American Government Research Paper Information
12th AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Informative Research Paper--(Modified)
1. DEADLINE: ____________________
2. PARAMETERS
A. typewritten pages: 4-5
1) introduction
2) body
3) conclusion
B. double spaced with 1” margins
C. minimum of four sources
3. GRADING CRITERIA
A. final draft: 100 exam points X 2
B. individual apportionment
1) Informational Content 50%
2) Technical Content 40%
3) Continuity 10%
4.PHYSICAL LAYOUT
| Title name class period date |
(Analysis Form) |
(Picture Page) |
(Introduction) |
| (Body) |
(Conclusion) |
Works Cited |
5.WORKS CITED
Your research paper should include (at the end) a Works Cited page, which is an alphabetical listing (by first “important” word only) of the sources used in writing your paper. You should include, on the Works Cited page, all of the sources which...
--you selected a quotation from
--you used to gain information from
Below, there are a number of examples for books, magazines, newspapers and electronic resources. Pay very close attention to how the format changes for each. Remember too, that just because I have separated formats to be used or books and magazines, that is not what you are to do. Your Works Cited page will be a mixture of sources listed alphabetically.
| (One Author) (2 or 3 Authors) (More than 3 Authors) (No Author) Magazines (Signed Article) (Unsigned Article) Electronic World Wide Web (Internet) |
Works Cited Spitzer, Robert R. No Need for Hunger. Chicago: Interstate Publishing, 1981. Ostrander, Sheila, and Lynn Schroeder. Superlearning. New York: Delacorte Publishing, 1979. Guerin, Wilfred L., et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Harper Publishing, The World Almanac and the Book of Facts. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association
Mathews, Tom. “What Can Be Done?” Newsweek 21 March 1988: 57-58. “Then There’s Rent Control.” The New Republic 11 April 1988: 22. “The Brazilian Rainforest.” SIRS. Electronic Software, 1995. Warren Boring. The Art of Wrestling. [Online] http://www.___.com, March 6, 1997.
|
Note: If you look at the Works Cited page above you will notice that the sources are not listed alphabetically. Technical reasons kept me from doing that in this sample Works Cited page. You, however, don’t have the same restraints so please alphabetize. Additionally, you can see a quadruple vertical space in the middle of the page. It is there to maintain the format established to the left. Your Works Cited page will not have that break.
6. MISCELLANEOUS
The following information should be used as guidelines to help in the preparation of your research paper.
Set Up
A. double spaced
B. 1” margins (all around)
C. no justified margins
D. standard fonts and must be approved by me (recommendation: “helvetica”)
E. no bold-faced writing
Title Page
A. Underline the title 1/3 of the way down the page.
B. Another third of the way down the page, center and double space the
information which appears on page 1 of this document.
C. The date is the date that the paper is due.
D. This is the first page of the research paper unless a “cover page” is being used and a cover page is generally not recommended.
E. No page numbers.
Picture Page(s)
A. No more than two picture pages.
B. Pictures with captions taken from sources must be parenthetically referenced.
Provide your own caption when possible.
C. Pictures should support the paper.
D. Use creativity in the arrangement of the pictures.
E. It is preferred that charts and graphs appear in the body of the paper but they may appear on the picture page. Simply be prepared to justify it.
F. Pictures must be “burned” into the paper.
G. No page numbers.
Introduction
A. It should not be labeled.
B. It is the first paragraph of the paper.
C. It should make the reader want to read on.
D. Anecdotes, quips, quotes, poems and definitions may all be incorporated into the introduction but may not stand alone.
Body
A. The body should immediately follow the introduction and precede the conclusion.
B. It should have continuity and be numbered (-2-) with the exception of the first page.
C. Standard Quote:
--cited
--quotation marks
--shorter than four lines
D. Extended Quote:
--cited
--no quotation marks
four lines or longer
--double spaced and indented 10 spaces from the left hand margin and extend to the far right hand margin
--edited with ellipsis (3 uninterrupted dots within the sentence; 4 at the end of the sentence)
Conclusion
A. It should be easily identifiable because it is the last paragraph of the paper and certainly not labeled.
B. It should round out your paper and leave the reader with a good taste.
Works Cited
A. Triple space down from the 1” margin and write the words “Works Cited”.
B. Triple space down again to the first citation.
C. Note indentations on page 4 of this document.
D. The Works Cited page is not numbered.
E. Single space within the citation and double space between individual citations or, if you prefer, double space the entire page.
General Recommendations/Suggestions/Warnings
A. A two letter grade deduction is made for any late research paper up to 24 hours. If it is between 24-48 hours late, a 4 letter grade deduction is made. After 48 hours it will not be accepted. You will be given a new topic and will write another one.
B. If chronic plagiarism exists in your paper, I will ask you to rewrite the paper with a different topic. If it appears to be incidental, the mandatory 15 point deduction will be made.
C. Please read carefully the handout entitled “Articles of Plagiarism” which have been handed out to you from me.
D. The paper is double spaced and typewritten.
E. Do not staple the finished product. Place it neatly inside a plastic folder (with binder) and remember to include your “Research Paper Analysis” form immediately behind the title page of the paper.
F. PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD AND WHEN YOU THINK IT IS PERFECT, HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PROOFREAD IT!
RESEARCH PAPER ANALYSIS
Am. Government/Advanced Am. Government
INFORMATIONAL CONTENT (50%)
Comprehensive Treatment of Topic 20 ____
Title Page 5 ____
Picture Page 5 ____
Introduction 5 ____
Conclusion 5 ____
Works Cited 10 ____
TECHNICAL CONTENT (40%)
Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation 10 ____
Physically Neat in Appearance 5 ____
Free of Plagiarism 15 ____
Miscellaneous 10 ____
1.__________________________________
2.__________________________________
3.__________________________________
4.__________________________________
5.__________________________________
CONTINUITY (10%)
Continuity of Thought 5 ____
Interesting to Read 5 ____
COMPOSITE GRADE: ______/_____
General Comments:
ARTICLES OF UNDERSTANDING CONCERNING PLAGIARISM AND RESEARCH PAPERS
1. To plagiarize is to take the writing and/or ideas of others and represent them as your own.
2. Plagiarism is illegal, both in school and out, and technically can result in legal prosecution when it is discovered. Plagiarism is also quite obvious to any intelligent, discerning critic; and it is easily proven. Willful plagiarism is dishonest.
3. Quotations from the works of others may be used by the student to illustrate the point he is making. If the student uses such a quotation, word for word, even if only a phrase or three or four words, he must put those words in quotation marks and authenticate them by a parenthetical reference. If the saying he wishes to quote has become so current and widely used, quotations and authentications are not necessary.
4. For each quotation three things should be done. First, the authority should be introduced. Second, he should be quoted. Third, the quotation should be commented upon.
5. The best place for a quotation is within a paragraph, where it may serve as an illustration of the point the student himself is making.
6. A research paper is not a mere string of quotations and/or paraphrases. Under no conditions should more than 10% of a paper be quoted material. Several consecutive references to the same source ordinarily indicates entirely too little originality. A research paper is the student’s own ideas on a subject, expressed in his own language and written in his own style. It is the result of his own collections, assimilation, assorting, synthesizing, orderly presentation and finally, interpretation, analysis and evaluation of pertinent materials.
Mr. Jenkins
(adapted)
