Name ______Period ______

9th Grade Research Paper Guidelines

Goal: You will be writing an argumentative paper, which makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

You will first need to create a thesis statement. Your thesis statement will examine an area of our curriculum (Chapters 18-27). A thesis statement is a sentence that identifies the purpose of the paper. The thesis statement should be debatable. Your job is to back up your thesis with three points or reasons. These points/reasons must be supported with facts and evidence.

You may need to change/modify your thesis during the course of the research process. You will be given a list of example research questions that you will then answer to be your thesis statement.

Paper Requirements:

1)Double spaced throughout

2)Times New Roman (12-point font)

3)2-3 typed pages (NOT including Title Page or Works Cited page)

4)Use of in-text citations; a minimum of 2

5)A Works Cited page (see guidelines)

**Your paper will be submitted to “TURNITIN.COM”. I will provide directions for this at a later date.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:
Pollution is bad for the environment
Reason: All studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is good.
Example of a debatable thesis statement:
At least 25 percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution.
Reason: People could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Requirements:

PART 1 – Research

Source (Bibliography) Cards – ONLINE!

  • All sources will be kept on Noodle Tools (online)
  • Each time you research a new source, you should write a bibliography card.
  • You shouldhave at least five to seven sources.

Source Card Example

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Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. Place published: Publishing company, Year published.

Information (Note) Cards

  • All notes will be kept on Noodle Tools (online) OR notecards
  • When taking notes, you may either copy the quote exactly or you may paraphrase (put into your own words) the contents of the quote.
  • You should have at least 30-40 note cards
  • Each note card should have:

1)Slug/Tag (topic corresponding to your thesis statement and later used to organize your outline)

2)Notes

  1. 1 direct quote from the source
  2. Restateddirect quote

Information Card Example (Noodletools does this for you!)

(Slug/Tag)
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
Notes – Direct Quote: “George Washington’s natural strength and years on the frontier as
a surveyor and a Virginia militia officer served him well in his role
as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
Restated: George Washington’s years as a surveyor and militia officer in Virginia
provided him with the skills he would later need when
commanding the Continental Army.

PART 2 – Outline

All outlines will be kept on Noodle Tools (online) and then formatted into a Microsoft word document.

Your outline should contain aproper heading (see below) aTitle.

Sample Outline

Student Name
Teacher, p.__
American History 9
George Washington
  1. Introduction
  1. Opening sentence
1.
2.
  1. Thesis statement (should be the last sentence of the 1st paragraph in your paper)
(underline your thesis)
II. Reason 1– type the slug/point from your thesis statement
B.
1.
2.
III. Reason 2 – type the slug/point from your thesis statement
2.
B.
1.
2.
IV. Reason 3 – type the slug/point from your thesis statement
1.
2.
B.
1.
2.
V. Conclusion
A. Restate thesis statement (from the introduction)
B. Summarize paper

PART 3 – Research Paper

Write your thesis paper using your outline and notecards.

Research Paper Example

Student Name
Teacher, p.__
George Washington

George Washington was the most influential figure during the American Revolution because he ______, ______, and ______.
George Washington’s natural strength and years on the frontier as a surveyor and a Virginia militia officer served him well in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (Author 7). Washington’s determination, which made him strong in battle, helped him in other areas as well.
His tenacity in battle was matched by his persistence with those who controlled the purse strings in the army.
George Washington…

Works Cited Guidelines

As long as you have written accurate bibliography cards (source cards), this step should be very easy. You just need to print this out from noodletools. Make sure the works cited is only the sources used in your paper. Include the following:

1) Center your title (Works Cited)

2) Arrange your entries alphabetically (by the author’s last name)

3) Double space throughout the page

Works Cited Example

Works Cited

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.

Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World Rept., 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.

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