Research Paper Documentation

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Research Paper Documentation
ENG 104 Fall 2005 Webster Newbold,
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• Looking at a Sample Paper

MLA Style
Based on the sample research paper, Is
Homeschooling a Better Choice? by Julie Schmitt
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Documentation -- Rules of Thumb

• Your main responsibility connect the reader with
  an accurate citation for each piece of source
  information used
• Yes, the information/opinions in each sentence
  must be accounted for, not just direct quotations
• There is usually a better way of referencing a
  source to avoid awkwardness, repetitions, etc.

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Documentation -- List of Works Cited
First -- the Works Cited list needs to be in
ACCURATE form so you will know which names or
words to link to. This list appears at the end of
the paper starting a separate page
Books Blumenfeld, Samuel L. Homeschooling A
Parents Guide to Teaching Children. Secaucus,
N.J. Carol Publishing, 1997. Dobson, Linda. The
Homeschooling Book of Answers. New York
Harcourt, 1998.
Periodicals School at Home. Time 25 Nov. 1997
50. Smith, Bob. Learning at Home. Indianapolis
Star-News 20 Sept. 1997, sec. B 12.
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Documentation -- List of Works Cited
Web Site How to Get Started Homeschooling.
Home School House. 1998. http//www.geocities.com
/perkinshome/homeschoolhow.html (15 Jul.
1998) NOTE In your real Works Cited list, you
dont have to separate the sources into types
that is done here for illustration. Sources are
always listed alphabetically by AUTHORS LAST
NAME, or FIRST SIGNIFICANT WORD of the title if
authors name is not known.
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Documentation
Make Connections
Remember REFERENCING is making connections for
the reader, linking specific places in the text
with their sources, listed at the end.

• Refer to the authors last name
• If no author is listed, use a short form of the
  title
• Use an interviewees name as an author

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Documentation

Lets look at one of Julies paragraphs -- the
third one from the beginning -- to see how
referencing is working for her and her reader.
Do you see any problems with linking
information accurately?
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Documentation
Some problems with the paragraph...

• Lots of information
• Lots of opinions
• Not enough indication of what comes from sources,
  what from the researcher
• More references needed
• Material needs to be separated to avoid
  disunified long paragraph

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Documentation
Some problems with the paragraph...

• Here is one way to reference the first source in
  the opening passage

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Documentation -- Note these!

• YOUR OWN language provides the rhetorical
  framework for the paper--you guide and explain
  to readers what they need to know to follow your
  story. NO NOTES are needed here.

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Documentation -- Note these!

• Introducing a major source by name is a good
  technique, since that minimizes the following
  page references. This process is called using a
  signal phrase.

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Documentation -- Note these!

• Use your judgement about what opinion comes from
  the source and what from general knowledge.
  When in doubt, put a reference in--you can always
  delete later.

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Documentation -- Note these!

• Hard data always requires notes immediately
  following, as do direct quotations.

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Documentation -- Note these!
Review of important points

• YOUR OWN language provides the rhetorical
  framework for the paper--you guide and explain
  to readers what they need to know to follow your
  story. NO NOTES are needed here.
• Introducing a major source by name is a good
  technique, since that minimizes the following
  page references. This process is called using a
  signal phrase.
• Use your judgement about what opinion comes from
  the source and what from general knowledge.
  When in doubt, put a reference in--you can always
  delete later.
• Hard data always requires notes immediately
  following, as do direct quotations.

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Documentation
Heres Julies passage fully referenced and
revised
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Documentation -- Note these!

• You generally have a choice about how to
  reference--but NO choice about the necessity to
  reference!
• Introducing the title of a source into a
  paragraph may help reduce the need for lots of
  separate notes when you are summarizing from only
  the named source

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Final Reminders...

• Make your discussion clear to the reader as to
  when and where you use outside information.
• Make sure links between reference notes and
  citations in Works Cited are consistent

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Final Reminders...

• Ask when you dont understand--e-mail or phone
• Email - wnewbold_at_bsu.edu)
• 5-8377
• Consult e-BallPoint or Purdue OWL for more
  teaching on MLA format