Internal Citations
First Draft Guidelines
Goal: writing a rough draft and putting your links into an MLA Works Cited page
More information needed? It’s fine to seek out more facts. Just make sure that you keep track of your new sources. The basics: - Type on a Google doc. - Use Times New Roman, size 12. - Double space. - Length: 3-6 pages The most difficult part is already completed. Finding enough interesting and important facts is key to a good paper. You’ve already sorted and organized your notes. Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable; use your own words. (If you use a quote from a source, make sure to use quotation marks.) Follow your outline. If you find that something doesn’t work the way you thought it would, it’s okay to adjust the order. Write formally: Avoid first and second person pronouns (I, me, we, us, you, your). Your paper should sound factual. Save everything. Don’t throw out note cards or get rid of your original page of links. Make a writing plan. How much should you plan to write a day? Leave a day at the end to go over your paper. Reading your paper out loud is always a good idea because you can catch mistakes your eyes glance over. Use the text-to-speech reader to listen to someone else read your paper. Proofread. Although it may be a rough draft, it should not be a sloppy copy. _________________________ Basics of a Research Paper Introduction Catch/hook your readers’ attention and clearly state what your paper will be about. Do you have a good quote about your topic? That might make a great hook. Is there a startling or fascinating fact that might capture attention? Do not use phrases such as I am going to write about or my paper is about. Make the topic of your paper the star of the show. Your introduction generally is a paragraph and gives a brief preview of what is to come. Leave the details for the body of your paper. ______________________________ Body of Paper Each paragraph in your paper should be about a different idea and should start with a topic sentence. The remaining details support that topic and hopefully come from a variety of sources. Using information from primarily one source really isn’t research. Paragraphs should flow from one to another. Connect them with transitions or link the paragraphs together (in addition to being a national landmark…). Each of your piles of notes will probably be a paragraph unless you need to subdivide the pile into smaller sections. ______________________________ Conclusion It’s easy to get to the end of your notes and then wonder how to wrap up your paper. Don’t add new information in the conclusion; its job is to summarize. What did you use to capture attention at the beginning of your paper? Can you revisit it in a full-circle ending? Is there a different quote that could be used to give readers something to think about? You may always make a final comment or judgment about your topic. Just avoid talking about yourself. Note: The cover page will be the first page of your rough draft, and the Works Cited page will be the last. |
Cover Page
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Sorting and Organizing Notes
We talked about how notes are like a deck of cards. At first, they are a jumbled mess, and then you start sorting them into piles of similar information. Once you have your piles sorted, you'll need to decide upon an order that makes sense for your paper.
For example, if you you were writing about the White House, the pile about the construction would go before the pile about the building being burned by the British. My order would look like the following. The White House 1. Introduction 2. Construction 3. Burning by the British 4. Official naming 5. Reconstruction & Restoration 6. West Wing 7. East Wing 8. Notable rooms - State Dining Room - Red Room - Blue Room - Lincoln Bedroom 9. President's residence 10. Grounds 11. Security 12. Conclusion Obviously, there have been books and books written about the White House. There are many more topics that I could have discussed, but I decided that these were the most important and interesting. Each of my numbered sections is going to become a paragraph or two in my rough draft. It all depends on how much information I gathered and if I need to subdivide a category, such as the section on notable rooms. Now it's your turn. Take your pile of notes, divide them into similar topics, put the like topics in an order that would make sense in your paper. |
Taking Notes
Topic of Card (not topic of paper) Book #, Page #
• Notes pertaining to the topic listed -- generally in bullet-point fashion • Written in one’s own words - in phrases • Quote anything that came directly from the source. Example: East Wing 5, 105 • finished 1902 • contains - pictures of First Ladies - china bookcase (made 1800- 1810) - Presidential seal above the door |
Choosing famous Sites & Gathering Resources
Choose a famous or historic landmark or site. A list has been provided , but you may request another topic. Only one person per class may choose a particular site.
Begin collecting books (at least two) and websites that will be useful for research purposes. Remember to keep an open Google doc to save the links so that you can go back to those sources as well as eventually make a Works Cited page for your paper. (Note: For now, number your links. We'll get rid of the numbers later.) https://champaign.org/ www.champaign.org/e-library www.openlibrary.org/ www.infoplease.com/ |
A Day in the Life of a Personified Object
Participles and Participial Phrases
It's a Mystery!
The Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, The Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Art Heist at the Isabella Gardner Museum, and the Loch Ness Monster are just a few of the mysteries still waiting to be solved. Dig in!
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Transitive & Intransitive verbs
Direct & Indirect Objects
Catholic Daughters 2024 EDUCATION CONTEST
Theme:
“God’s love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.” Luke 1:78 or How does my love shine for others? Options: Essay: Typed — Not to exceed 450 words — on one page — not front and back Poetry: Typed — Any style — Not to exceed 8 lines Art: Size 8½ x 11 — NO LETTERING Medium: crayon, markers, ink, paints, charcoal, black or colored pencil, pastels, duct tape Computer: Size 8½ x 11 or 8 x 12 — NO LETTERING Art must be the artist’s own creation and should fill the majority of the page. No clip art or images imported from web sites allowed. Photography: Size 8 x 10 — Do not add matting — Color or black and white. Picture must be taken by the contestant — not a computer downloaded image or a collage. Music: Lyrics and notes on professional music score paper and must be contestant’s own creation. (See teacher for more detailed instructions.) General Rules:
Due Date: Thursday, February 1, 2024 Prizes: Local winners are forwarded to State. State winners are forwarded to National. National Prizes: 1st - $100; 2nd - $50; 3rd - $25 |
The Other Reindeer
Be Persuasive
Choose a person, event, or object to memorialize or celebrate on a stamp.
Once students have chosen their topic, they will research their topic, note websites, web or map their ideas, come up with an interesting way to introduce the topic, preview the reasons to be presented, add the body paragraphs with support and elaboration, transition between ideas, and then wrap up the essay with a thought-provoking statement. |
Works Cited
Students will practice making a Works Cited page. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
The following sites can help: http://www.easybib.com http://www.bibme.org/mla MLA Citation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style |
Predicate Nouns and Adjectives
Linking Verbs
Soundtrack of My Life
Music motivates us, calms us, inspires us, at times, irritates us, and basically becomes the backdrop against which we live our lives. Songs can bring vivid memories of people, places, and events from our past and document our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
Imagine someone is making a movie about your life. You are in charge of creating the soundtrack. Brainstorm important moments in your life. What was the event? How old were you? Where did it happen? Why is it important? Pick at least six songs that will be on your soundtrack. (Please remember this is a school project and all titles and lyrics must be school appropriate.) You may either write your list on a sheet of paper, or you may type it in a Google Doc. Choose songs that mean something to you or that have lyrics that represent your life. Do not choose songs just because you like them if they have no connection to your experiences. (You may not use more than two songs per artist.) Write/type the story of your life, including either a song title or lyric in each of the paragraphs. Remember that for each event or mood listed, you should clearly explain the relationship between your life and the song. Why does this song belong in your life’s soundtrack? Why is it so meaningful to you? Work on transitioning from one paragraph to another so that your life story sounds connected, and make sure to add a short concluding paragraph that wraps up your life so far but also looks to the future. Optional: Turn the story of your life into a slide presentation for an additional grade. The words are going to be the same, but you’ll add images and music. (Don’t forget a Works Cited page.) |
Active and Passive Voice
Students will be able to recognize and use the active and passive voice in writing.
In the active voice, the subject is doing the action of the verb. The announcer declared the bad news. In the passive voice, the action of the verb is happening to the subject. The bad news was declared by the announcer. The bad news was announced. |
Cultural Awareness Week Materials
Family Trees
Business Letters
Each student will submit a proposal for a business letter. It will include the business or person to whom he/she wants to write as well as the purpose of the letter.
Students will search online for the addresses of the people or businesses they plan to write. Each student will need to flesh out the information he/she wants to include in the letter, which should be both straightforward and interesting. Facts, examples, and details to support the purpose of the letter are to be included. After the letters are typed, edited, and revised, they will be mailed. |
I Am Poem & Poster
Students are writing poems, trying to describe who they are.
The poem starts with the words "I am," and it ends with "I am part of God's plan for the world." Middle lines may continue the "I am" pattern, or they may utilize various other action verbs: I play, I hum, I dance, I wonder, etc... The poem will be accompanied by graphics, words, and quotes that visually reflected both the poem and the student. |
Prayer Pal Interview
Sample Writing Editing & Revision
Resource Links
- Easy Bib - MLA http://easybib.com/cite/view/style/mla
- BibMe http://www.bibme.org/
- MLA Citation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style
liberal arts and humanities.
- Champaign Public Library http://champaign.org
- Urbana Public Library urbanafreelibrary.org/
- Digital Public Library of America http://www.dp.la
- Internet Public Library Kidspace http://ipl.org/div/kidspace
- InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/
- Fact Monster http://factmonster.com
- Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
- Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/