Writing a Research Paper:

Everything you will ever need to know and more

MATTERS OF STYLE: FORMAT

References

Alex Haley. (n.d.) Retrieved September 6, 2002, from http://en.canada.org/cana/Alex_Haley

Liukkonen, P. (2003). Alex Palmer Haley. Retrieved September 6, 2006, from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/

ahaley.htm

Smith, Jane. (2005, January). The Life and Times of Alex Haley. Biography Magazine, pp. 23-33.

Roberts, Peter. (2000). Alex Haley and Our Roots. New York: Oxford Press.

In-Text CitationsDiscussing books or magazines:

Alex Haley is well known for his books The Autobiography

of Malcolm X and Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

Paraphrasing one author

Chickens made less money than cows throughout the

nineteenth century (Arbogast, 2005)

Paraphrasing two authors

King Louis X forbade chickens to gather in public in 1880 (Mitton

and Reid, 2005)

In-Text Citations (cont.)

Paraphrasing more than two authorsChickens were often punished for offenses by cutting off their food supplies (Reid et al., 2005)

Paraphrasing an unknown author (Use title of work)The Great Chicken Rebellion started in Truro, Nova Scotia (“The Year of the Chicken,” 2001).

Quotations•Less than 40 words: Include within paper, continue to double space, use quotation marks.

•Over 40 words: Double-indent quoted passage and single-space it, no quotation marks.

•Add citation at the end of quotations. Include author, date, and page number:

“The Great Chicken Rebellion was heralded as the event that divided all of Canada.” (Reid, 2005, p.5)

Make sure ALL ASPECTS of your paperare within APA format!! (Reference page, title page, page numbers…) Check your handout!!

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Getting Started

Step One: Generate a research question (what do I want to know?)

Step Two: Break it up into smaller questions (How will I find out?)

Step Three: Find information

Step Four: Organize information

Step Five: Formulate your argument

Research QuestionsTopic: The Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933

What caused the Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933?

What conditions did the What changes were

chickens live under? occurring in society at the time?

Were their rulers just or unjust?

Finding Information

• Generate key words for Library/Internet research, based on your questions

• Get background info (5 W’s)• Scan sources for important details BUT also read

for context!• Take organized notes!! • DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! • Use credible, reliable sources...

Evaluating your sources

• Author/Organization (Are they an expert? Do they have an agenda?)

• Language (Strong? Vague? Positive? Negative)

• Quality of argument (What information are they basing it on?)

• Source’s sources (how/where did they get their information?)

Sources: Strong vs. Shaky

Strong• Peer-Reviewed

Journals• Academic Databases• Encyclopedias • News, web sites or

other media (SOMETIMES)

Shaky• The first thing you find

on Google• Student Essays• Open sites (e.g.

Wikipedia– can be a starting point)

• News, web sites or other media (SOMETIMES)

Organizing your information• Remember your questions

• Sort and sift: Does this information answer the questions?

• Arrange information according to question or idea

• Draw conclusions

• Synthesize your information: How does it answer the bigger research question?

What conditions did the chickens live under?What were their rulers like?

What changes were going on in society at the time?

During the 20th century, chickens were very poor.

The king of the land jailed chickens without trial regularly.

Officials made laws that prevented chickens from going to school or publishing books or newspapers

Hundreds of Chickens starved between 1920 and 1930

No chickens owned land Police searched Chicken houses regularly.

Chickens were only paid 10 cents an hour, while most humans were paid 30 cents anhour.

Chickens started to publish secret newspapers

A secret school formed in 1925 that taught chickens to read and write

The number of chicken protestmarches increased between 1920and 1930

Question 1: What conditions did Chickens live under?•During the twentieth century, chickens were very poor.•Hundreds of chickens starved between 1920 and 1930•Chickens were only paid 10 cents an hour, while humans werepaid 30 cents an hour

Question 2: What were their rulers like?•The king passed laws preventing chickens from going to school. •Police searched the houses of chickens regularly. • Chickens were jailed without trial regularly.

Question 3: What changes were happening in society?•Chickens started to publish illegal newspapers•A secret school formed for Chickens•The number of protest marches increased

What conclusions can we come to for each question?

What general conclusion can we come to for our research question?

Answering Research Questions

Chickens lived in extreme poverty.

Chickens were ruled by an oppressive state.

Chickens were becoming more educated about their

rights.

What caused the Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933?

The Chicken Rebellion of 1933 was a result of extreme poverty, an oppressive state, and education about Chicken rights.

WRITING YOUR PAPER:MACROSTRUCTURE

Thesis

• Main argument or focus of your paper

• Maps out the paper

• Often answers the questions “why?” and “how?”

• Very close, if not identical, to your research question answer!!

• Last sentence in your introductory paragraph

• Should be specific and manageable!

Thesis Examples

Poor: “The Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933 affected Canada in negative and positive ways.”

Better: “The Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933 affected Canada politically, economically, socially and culturally.

Poor: “The Great Chicken Rebellion was caused by the anger and frustration of chickens everywhere.”

Better: “The Great Chicken Rebellion was a result of extreme chicken poverty, an oppressive state, and education for Chicken Rights.”

MAKE AN OUTLINE!!

• Break down your thesis into smaller points

• Irons out “bare bones” of your information

• Insert your research, in order, as supporting evidence

• Will save you time in the end!

Thesis: The Chicken Rebellion was a result of extreme chicken poverty, an oppressive state and education for Chicken Rights.

Argument One: Extreme poverty provoked chickens to take action for their rights.

-supporting details

Argument Two: State oppression caused chicken activists to turn to violence.

-supporting details

Argument Three: Chicken education spread awareness among chickens about their rights.

-supporting details

Introduction

• Attracts the interest of the reader

• Gives background information

• Discusses the general focus of the paper

• Presents the thesis statement

Poor: The purpose of this essay is to tell you about the Great Chicken Rebellion. The Great Chicken Rebellionwas when all of the Chickens in Atlantic Canada foughtfor their rights. The first riot that started the rebellion wasin Halifax. The poverty that the chickens lived in willbe examined. State oppression and education will also be discussed. All of these things caused the rebellion.

Better: Chickens all over Canada still read their children stories of the Great Chicken Rebellion of 1933. The Rebellionwas an event that secured human rights for chickens in the laws of our nation. These rights were hard won, but fought for out of necessity and desperation. Beginning in the early 1900s,the state had begun to suppress the freedoms of chickens andpoverty among chickens became widespread. However, Clandestine groups of chickens began to organize and find ways to educate their peers about their natural rights. The Great Chicken Rebellion resulted from extreme chicken poverty, an oppressive state and education for chicken rights.

Body

• Breaks your thesis down into smaller arguments• Topic sentence = “mini-thesis”• Presents your supporting evidence• Tells the reader “so what?” and relates us back to

the thesis

Poor: Many chickens were starving in Canada. John Jacob, a Chicken from Pictou, was an influential writer for secret newspapers in Nova Scotia. Chickens usually didn’t make enough money to buy food for the month. Many chickens went to work hungry. They started to demonstrate in the streets to protest bread prices.

Better: Extreme poverty started to provoke chickens to take action for their rights. In the early 1900s, many chickens lived in poverty, and the situation worsened as the century progressed. In 1903, fifty per cent of chickens lived below the poverty line in Canada, while by 1925, seventy-five per cent were living in poverty (Reid 2004). In The Chicken Diaries (2003), Jones describes the plight of many chickens she met in Legal Aid office who could not even afford to feed their families. Moreover, it was almost impossible to break out of this poverty-- laws prevented chickens from making more than ten cents an hour, which did not even cover the cheapest rent, and few chickens owned land or capital (Jones, 2003). In 1930, a series of protests began against the prices of bread and the wage laws. These demonstrations became increasingly violent over the nextthree years. In 1930, there were 8 protests across Canada and all were nonviolent. In 1932, there were 50 protests across Canada, 20 of which became violent, despite increased police security at demonstrations. Anger was fermenting over harsh living conditions and the chickens were starting to demand changes.

Conclusion• Reiterates your thesis • Sums up your main arguments• Wraps up: Gives the reader an overall “so what?” • Comments further, but does NOT present new

information. • Should have a sense of finality-- don’t just stop!!

Poor: After the chickens started publishing more informationabout rights and how to protest and rebel and stuff, chickensstarted to protest more. Chickens found out that they were smart too. They realized that their lives were harsh compared to humans and cows, and that they were unequal. They started to push for lawsthat would state their equal rights. In this paper, we saw how poverty,state oppression, and education helped them do this.

Better: The Chicken Rebellion was a result of extreme chicken poverty, an oppressive state, and education for chicken rights. All of these forces combined to create a climate in which change was both necessary and desirable. Conditions of extreme poverty drove chickens to protest against the unequal distribution of wealth and improve their situation. Excessive state repression provoked chickens to risk their lives for personal freedoms of the next generation. Finally, secret schools became the centre for radical thoughts on rights and freedoms, and these ideas were propelled into secret newspapers and speeches at secret meetings. Discontent and desperation were channeled into newly organized and educated activist groups, who planned and promoted a rebellion for a receptive Chicken public. Though the battlewas long and difficult, many chickens today celebrate these ancestors who fought for the freedoms and rights they enjoy.

MAKING A CONVINCINGARGUMENT

Hierarchy of evidenceStatement

Chickens were oppressed by the state.

Reason/Elaboration (Why? How?)

The King of Canada took several steps to ensure that chicken rights were limited.

Evidence/Example (Who? What? When? Where?)

In 1925, he passed a law preventing chickens from going to school.

Source (Someone else who said it!)

(Arbogast, 2002)

YOU ARE THE EXPERT!

MICROSTRUCTURE: A TEACHER’S PET PEEVES

Peeve # 1: Tiny, preventable errors

• “Alot” v.s. “a lot”

• “It’s” v.s. “its”

• 10 v.s. ten

• “Don’t” v.s. “Do not”

• “They’re”, “There”, and “Their”

• “Then” v.s. “Than”

• Informal language

• Typos!!

Peeve # 2: Confused Commas• Unnecessary commas: The demonstration began,

around noon, all chickens were present, no one had forgotten this important day.

Try: The demonstration began around noon and all

chickens were present. No one had forgotten this

important day. • No pause or comma: The chickens were waiting

in the field the humans were inside the building the cows were anxious we waited for a long time.

Try: The chickens were waiting in the field, the humans were inside the building, and the cows were anxious. We waited for a long time.

Peeve # 3: The never-ending sentence

• Annoying: Some believe the rebellion began with the riots in Truro, where experts say most of the learning and secret organizing took place and the earliest newspapers were published, the first major protest about bread prices took place on Prince street and inspired demonstrations across Canada, which first made the public aware that chickens wanted more rights.

Try: Some believe the rebellion began with riots in Truro.Experts say most of the learning and secret organizingtook place in this area. The earliest chicken newspapers were published here. To carry on the tradition, the first major protest against bread prices took place on Prince street and sparked a nation-wide rebellion, which first made the public aware of the fight for chicken rights.

Peeve # 4: The wandering paragraph

• Annoying: Chickens thought they were deserving of more rights and freedoms. Poverty was a huge problem. Chickens were not even allowed to go to school. They started to get angry and organize protests. Secret schools started. Some chickens went to work hungry and couldn’t work well, so were fired by their bosses. The fact that chickens did not make a lot of money caused problems too.

Try: Poverty and state repression caused unrest among chickens. Many lived in poverty, and wages for chickens were lower than those for others. Some chickens would even go to work hungry, not perform well, be fired, and become even more destitute. They could not improve their situation through education because the king passed laws preventing them from going to school. Chickens became increasingly frustrated and organized secret schools and activist groups. In the curriculum and at meetings, they discussed the lack of rights and freedoms they experienced. As a result, protests and demonstration marches became more frequent.

Peeve # 5: Huh?(What exactly do you mean by that?)

• Annoying: The demonstrations helped chickens by the attention from the public that it gives them and the rights that they had after.

Try: Demonstrations helped chickens promote their cause because they attracted attention from the public. After the rebellion, many chicken experts believed that the demonstrations, more than anything else, informed the public of the conditions endured by chickens.

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!