily on secondhand sources.

Citing more than one work in single parenthetical referenceIf you need to acknowledge two or more works in a single reference, cite each source as you normally would, but use semicolons to separate the reference.

ExampleSeveral critics have noted that Butler is unique in being a female African American writer who has excelled in the science fiction genre (Crossley xii; Salvaggio).

The BibleIf you are citing the Bible for any reason, you will need to acknowledge the title of the Bible, the book, and the verse. Keep in mind that some people do not believe the Bible to be a credible source. Be careful when using this – don’t make it your only source of validation for the point you are making.

ExampleUnfortunately, the president could not recall the truism that "Wisdom is a fountain to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools" (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 20-22).

ELECTRONIC CITATIONS:

In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations

Because Internet sources typically have no page or paragraph numbers, and Web sites in particular are often anonymous, people are often confused about how to refer to these sources within their papers. The answer is to cite the author's name whenever possible and use the source's title otherwise (or a shortened version of the title). If no page or paragraph number is provided in the document (NOT on your printer), leave that portion of the citation blank. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of an in-text citation is simply to point readers to the correct entry on the Works Cited Page.

ExampleDespite the many challenges she has faced on the Internet, the author still enjoys the "magic" of the MOO (Dibbell).

If the electronic document does not have an author, use the title.

ExampleEach of the teletubbies has his/her own language acquisition level, and, because of this, a child can identify and progress to the next language level when the child feels comfortable ("The Inside Story").

Note: Do not cite page numbers from printouts because pagination may vary in different printouts.

REMINDERS_ Make parenthetical citations brief and accurate._ To avoid long parenthetical citations, place reference information, such as the author's name, in your sentence._ Place a citation as close to the relevant material as possible without disrupting the sentence._ Use one citation at the end of a long section of material that comes from one source and the same page(s)--do not cite at the end of each sentence in this case._ Parenthetical citations always go outside of a quotation and always before a punctuation mark, such as a period.

EXCEPTIONS:1. If a quotation of over three lines, double indent the quotation, use no quotation marks, and place the parenthetical citation after the punctuation mark. Do not include a period after the parenthetical citation.2. If a quotation ends with a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!), include the given punctuation followed by a closing quotation, then insert your parenthetical citation, and insert a period after your parenthetical citation.

_ Place the parenthetical citations in your essay as your write. Do not wait until the essay is finished.

Name___________________________________ Topic___________________________________Researching Your Topic

Answer each of the questions below about your topic. In the blank space, create your own question about your topic and answer it. Scientific papers generally follow a conventional format that includes a title, an abstract, a reference section and the Components of the IMRAD structure. The IMRAD structureIntroduction answer “why?”Methods answers “when where, how, how much?”Results answers “what?”AndDiscussion answers “so what?”WHO

WHAT*is the major idea surrounding your topic?WHEN*did the events occur?

WHERE*did the major events occur?

WHY*is there still mystery surrounding the event?How*do you plan to prove your theory?

Name:Assistance for Writing Your Research Paper Outline

Answer the following questions in the blank provided. You will use the answers to create an outline and a rough draft of your paper.I. INTRODUCTION Identify Paper Topic & Thesis:a. Give a startling fact about your topic.

b. Use an appropriate quotation (or paraphrased piece of info about the summary of your topic.

c. Give some background information on your topic.

d. Write your thesis statement here. (State the idea, State your answer to what you believed happened, explain why, give three reasons why you believe that.)

II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1 Main Idea of Body Paragraph #1:a. List the first reason behind your answer to your topic question (Think reason #1 from thesis statement.)

b. Expand on the above reason.

c. Put a quote summary or paraphrased statement here that supports your first reason. Don’t forget about your parenthetical citation!

d. Expand on how this above quote/paraphrased statement works towards answering your question.

e. Expand more on how this above quote/paraphrased statement works towards answering your question. You may want to include more research here if needed.

f. Now relate all of the information back towards your thesis statement. This is your concluding sentence.

III. BODY PARAGRAPH 2 Main Idea of Body Paragraph #2:a. List the second reason behind your answer to your topic question (Think reason #2 from thesis statement.)

b. Expand on the above reason.

c. Put a quote summary or paraphrased statement here that

Name: ______________________________________ Thesis Statement Generator

State the

main idea

State your belief of what happened (without using a

personal pronoun)

……..Because

Give 3 reasons that support your idea

Writing an OutlineThe point of writing an outline for your research paper is to organize your thoughts for the writing process. By creating an outline, you have already established the basic structure of your paper and ultimately know that main points that you are going to cover in every paragraph of your paper. After you have completed the outline for your paper, the drafting process will be much easier because you really already know what you are going to say and the research you are going to use.

Follow the steps below to write a complete outline for your research paper:1. Use the “Assistance for Writing Your Research Paper Outline” handout that you completed.2. Open a blank Microsoft Word document.3. Make sure your margins are set to 1” and your document is double-spaced.4. Type in 12pt, Times New Roman font.5. Follow the example I have given you below and your own information that you provided on your “Assistance for Writing your Research Paper Outline” and begin to format and write your formal outline for your paper. I have started the beginning of the outline for you. Your job is to create your own and continue it through all paragraphs included in your paper.6. Please remember that in your outline, you are NOT just typing the information that I provided for you on the handout. You are typing WHAT YOU FILLED IN EACH BLANK too. Use your words and research for the outline – not just my words and what I typed.

Example Outline:Name

Teacher’s Name (Dang) Life Science 7Date (Day Month Year)

Title of PaperI. Introduction

a. Startling or interesting facti. Type your startling fact here.

b. Appropriate quotationi. Type your quotation here.

c. Background Informationi. Type background info here.ii. Type background info here.

d. Thesis Statementi. Type your thesis statement here.

II. Body Paragraph 1a. First reason behind your answer to topic question

i. Type reason here.

Creating your Electronic Source Cards

In writing a research paper, you have to keep all of your research organized. In order to do this, you will need a way to keep track of the information you find to support your topic and the place in which you found this information. This is why you need your electronic source cards. Below you will find directions to correctly using your electronic source cards.

You are expected to have at least three sources in your paper, which means you must have at least three complete electronic source cards. You most likely will complete more than this because you will have more than three pieces of research. However, I will be checking to see that you have at least three sources – one from a book, one from a database, and one from a website.

Directions for Completing your Electronic Source Cards:

1. Open the “Note Card Template” from my folder (J. Hayes) from the student-share drive.2. SAVE THE TEMPLATE TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL STUDENT DRIVE!!! Do NOT save your changes and sources to my template card in my file (J. Hayes on the student-share drive), or that will change the template for ALL of my classes.3. Follow the prompts on the electronic note-card template to complete the desired information for your source.4. Make sure that you save each source/electronic note card separately and under different names. For example, you may save them as “Electronic Note Card #1,” and then “Electronic Note Card #2,” and etc.5. You must have FIVE valuable pieces of research information on each one of your electronic source cards.Remember this when completing each one of your note cards.6. It would also be a good idea to save your work on your flash drive – you don’t want to ONLY depend on the school drive to access info for your paper. You cannot access that drive at home if you need to work on your paper when you are not at school. Always save your work on your flash drive and make sure that you keep up with it.

Writing Good ParagraphsIntroductory Paragraph

Your Goals:Grab the reader’s attention Introduce your topicState your argumentState your thesis statement

Body Paragraphs

Your Goals:Transition your reader into your first piece of evidence/reason from your thesis statement Provide support for your first reason – use quotes & factual pieces of informationShow your research and how it supports each reasonGive a conclusion that relates all evidence back to your topic

Closing Paragraph

Your Goals:

Restate the main ideas from each one of your body paragraphs Restate your thesis statementShow that you have proven your point/thesis

Writing Good Sentences

Common Mistakes I See in Your Writing That You Need to Avoid

Incomplete Sentences/Fragmentso Make sure your sentence has a subject!

Incorrect Usage of Commas or Semi-Colonso Watch how you use your commas in a series.o Make sure you place a comma before a conjunction if you are combining two complete sentences. o You can combine two complete sentences with a semi-colon.

Spelling Errorso If you do not know how to spell it, LOOK IT UP!

Ending a Sentence with a Prepositiono You cannot end a sentence in a preposition.

Capitalization Errorso The first letter in a sentence should always be capitalized. Proper nouns should also be capitalized.

Run-on Sentenceso Separate the sentence with a period or follow your comma rules.

Errors in Punctuationo PLEASE PUNCTUATE THE END OF YOUR SENTENCES CORRECTLY!

MLA Guide for Creating Your Works Cited PageThings to Know:The Works Cited page includes ALL of the sources you have cited in your paper.The Works Cited page is the very last page of your paper.It follows the same MLA formatting as the rest of your paper (i.e. page numbers, font, double spaced, margins, etc).The title to your Works Cited Page should be 1” from the top of the page and should be centered. It should say “WorksCited.” Please see the example below.You will press enter ONCE after typing “Works Cited” and begin your sources.All sources are listed in alphabetical order (typically by the authors last name or the title if that is not made available to you)– not in the order that they appear in your paper.You will indent ONLY THE LINES AFTER THE FIRST LINE of each source entry on your page. Please see the example below.To indent the second or third lines of an entry, follow the instructions below.

1. With your cursor, highlight the text that carries over past the first line.2. Make sure that you can see the page ruler by clicking on the top right hand corner of your screen. It’s a littlewhite box right above the bar that scrolls up and down the right side of your document.3. Once the “ruler” is showing, you will see two blue triangles sitting on top of each other (connected by theirpoints) on the left side of the ruler.4. Click on ONLY THE BOTTOM TRIANGLE and drag it over to the tick mark that is half-way to the number 1 on

the ruler. This should indent only the lines that you have highlighted. If you do this after the very first entry that runs longer than one line, it will automatically do that for all future entries that you type (that run longer than one line).

Make sure each entry on your Works Cited page follows the specific guidelines given to you for each source. Use your “MLA Style (Format) for Citing Sources” handout for assistance on how to write each source on your Works Cited page._____________________________________________________________________________________

Works Cited

"Business Coalition for Climate Action Doubles." Environmental Defense. Environmental Defense

Organization, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2007.

Clinton, Bill. Interview. New York Times on the Web. New York Times, May 2007.Web. 25 May 2007.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times on the Web. n.p., 22 May

2007. Web. 25 May 2007.

MLA Style (Format) for Citing SourcesBook by a Single Author

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of

Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Book by Two Authors

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Place of

Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allen Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.

Book by More than Three Authors

Last Name, First Name, et al. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Block, Holly, et al. Art Cuba: The New Generation. New York: Abrams, 2001. Print.

Book with an Editor (no author)

Last Name, First Name, ed. Title of Book. Place of

Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Hallam, Linda, ed. Garden Style: Decorating Ideas for Indoor and Out. Des Moines,

Iowa: Meredith Corp., 1999. Print.

Article in a Magazine

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: Pages.

Medium of Publication.

Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.

Article in a Newspaper

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper Day Month Year: Pages.

Medium of Publication.

Pogue, David. “When Laptops go Light.” New York Times 26 Mar. 2009: B1+. Print.

Article in an EncyclopediaLast Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Encyclopedia. Year ed.

Medium of Publication.

Ainsley, David G. “Penguin.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2007 ed. Print.

Article in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Work." Title of Anthology, Reference, or Collection.

Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Medium of Publication.

Horton, Hayward Derrick. “The Effects of Occupational Discrimination.” Reference

Library of Black America, Vol. III. Ed. L. Mpho Mabunda. Detroit. MI: Gale Research

Inc., 1997. Print.

An entire Web Site

Editor, Author, or Compiler Name (if available). Name of Web Site. Name of

Institution/Organization affiliated with the Site (Sponsor or Publisher), Date of

Resource Creation/Revision (Day Month Year). Medium of Publication. Date of

Access (Day Month Year).

Poland, Dave. “The Hot Button.” Roughcut. Turner Network Television, 26 Oct. 1998. Web. 28 Oct. 1998.

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 23 April 2008.

An Article on a Web Page (in a Web Magazine)Editor, Author, or Compiler Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Web Site. Name of

Institution/Organization affiliated with the Site (Sponsor or Publisher), Date of Resource Creation/Revision (Day Month Year). Medium of Publication.

Date of Access (Day Month Year).

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who

Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2009.

A Page on a Web Site

Editor, Author, or Compiler Name. “Title of Page.” Name of Web Site. Name of

Institution/Organization affiliated with the Site (Sponsor or Publisher), Date of

Resource Creation/ Revision (Day Month Year). Medium of Publication. Date of

Access (Day Month Year).

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Note: Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.

“Things” I Should NEVER See in Your RESEARCH Paper

Your Opinion!o A formal research paper is about the RESEARCH! It is NEVER about your opinion; therefore, I should never read statements like, “I think” or “I feel” or “I believe.”

Personal Pronounso Again, the research paper is about the RESEARCH. It is not about you or what you think. It is also not a “letter” to your reader. The only time you can ever have a personal pronoun in your paper is if you are using it in a direct quotation. Therefore, words like “I, me, you, us, we” should never appear in sentences that you create.

Addressing the Reader of Your Papero This paper is not a letter to your reader. You should never have statements like “I am writing to tell you about....” or “In this paper you are going to read about....” or “How would you feel if....”

Contractionso In a formal paper, you do not use contractions (i.e. can’t, won’t, don’t, shouldn’t, haven’t, etc).

“Things” that Have Nothing to do with Your Topico Do not include random quotes, facts, thoughts, etc. that have nothing to do with the topic and the thesis of your paper. Make sure that you are always striving to support your thesis statement with everything that your write.

Errors in Grammaro Obviously perfection is often impossible to obtain; however, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it when writing. Please do the best you can to keep your paper free from spelling errors, incomplete or run-on sentences, errors in capitalization or punctuation, etc. Pay attention to what you are writing and PROOFREAD!!!

Plagiarismo Plagiarizing is where you take something that someone else wrote or said and you write it in your paper as if you were the person that originally thought or said that statement. Always give credit where credit is due! It is perfectly ok to paraphrase research that you find that is something someone else said – in fact that is what you SHOULD do. However, when you do that, make sure that you give credit to the person or source from which you got your information. A plagiarized paper = a ZERO!

Creative Fonts or Formatting

o MLA has a very strict format. Do not change to creative fonts or size fonts in your paper.Everything is written in 12pt, Times New Roman font. The only time that something should be italicized is because it is the title of a work an italicizing is the necessary punctuation for that title. Nothing should ever be typed in bold font. Your entire paper should double-spaced throughout the entire work.

Rough Draft – Peer Edit SheetName of Author: _________________________________________________________ Name of Evaluator: _______________________________________________________

1. Format – Times New Roman Font, 12pt, Double-spaced, 1” Margins?

2. Heading Correct? (student name, teacher’s name, name of class, date -written day month year Ex: 13 April

2011).

3. Last Name & Page # at top right on all pages (except the first page)?

4. Does the introduction give you an idea of what the paper is about without going to into great detail?

5. Thesis Statement – Can you identify it? Is it in the correct location? Is it parallel? Does it state their answer to

their questions and give three reasons why that is the answer?

6. 1st Body Paragraph – does this identify and explain the writer’s 1st reason to support their belief? Are there

citations in this paragraph? Is the period on the outside of the parenthesis?

7. 2nd Body Paragraph – does this identify and explain the writer’s 2nd reason to support their belief? Are there

citations in this paragraph? Is the period on the outside of the parenthesis?

8. 3rd Body Paragraph – does this identify and explain the writer’s 3rd reason to support their belief? Are there

citations in this paragraph? Is the period on the outside of the parenthesis?

9. Conclusion – Can you identify the re-worded thesis? Is it in the correct place?

10. Mechanics & Grammar – check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, run-ons, etc.

11. Were contractions used?

12. Were personal pronouns used?

13. Was this paper easy to understand?

14. Works Cited Page – are there at least 3 sources?

15. Is the author’s last name & page # at the top?

16. Are their indentions placed correctly?

17. What was especially good about this paper?

What suggestions do you have that would make this paper better?

Name _____________________________ Period ______________ Grade: _________________.7th Grade Life Science - Ms. Dang’s - Writing Assignment: The Research Paper

Evaluation Scale: Column 1 = Not Proficient 2 = Basic 3 = Proficient 4= Advance

Introduction/ Thesis StatementThe introduction has an interesting beginning/ attention grabber.The introduction clearly states the thesis statement.

Support and ElaborationThe writer clearly and thoroughly elaborates on the controlling idea and other general statements with facts, examples, quotations, and other kinds of evidence.

OrganizationThe research paper is clearly and logically organized.

ConclusionThe writer ends the paper by clearly refocusing on the controlling idea.The paper ends in a satisfying, “feels finished” way.

SourcesThe writer presents accurate information from at least three sources and acknowledges all sources used in the paper.

Style/ FormatThe research paper clearly follows MLA style for documenting sources.Paper is double-spaced with appropriate margins, heading, pagination, and title;font is 12-Times New Roman in black ink.

LanguageThe writer refrains from using personal pronouns and contractions in this formal paper.

Spelling, Grammar, Usage, and MechanicThe research paper is relatively free of any errors in spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Total Points_______________