Class Today: Research Paper Checklist

By now, most of you should have written your rough drafts and received my comments on them. During today's class, I would like you to take this time to review and revise your paper. Your final draft is due next Saturday, December 11, 2010 (both emailed and hard copies, please).

Below, please find a checklist of things to look for in your paper. This is only a tool. You do not need to do this in order; you do not need to email me your results. Figure out what works for you, and that's what I want you to be doing. If you find it helpful to read your paper to a classmate, do that. If you would prefer to focus on your conclusion on your own, that is fine, too. I just want you to spend your classtime improving your rough draft so that the final draft you give me next week is the very best research paper you can give me.

Research Paper Checklist (courtesy of the authors of your textbook):


Voice and Tone
The language used in your essay, your “voice,” is another facet of your paper that is determined by your audience and purpose. (See pages 266–267.) Following are some things to ask yourself when you revise your paper:

❐ Does the tone that I use relate to the audience and purpose of this paper?

❐ Did I use active voice?

❐ Did I eliminate the use of such words as “I” and “in my opinion”?

❐ Did I eliminate the use of slang, jargon, or inflated, overly formal language?

❐ Do I explain the use of all specific terminology or subject-specific references?

❐ Do I write with authority?

❐ Do I eliminate the use of sexist or other discriminatory language?

Introduction

Good introductions set the tone for your paper. Unfairly or not, since they are the first your reader sees of your writing, they may influence your reader more than anything else you say in the paper. Many readers, you, I am sure, included, have put aside reading very worthy essays because the introduction didn’t interest them or misinformed them about the content of the paper. Thus, it is especially important that you now review your introduction and ask yourself some questions about it. For more information about introductions, see page 203 and page 268.

❐ Is my introduction clearly written?

❐ Does my introduction serve to interest or excite my reader?

❐ Is my introduction written in a lively style?

❐ Does my introduction give the reader an accurate idea of what I will be doing?

❐ Does my introduction end with a clearly focused thesis?

Conclusion

Conclusions are your last moment alone with your reader, be he or she your teacher, a stranger, or your best friend. Thus, you want the conclusion to leave the reader thinking about your essay and the points you have made. Don’t introduce any new material in your conclusion. You have no space to develop it, and you will just confuse your reader. Use the conclusion to sum up and put what you have written in a larger context—for example, if you have written about your school, the conclusion may take the reader to the city’s schools, to the nations, and so on. For more information, see pages 207 and 271.

❐ Is the main idea of your essay clear in the conclusion?

❐ Have you succeeded in summarizing your main points?

❐ Is there a sense of completion in your conclusion?

❐ Have you checked to see that there is not any new information in your conclusion?

Evaluating Sources

As we discussed in Chapters 5 and 7, it is not enough to locate and copy sources. They must be used appropriately, punctuated correctly, and linked to the topic sentence of the paragraph through the use of transitional introductions (“sandwiching”). Check over your quotations by asking yourself the following questions:

❐ Is there a topic sentence in the paragraph?

❐ Does the writer introduce the quotation and blend it into the paragraph?

❐ Is the direct quotation put in quotation marks and punctuated correctly?

❐ Is there a clear paraphrase of the quotation?

❐ Has the writer analyzed the quoted passage and connected it to the topic sentence?

❐ Does the source have authority?

Documenting Your Sources Using MLA Style

Documenting your sources shouldn’t be difficult if you understand what you are citing and copy the form accurately. See Chapters 8 and 9 for more information on doing a Works Cited list. (Guidelines for the most recent MLA formatting can be found at http://www.mla.org.) Ask yourself the following questions to help you check your in-text documentation:

❐ Does your documentation follow all of the MLA guidelines exactly?

❐ Are the sources listed alphabetically?

❐ Are all titles correctly identified by underlining or italics or quotation marks, as shown in the appropriate model?

❐ Do you have in-text citations for all references to sources?

❐ Are all of the sources in the in-text citations listed in the Works Cited list at the end of the paper?

❐ Have you included the URLs for Internet sources?

❐ Is everything spelled correctly?

Proofreading Strategies

Here are some ways to proofread. Pick one or more when you read over your paper.

1. Take a blank piece of paper and move it slowly down the paper, from beginning to end.

2. Take a blank piece of paper and move it slowly up the paper, from the end to the beginning.

3. Read your paper aloud, slowly.

4. Read through your paper again, focusing on those areas that you know you have trouble with.

5. Read your paper to a friend.

6. Do all of the above, put your paper aside, and proofread it again a day later.

When You Get to Class: Human Subject Consent Forms

When doing research with human subjects, institutions of higher learning often require consent forms. Look at this sample consent form from the CUNY Graduate Center. Why do you think such a form might be required for certain kinds of research?

Research Opportunities: Fulbright Grants

If you have found that you enjoy research, you might want to consider applying for a Fulbright Grant after you complete your four-year degree. After I graduated from Fairfield University, I spent a year in South Korea on a Fulbright Grant (mine was a teaching grant, but many grants are for research). The grant paid for a lot of things—my salary, housing, and cell phone—and provided me with a lot of opportunities that I might not have had otherwise.


To see a sample of different fields of study and countries, check out this list of grantees from my university (scroll down to “Fulbright Scholars”).

The Fulbright website describes the different kinds of grants that are available. Click on “Country Summaries” to find out more.

When You Get to Class: Organizing Songs

1) Write down your three favorite songs.
2) Get the three favorite songs of everyone in your row and add them to your list.
3) As a group, come up with three different ways to organize your songs. Be creative!

MLA/APA Drop-In Clinics for Students at Library

The Library is offering drop-in sessions for students on both MLA and APA starting next week and going through to the last week of classes.

These sessions are designed to provide one-on-one assistance to students who are in the process of compiling their Works Cited or Reference Lists (these are not going to be formal classes).

All sessions will be held in the Library's Computer Lab, E101-B:

● Tuesday, November 23rd 10:30-12:30PM
● Wednesday, December 1st 11:30-1:30PM
● Thursday, December 2nd 3:00-5:00PM
● Tuesday, December 7th 4:00-6:00PM

Students can drop in ANYTIME during the two hour sessions to get help.

If students cannot attend one of these sessions, they can always get assistance at the Library's Reference Desk, anytime the library is open.

When You Get to Class: MLA Formatting

You should have already learned a lot about MLA formatting in your English 101 course. One great website to reference for MLA formatting is the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab).

Check out the information on this page of the website, from the beginning through the sample first page. Compare and contrast it with the first page of your rough draft. Does your first page look like theirs? Why or why not?

Note also the links on the side of the page for formatting your "Works Cited" page. We will be using these later in class.

When You Get to Class: Outlining and Meb Keflezighi

Read this article on Meb Keflezighi, the man who won the NYC Marathon last year, and create a running outline of the information (see p. 166 in your textbook).