To Kill a Mockingbird Research Paper Revision Guide
The Mistakes
1) MLA Header
2) Blacklisted Words
3) Topic Sentences and Concluding Sentences (Developing Paragraph Organization)
4) Quote Integration and Lead-Ins
5) Connecting Details to Developing Ideas and the Main Idea
6) Effective Analysis
7) RFS in Conclusion
8) Works Cited Page
(1) MLA Header
So, you want to create an MLA header? Good idea; it’s required for all English papers from this point forward. What an easy way to start off the paper with an “A”. A proper MLA Header looks like this:
Your Name 1
Your Name
Ms. Fennelly
Advanced Humanities
23 November 2015
TKAM Research Paper
(2) Blacklisted Words
This list of words should rarely appear in academic essays. These words can create clarity problems, passive voice, wordiness, and often an immature voice. You may use 3 per page. Violations beyond that will be marked as an “unchanged error” and could result in your paper being returned to you.
Tips for fixing:
(a) Omit the word. “He is hoping to find…” changes to “He hopes to find…”
(b) Improve your diction. “He is able to” changes to “He can.”
(c) Change your syntax from passive voice to active voice by asking yourself who or what exerts the action (verb) in the sentence. Example: “The people were forced to be segregated from each other.” Word Count: 10/2 BL words. Ask yourself: Who are what is DOING the forcing? Answer: The government/laws. New sentence: “The Jim Crow laws forced segregation between the races.” Word Count; 8/0 BL words.
Mature writing should be clean, concise, and clear.
(3) Topic Sentences and Concluding Sentences (DP Organization)
Topic sentences and effective concluding sentences are critical to effective organization in any paper, especially a research paper. In order to carefully construct these sentences, it’s important to consider your Main Idea and Developing Ideas. For example:
Main Idea: Desegregation positively impacted the United States’ culture and politics.
The entire purpose of the paper is to prove the positive effects of desegregation in two distinct categories, or Developing Ideas: Culture and Politics. Therefore, topic sentences should reflect each DI.
Notice that each Topic Sentence thoroughly addresses the Main Idea (positive impacts), and it also slightly varies in word choice.
DI #1 Topic Sentence: Desegregation positively affected American culture. / DI #2 Topic Sentence: Desegregation also positively influenced American politics.Concluding Sentences in each developing paragraph should not repeat what you already proved; rather offer a final statement of insight that you could later expand on in the RFS.
DP #1 Concluding Sentence:Such profound cultural changes not only helped African Americans find their voice, but it prompted whites to accept Black Americans, creating a more diverse, tolerant America. / DP #2 Concluding Sentence:
Although such political changes initially caused chaos, Americans eventually accepted these changes as necessary to ensure civil rights for all citizens.
(4) Quote Integration and Lead-Ins
Some of you struggle with effectively leading into effective evidence. Lead-ins should function in two ways:
First, a lead in MUST provide the context of the quotation/example; this means it should indicate what is going on in the text from where the DQ/EX came. A good lead-in should offer information about WHO is speaking or involved in the quotation, WHERE or WHEN it is happening in the text, and WHAT is happening. With a RESEARCH paper, it may be helpful to paraphrase part of the evidence to include in your lead in and then quote only what you need for the evidence.
Example: In his 2010 article about the immediate effects of desegregation, Justin Expert, a professor at New York University argued that “[BRILLIANT QUOTATION] .”
Example: During his first presidential term, Roosevelt needed to further stimulate the economy and ensure older citizens would not fall into poverty. Therefore, he instituted the Social Security Act, which “….extracted DQ” (Expert).
Notice both lead-ins integrate to the DD/DQ properly so that the evidence is a complete coherent thought and NOT a run on sentence.
The second function of a lead-in is to offer the emotional quality of the DQ/EX. Avoid
simple, unrevealing verbs such as “states,“ “says,” or “shows” in your lead in. Use your diction carefully to suggest the emotional significance of the example. This will help you further impress the DQ’s significance in your analysis. With the proper context and the added emotional value, the transition from your lead-in to your direct quotation and then to the analysis will be smoother. Look at each of your LIs. Is the emotional value of the DQ/DD suggested? If not, determine the emotional value of the DD/DQ now and reword your lead ins so that they include the proper context AND the emotional value.
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(5) Details that Connect to Developing Ideas and the Main Idea
All evidence should be purposeful (quote only what you NEED). It should be properly punctuated and appropriately cited. It should DIRECTLY connect to the paragraph’s DI. If it does not, it should not be in the paragraph. If your DQ is a good choice for your chosen DI, then make sure it integrated nicely with your lead in. Then, check that there are quotation marks around it. Finally, make sure the source citation is correct. If you stated the author of the source in your lead in, you only need to include the page number (if any) in the parenthesis following your end quotation marks. If you did not state the author of the source in your lead in, you must include both the author and the page number in the parenthesis. Please make any changes directly on your paper.
(6) Effective Analysis: Tying Evidence to the DI and MI
The analysis following any evidence should specifically target the chosen DQ-otherwise, your evidence serves no purpose whatsoever. The analysis should articulate HOW or WHY evidence proves the connection between the DQ and the DI-both of which should support the MI/paper’s thesis of your paper. The analysis is YOUR argument-your critical thinking. It SHOULD NOT BE a restating of another author’s perspective.
Look at the quotation/evidence you chose. Identify at least one word or phrase that resonates with your paragraph’s DI. Your analysis sentences should refer directly to this word or phrase. To analyze means to take apart and examine. Thus, in your analysis, you take apart your evidence and reveal to the reader of your paper how the evidence highlights your argument. That connection is YOUR job to verbalize clearly. Therefore, simply saying “This shows” fails to analyze since you reduce the body of your evidence to a single pronoun- “this.” This lazy structure suggests the reader him/herself must figure out which part of the DQ you refer to specifically-Thus, since you expect the reader to find the DQ’s connection to your own MI, you fail to argue your own point. It weakens all support for your essay, it indicates the writer’s inability to argue his/her own point, and it highlights the writer’s lack of knowledge in basic essay structure.
1. If you need help getting started, use the model given:
Possessive + Noun + Strong Verb
Who/What is subject of DQ? What is the central idea of DQ connect to emotional value
That you want to focus on?
______
(7) Reach for Significance in Conclusion Paragraph.
The conclusion is where you prove to your reader why your topic has relevance beyond the specific subject matter. It should make a specific connection to something beyond itself: another period in history, current events, another literary work… YOU need to articulate the parallels between these topics to prove the thematic importance/lasting legacy of your topic; that is why it is a REACH (it goes yond itself). I gave you these ideas in your outline.
(8) Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page is integral to the paper because it’s a collection of your sources, or where you found your quotations. I won’t accept a paper as turned in without one. Without this mandatory page, your paper will be considered plagiarized.
Look at the sample works cited page and notice the following components:
1) All sources are in proper MLA format
2) Works Cited appears in 12 point font with no underline or italics.
3) Header is on the right corner as it appears on all other pages.
4) All sources are listed in alphabetical order.
5) All sources which are multiple lines have the first line spaced normally, but each subsequent line is indented! This helps the reader distinguish between each source. Use the ruler on both Word and Google Docs in order to create this indentation.
6) It is double spaced without any skipped lines.
Smith 5
Works Cited
Frazier, Ian. “Route 3.” New Yorker. 16 Feb. 2004: 10-17. Print.
Grabe, Mark. “Voluntary Use of Online Lecture Notes.” Computers and Education. Wilson Publishers, 2005. Web. 15 May 2008.
Graber, Kay, ed. Sister to the Sioux: the memoirs of Elaine Goodale Eastman. Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press, 1978. Print.
Hey, Kenneth R. and Peter D. Moore. The Caterpillar Doesn’t Know: How Personal Change is Creating Organizational Change. New York: Free Press, 1998. Print.
Lubell, Sam. “Of the Sea and Air and Sky.” New York Times. New York Times, 26 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Purdue University, 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2009.
Taylor, Patrick. The Gardens of Britain & Ireland. New York: DK Publishing, 2003. Print.
Tutton, Mark. “Designers Developing Virtual-Reality ‘Cocoon’.” CNN. Cable News Network, 11 Sept. 2007. Web. 11 Sept. 2008.