Writing+a+Research+Paper

=Writing Your 12th Grade Research Paper = = = The 12th Grade Literary Analysis Research Paper is in essence an informed analysis of a work of literature in which you will form an idea [your thesis idea] about a piece or work of literature and work to prove that thesis idea though appropriate and effective research skills and effective communication through writing while demonstrating great process and credibility.

Whew! Sounds big and large. Well, the best place to start is in bites. Work through each step and you are sure to be successful. Before we define and review those steps, take a look at the following so that your thinking is in the right place. We need to be on the same page. If you are curious, can pose critical questions about the ground rules for a good interpretation, and are moving to perspectives that deal with the thinking behind the ideas, you are ready and able to tackle this assignment.

You have been engaged in formal analysis of literary texts within your classroom experiences, your writing assignments, and your assigned targeting of reading strategies through out high school; you just may not have labeled it or thought of it this way. The questions asked, the discussions facilitated, and the prompts given are designed to promote, guide, and help you to shape your analysis of literary texts. In all of these student experiences, you were invited through "formal analysis to stand outside of a work of literature and observe how the textual elements functioned as parts of the whole" (Milner and Milner 138). In addition, as Milner and Milner further explain, "Critical synthesis takes a further step back from the text to look at the whole field of literary study" and will invite you to "think about the way you think [metacognition] when you are forming interpretation of a text and discovering how you got to that final conclusion" (2003). We need to get you there as a college bound student.

When developing and crafting your ideas for this research paper, consider the following during the topic selection process:
 * 1) What kind of writing interests you and why?
 * 2) Is there a specific work of literature that you have read or are reading that interests you?
 * 3) Is the literature that you are thinking of classical, modern, recent?
 * 4) Would you be interested in comparing the literature you are thinking of to something else? Why?
 * 5) Are there obvious differences between the work of literature you are thinking of and contemporary literature or movies?
 * 6) Can you note an progressions of thinking, ideas, plot lines, character development, etc. stemming from the literary work you are thinking of? Does the progression begin before your lit. work and continue on? Is your literary work a baseline for the progression you see?
 * 7) Do you find the literary work you are thinking of relative to all ages, time periods? Why? What makes it relevant? Does this say something bigger about humanity?
 * 8) Are there patterns that you can see among whole works of literature that are included in your literary piece, such as athletic excellence and the significance of it, morality or questioning of morality, survival, pursuit of happiness, integrity, love, betrayal, fear, etc.
 * 9) Are there significant patterns of one or more of the following realms of study that exist in the literary work you are thinking of and potentially others: psychology, science, history, music, art, language development, etc.

Research Papers of this nature should always be broken down into steps. At the 12th grade level, there is less time allotted for the completion of the task. In addition, the task will be student driven at this level with less guidance from the teacher. You will receive recommended deadlines within the unit schedule, but they are just that...recommended. You must own the process and completion of the task. The goal here is to demonstrate mastery, not only of the skill set needed for this type of writing, but also of the process and integrity of this type of writing. Here are the steps for writing a research paper:

Step One: Choosing a Topic and Gathering appropriate Scholarly Sources Step Two: Notetaking Step Three: Finalizing your Thesis statement and developing an Outline based on conclusions drawn from your research Step Four: Drafting your paper Step Five: Revising your Rough Draft Step Six: Final Draft Presentation

Steps 1,2 and 3
 * ** Planning and Researching **
 * Choose topic
 * Research topic
 * Take notes
 * Make outline
 * Create thesis statement || ** Drafting **

Step 4
 * Develop ideas
 * Prepare documentation || ** Revising **

Step 5 Step 6
 * Reorganize ideas
 * Delete unnecessary information
 * Finalize details || ** Editing and Presenting **
 * Clarify concepts
 * Polish wording
 * Proofread
 * assemble for reader ||

(Visual Diagram taken from //Writer’s Choice// 316)
 * At any stage, you may need to return to a previous stage to rethink your topic, gather more information, or reorganize your ideas. ||


 * __ Expectations __**
 * You are expected to write a 6 page research paper [Honors will write 8 pages] that shows comparisons, differences, progressions, and/or relativity in literature using analysis of literary text as evidence regarding a topic of your choice.
 * This paper must demonstrate your mastery of writing with research items as well as include a properly formatted Works Cited page; the entire page should be properly formatted in MLA format.
 * You are expected to be honest and to avoid plagiarism demonstrating a strong work ethic.

__**Research Paper Resources**__ Choosing a topic that interests you is so important!! Work hard on this and then you will be off and running. Now that you are locating credible sources and gathering research, choose the best system for gathering, organizing, and documenting your research for you. Keep in mind what makes a source credible as well as the habit rule.....if you document accurately and well, you will avoid putting yourself in a plagiarism red flag zone. Get your Works Cited page going so that you are aware of what sources you have used. Remember to keep updated this list. Add new sources as needed and delete sources that you do not use.


 * Warning: Any papers with items of plagiarism or the suspicion of plagiarism will result in a zero as well as behavioral consequences. ||