Senior Research Paper
Research Paper (aka “Senior Paper”) 2019
Final Paper Due Thursday, February 21 (Odd) and Friday, February 22 (Even)
Eight grades will come from the research project. Not all grade-weight will depend upon the final product. This is a process, a large project, not a product. We will work in a computer lab for two weeks in January. You are expected to work. Do not play. Phone use is prohibited. You must also work in additional time on your own should you get behind deadline or in the event you are absent from school. The library is available any day we have PAT. Just get a PAT pass before 9 a.m. any day you need a computer. You may not leave class to use a computer to catch up.
This project is broken down as follows: Citations Practice; Proposal; Outline: Annotated Bibliography; Rough Draft; Final Draft; Plagiarism Exercise; MLA Formatting Test.
Procedures and Rules
Proposal: Instructions and Model
Explanation and thesis: Explain exactly what you seek to prove; the claim related to your topic. Conclude with your single-sentence thesis statement. You must use active verbs in your explanation. You may not merely inform. Will you analyze, examine, prove, claim, suggest, demonstrate, contradict, compare, contrast?
Your role as a researcher: Specify the role you play as an investigator of this topic. How did you come to choose the subject? Do you see yourself as an advocate, an informer, a theorist, an analyst?
Your target audience: What group of people might be interested in your research? Is there a publication to which you might submit your research? Where might we see your paper published? Check online journals and magazines to see if any relate to your subject.
Example:
Explanation: As my topic relates to violent video games, I will seek to prove that specific, violent video games rob children of sensitivity to human suffering, and, therefore, result in more violent crimes perpetrated by minors in our society.
Thesis: Certain violent video games rob children of sensitivity to human suffering, resulting in a rise in juvenile violent crime.
My Role as a Researcher: I come to this topic as a theorist, interested in the effects of a relatively new phenomenon of violent role-playing, as I have a younger brother who plays these games.
My target audience: Parents, teachers, psychologists, and sociologists would find my research beneficial. My paper could be published in Psychology Today or Newsweek Magazine.
Outline: Using an Outline Template with Roman Numerals, letters, and numbers, begin a five-topic outline.
Final Paper Due Thursday, February 21 (Odd) and Friday, February 22 (Even)
Eight grades will come from the research project. Not all grade-weight will depend upon the final product. This is a process, a large project, not a product. We will work in a computer lab for two weeks in January. You are expected to work. Do not play. Phone use is prohibited. You must also work in additional time on your own should you get behind deadline or in the event you are absent from school. The library is available any day we have PAT. Just get a PAT pass before 9 a.m. any day you need a computer. You may not leave class to use a computer to catch up.
This project is broken down as follows: Citations Practice; Proposal; Outline: Annotated Bibliography; Rough Draft; Final Draft; Plagiarism Exercise; MLA Formatting Test.
Procedures and Rules
- All research materials must be at school with you at all times during January and February, no exceptions.
- 5-7 pages, not including the Works Cited (reference) page
- Seven sources minimum on Works Cited page, all credible and valid.
- Paper typed using Microsoft Word via Office 365 online program provided by school and shared with me at [email protected] or submitted via Google Docs and shared with me at [email protected]
- No plagiarism, including, but not limited to, the following issues: Cutting or pasting from someone’s else’s paper or from website info; failure to provide citation credit in the body of the paper and on Works Cited page for sources quoted; failure to provide citation credit in the body of the paper and on the Works Cited page for sources paraphrased or for ideas used.
- Typed papers only, Times New Roman, Microsoft San Serif, or Calibri, 12 point font only with one inch margins only. Header with last name and page #.
- No cover page, please. Heading at left on page one (see Harbrace example p. 621)
- Title electronic file with your last name, first name, and the phrase “research paper.” Ex: Jones TylerResearchPaper
- Absence from school does not erase deadlines. You must keep the whole project in mind and the deadline for everything, Feb 21 and Feb 22.
- You may visit owl.purdue.edu or use a Harbrace Handbook p. 621 for MLA paper format
Proposal: Instructions and Model
Explanation and thesis: Explain exactly what you seek to prove; the claim related to your topic. Conclude with your single-sentence thesis statement. You must use active verbs in your explanation. You may not merely inform. Will you analyze, examine, prove, claim, suggest, demonstrate, contradict, compare, contrast?
Your role as a researcher: Specify the role you play as an investigator of this topic. How did you come to choose the subject? Do you see yourself as an advocate, an informer, a theorist, an analyst?
Your target audience: What group of people might be interested in your research? Is there a publication to which you might submit your research? Where might we see your paper published? Check online journals and magazines to see if any relate to your subject.
Example:
Explanation: As my topic relates to violent video games, I will seek to prove that specific, violent video games rob children of sensitivity to human suffering, and, therefore, result in more violent crimes perpetrated by minors in our society.
Thesis: Certain violent video games rob children of sensitivity to human suffering, resulting in a rise in juvenile violent crime.
My Role as a Researcher: I come to this topic as a theorist, interested in the effects of a relatively new phenomenon of violent role-playing, as I have a younger brother who plays these games.
My target audience: Parents, teachers, psychologists, and sociologists would find my research beneficial. My paper could be published in Psychology Today or Newsweek Magazine.
Outline: Using an Outline Template with Roman Numerals, letters, and numbers, begin a five-topic outline.