Color Class/Language Arts

Gray1

Name

Mrs.Healy

Color Class/Language Arts

26February 2010

Research Paper Title

Your paper should be typed on a computer using standard, white 8.5 x 11 inch paper. It should be double spaced using legible font, either Times New Roman, Calibre, or Arial at 12 pt. font. Mrs. Healy prefers Arial, but will accept the others. According to MLA, only one space should be used after periods or other end punctuation, however, I will either accept one or two. Margins should be one (1) inch on all sides. Indent the first line of a paragraph using the tab key once.

As noted above, there is a special header that numbers all of the pages consecutively. It should be placed in the upper right hand corner with your last name and then the page number. Since this is my paper, it says Healy1, which is not the teacher name, but the author name. It should be one-half inch from the top and flush with the right hand margin. MLA expects the class information (name, teacher name, class color/class and date) to be on the left side of the paper double-spaced. See the example at the top of this paper. Your title should be centered, but should not be underlined, bolded, nor typed in all capital letters. If you are referring to other works in your title, make sure you use the proper underlining or italics.

If a book or movie is listed in your paper, either underline or use italics to show that. Choose which one you are going to use, and remain constant throughout your paper.

Your research paper should have in the first paragraph an introduction, hook, and your three-part thesis. As in your persuasive essay, the thesis should state the overall idea of your paper and the different topics you are going to expand upon in your research paper.

Each paragraph should then cover your topics that make your paper interesting to the reader. Each topic may have more than one paragraph. For example, if you are talking about the first emperor’s life, there may be a paragraph on his childhood, one on his rise to power, and one on personal life, etc. Each paragraph should have a good transition from the previous one. Transitions can be transition words, but not first, second, etc, or they can be a sentence that will lead into the next one.

By using sentences that parallel a portion of the last paragraph, your paper tends to flow better, and seem more organized. Remember, all paragraphs should only have one idea in them. Once you have presented all of the information in your research paper, it is necessary to write a conclusion.

A conclusion is not just a repeat of the introduction. It should be used to make sure that the information presented in your paper is reiterated and that the reader knows that the paper has come to an end.

At the end of your paper, you need to make sure that you have written a works cited page to show where your information was gathered. This must be done correctly using MLA format. We will work together using Knightcite to make sure all of the works cited page is done correctly. You must also remember that if you quote or even write information with a majority of words exactly from a source, you must use an internal citation to avoid being accused of plagiarism.