HELPFUL ADVICE

TITLE PAGE:  There are many possibilities.  Information that MUST be included is:  Title, your name, and due date.  You may use a font and size of your choice on this page.

OUTLINE:  This tells me how the body of your research paper is organized.  Use the Roman Numeral outline form.  You do not need to include information from your Introduction or your Conclusion in your outline.  Make sure to look at the outline example on pages 13-14 of How to Write a Report. 

BODY:  The Body should have an Introduction at the beginning and a Conclusion at the end.  Both the Introduction and the Conclusion should be separate paragraphs, and the Body fits in between.  Follow your outline, using the information from your note cards, to write the Body.  The first page of the Body should have the Title centered at the top, and each page should be numbered.  The Body, the Introduction, and the Conclusion should equal 3-4 pages.  The Body should be double-spaced.  Indent each paragraph (use TAB key).  Use 2 spaces between each sentence (hit SPACE BAR twice).  Endnotes and footnotes are not necessary.  Instead, use “parenthetical citation” explained on page 17-18 under the heading “Citing Sources” in How to Write a Report. 

It might be helpful to look for answers to the following questions when researching your topic:

• What were this person’s basic drives or compulsions?
• What motivated this person?
• What was the ambition of his or her life?
• How did his or her family background influence him or her?
• Was his or her education a significant factor in his or her life?
• Did he or she have gifts such as sympathy, understanding, intelligence, or patience?
• What were his or her weaknesses?
• What were his or her strengths?
• What was the primary difficulty he or she had to overcome at any time in his or her life? 
• What was his or her idea of success

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  This is a formal listing of all the sources you used to write your paper.  You must use a minimum of 5 sources to complete this research paper.  You may use encyclopedias, biographies, the internet, etc.  Use no more than 2 encyclopedia articles.  Follow the example carefully.  The sources should be listed in alphabetical order.  At the top of the page “BIBLIOGRAPHY” should be centered.  Triple space and then type your first entry.  Each entry should be single spaced.  Double space between each entry.  No page number needed on this page.

NOTE CARDS:  You must have 15-20 note cards.  Samples and an explanation are given on pages 11-12 under the heading “Taking Notes” of How to Write a Report.  This will also be explained in class. 

PLAGIARISM:  Plagiarism is the copying of another’s work, and it is not permitted.  IT IS ILLEGAL!  You may summarize what a book or article says, or you may quote directly from a book.  However, both a summary and a direct quote must be cited using “parenthetical citation”.