What is a thesis paper?

A thesis paper should make an argument. It is a debatable

perspective.

Basic Parts

1. Identify the problem

2. Explain why it is a problem

3. Analyze the current solutions and/or give additionally solutions

A good thesis…

• Gives the paper focus and direction• Is worthy of development• Is worthy of an academic

audience• Is concise

A Good Thesis…

• Inspires a reader to ask ______________? Or ____________?

A Thesis…

•Does NOT have a reader saying, “SO”, or “Duh”?., Or “Who Cares?”

.

A thesis …

leads the reader toward the following

sentences of the paper.

A Thesis Statement is …•A ONE sentence

DECLARITIVE statement that describes what the writer BELIEVES and/or intends to PROVE.

A thesis statement’s placement …

• Should be in your first paragraph (usually) or introduction of your paper.

• Should be the LAST sentence of that introductory paragraph.

Your thesis is not…

• A fragment•Broad overgeneralizations

or simplistic•A question•A quote or part of a quote

…

• Written in first person• A known fact• A command• An observation or obvious

NEVER EVER USE DIRECT SPEAK

• Your thesis NOR any other part of your paper should ever speak directly to your reader as an announcement.

• Example: (DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING!)In this paper I will discuss how Poe developed the Gothic genre within his writings.

Or This paper will discuss how Poe used horror to

develop successive writers’ styles.

Flash drive

• You should consider a flash drive• Some times, however, you may find that your programs

or computer is not compatible with the school’s or the library’s – this is not an excuse

• You may run out of ink or have a printer problem – this is not an excuse

• You should check how you will be printing your paper and a back up plan if that fails WELL before the due date.

• I WILL NOT accept a paper that has not met the requirements.

Useful website

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Our Website

• www.morrishs.org

Source Cards

• 5 source cards minimum (every source must be on a source card and on your works cited page ONLY IF YOU’VE CITED IT IN YOUR PAPER)

• You should use a mixture of books, articles, and database/online sources.

• You must have secondary sources.• You must clear all online sources with me prior to

using or they WILL NOT be considered.• Wikipedia is NOT a valid source – you may NOT use

this source.

I REPEAT. . .

• EVERY CITATION IN YOUR PAPER • MUST • BE ALSO ON YOUR WORKS CITED PAGE AND • VICE VERSA• OTHERWISE, IT IS CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM!

Source Card Format

Call number libraryOr OrWebsite I (for

Internet)

Source in appropriate documentation style (they all differ and you follow your packet for what type of source you are making your entry for)

B MCHSHEM Library

Brown, John. Hemingway: The Legend. New York: Harper Collins, 1986. Print.

www.Literarytime.orgI

“Emily Dickinson”. Literary Time. Weblinks Archive. 2008. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Note Cards

• You will take notes from your research on lined note cards.

• These notes will become your parenthetical documentation in your paper.

• You should utilize your time and take notes that you feel will be helpful to your writing process.

Note Card Format 30 minimum

• You may choose to write notes in the following formats:

1. Direct quotations – this is the ‘easiest’ in terms of having the exact wording so you may use it as a DQ if you would like.

2. Paraphrase – this will be required in your paper along with DQ so you will need to take some down to practice.

…

• There will be periodic checks on your note cards as we go along with our research and writing.

• You may want to write these in pencil so you can erase, if necessary.

• These will become a physical outline of the support for your paper.

Direct Quotation Note Cards

DQ note cards are cards that have the source’s direct wording. There is NO alteration in the copying of this onto your card as you are going to cite this person word for word. You MAY use ellipses to shorten to cut out unessential parts of your quote as follows…

“Poe used imagery for his works. . .making a picture with words” (assuming the …part is unnecessary so you would want to cut it out.

DQ cont.

• A Direct quotation can be changed into a paraphrase later on, so it is useful to take the time to write more DQ note cards than paraphrases because a paraphrase cannot be changed to a DQ without retrieving the source again and finding the author’s exact words.

A DQ note card will look as follows…

SLUG (topic) Author’s last name page #

Imagery Brown 289(or if no author use title)

“Poe used imagery to further enhance his work and therefore was a literary genius.”

(label it ) DQ

What is a SLUG?

• A slug is a term that is used for the topic or ‘part’ of your paper you believe this information will best fit in. It is the way these notes are organized into sections so we can make a physical outline actually separating your parts into piles when you are ready to write.

• Example of slugs for one paper: Causes, effects, basic info, results, prevention, etc.

Paraphrase – as stated on OWL Purdue University MLA online source

• A paraphrase is your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.

• One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.

To use a paraphrase effectively you

• Should reread the passage again until you are sure you understand the meaning.

• Set it aside and rewrite it on your own note card.

• Double check for any terminology used from original form – put “quotations” around any of that wording.

Paraphrase Note Card Example

SLUG Last name page #Childhood Brown 287

Paraphrased wording here – all parts that aren’t changed in a new form and new wording MUST have “quotation marks” around them.

Poe’s use of tragedy is linked to his horrific childhood.

(label it) P

Works Cited

• The title Works Cited in the center of the last page of your paper AFTER the minimum page length is met (example: paper minimum is 5 pages, then Works Cited page is number 6)

• It is set to double-space like the rest of your document.

• The entries are alphabetical according to first letter of entry.

• Last name page number space number in right corner

Works Cited Example

Your Last Name 6Works Cited

Brown, Joe. The Happy Hippo. New York: Harocourt, 1998. Print.

“Poet Writers Today”. americanauthors.com. n.p.,n.d., Web. 19 Jan 2012.

Zimmerman, Lou. Love. Boston: Jones, 2002. Print.

Works Cited format

• See how each subsequent line of each individual entry was set one tab in to show its continuation.

• Leave it set to double-space.• Do not DOUBLE DOUBLE space in between

entries.

MLA Header for the first page

Your NameMs. CostelloEnglish 3 College Preparatory15 October 2013

(double-spaced at top left corner)

MLA page numbering for paper Last name 2

Rough Draft Note• REVISION IS THE MOST IMPORATNAT PART OF

THIS PROCESS!• I WILL BE CHECKING THAT REVISIONS ARE

DONE AND AN ABSOLUTE F GRADE WILL BE GIVEN FOR ANY PAPER THAT HAS NOT BEEN REVISED.

• YOU MUST SAVE ALL OF YOUR ORIGINAL DRAFTS EACH TIME YOU REVISE TO SHOW YOUR REVISED WORK DIFFERENCE.

Using a DQ in paper

Page 3 of your example paper, 2nd paragraph

According to historian Stuart Blumin: “To the extent that they accepted the doctrines of individual upward mobility,…many immigrant workers absorbed the” (301).

*Author is mentioned in intro so ONLY pg # needed in parentheses.

Using a DQ in paper no author mention in intro

Page 5, 2nd paragraph

He did this “as an acknowledgement of the deep debt I owe to the workmen who have contributed greatly to my success” (Kent 409).

* Author’s last name and pg # must be in ( ).

BLENDING DIRECT QUOTES

• You MUST BLEND all of your in-text quotations.

• Every quote must have some of your own words either before the quote, in the middle (if broken up), or at the end.

• Do NOT drop bird poop quotes on your paper!

Bird Poop Direct Quote

• Ernest Hemingway was a talented writer. He was also known for his heroic feats in big game hunting. “Hemingway was an avid large animal hunter in the wild” (Campbell 213). Most of his novels, as well as short stories, have some aspect of a manly hunter.

Using a paraphrase in paper

example paper page 3, paragraph

He was more absorbed in the moral problems of his times than his peers (McCloskey 250).

Paraphrasing a website source with no author

Example paper page 1. paragraph 2

The Carnegie family was much opposed to the idea of a privileged class, who gained their wealth simply by inheritance (“Richest”).

* No page number since no page on website

Long Quote Format

Introduce with a full sentence and a colon:No quotation marks Tab two times in each lineAuthor and page number follow punctuationMUST be four lines of text or more!

Page 5, 3rd paragraphA true man of the people…

ERNEST HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID…”

“The first draft of anything is S*&#!”-Ernest

Hemingway

In your large envelope (NOT folded):

I. Term paper A. The outline (typed and revised)B. The paper itself (technically includes work cited and outline, but just to be clear)C. The works cited page (typed and revised)

II. The required amount of revisions – see me III. All note cards (30 min) and source cards (5)IV. Rubric with name printed on it

Keep in mind…The term paper is 20% of your semester grade.

You must turn in a term paper to be eligible to pass this semester.

You may NOT change your topic from the original you signed up for in the beginning.

Plagiarism is an automatic zero.