Tips & Reminders
For Paper #5 (Research Report)
Be sure to read the textbook assignments (listed on the Assignments page) and carefully follow all the formatting guidelines for MLA notes and Works Cited entries. Use the student paper on this web site as a guideline for format. The sample student papers in Chapter 47 of the textbook are presented in a different format than the one required for this assignment. They do, however, offer good examples of how to develop your persuasive tone, develop strong paragraphs, integrate and cite sources, and use quotations.
Be sure you are including all sections listed in the Formal Report outline, and that you fully develop each section.
Use heads and subheads to identify each section.
As you've already learned, the Web is replete with propaganda, misleading data and downright incorrect information. Evaluate your Web sources carefully and use only those documents that are authoritative -- that come from an identified, trustworthy source, that provide an in-depth analysis of the topic, that include research that is backed up with "hard" evidence. Be wary of using material from a site whose main purpose is to sell products.
For good sources of authoritative information, try some of the links under Research Tools. Of particular benefit will be the Internet and Web research links you'll find on the Parkland and U of I library sites, especially the databases under "First Search" (linked from the Parkland library page).
Choose just one type of reader for your report and define the person or group carefully. Every element of your paper -- your choice of subtopics, the evidence you use to prove your points, the words you choose to present ideas -- should relate directly to the needs of the audience you've chosen. Think about why your reader wants or needs this information and how he will use the results, and tailor your presentation to his needs. Give your reader a clear course of action in the Recommendations section of your report.
Be sure your thesis is persuasive, clear and unified (deals with one main idea).
Test every paragraph in your paper -- and every piece of evidence in each paragraph -- to ensure that it supports and develops the thesis.
Test your introduction and conclusion. It's easy to let your argument "wander" away from the original thesis. If you find that the persuasive focus in the introduction is different than the ideas you are stressing in your concluding paragraph, you may need to modify your original thesis.
Use a persuasive tone throughout the paper. Be direct in your presentation of the evidence.
Don't offer personal opinions. You may, however, include your own ideas if they are a direct response to the evidence and presented in direct, objective language. You might, for example, add your analysis of the differences between sources, emphasize some logical conclusions you want the reader to make from data, or provide an original example to explain a point.
The only section of your report where you should refer to yourself is in the Research Methods section, where you describe how you approached and researched your topic. Don't refer to yourself in any other sections of the report. If necessary, perform a search in your word processor to find and eliminate every instance of "me", "I", "myself", etc.
Avoid "announcing" your purpose, your topic or the sections of your paper.
Omit statements such as:
"In this paper, I will show . . ."
"The next item I researched was . . ."
"In conclusion . . ."
"To summarize . . ."
Don't let your sources organize your paper (don't report all the material from one source in just one part of the paper) and don't rely too heavily on just one or two of your sources. The most effective, persuasive paragraphs are those that include evidence from more than one source. Ideally, you should support each subtopic with specific evidence from several sources.
Try not to begin a paragraph with a piece of evidence from one of your sources. Instead, write a general topic sentence that presents the conclusion you want the reader to make about the subtopic. The topic sentence provides a summary of all the evidence in the paragraph, shows how the subtopic relates to your main thesis, and makes a transition from the previous topic.
Make smooth transitions between paragraphs and between sections of the report -- relate a new subtopic to the previous one, emphasize comparisons and contrasts, show how and why you're shifting subject or point of view.
Within your paragraphs, use internal transitions to focus your evidence, show logic behind your development, and make comparisons and contrasts between sources.
Choose quotations carefully and don't use too many (no more than one quotation per paragraph). In general, use quotations only when they show the speaker's idea or opinion and when you believe it's critical to preserve the exact wording.
If you're presenting a fact (statistics, examples, historical information, news, results of research, etc.), try to paraphrase or summarize the information into your own words.
All quotations must include an acknowledgment phrase (the full name and credentials of the speaker) in the sentence with the quote. For the subsequent references to a speaker or writer, use the last name only.
If the speaker is not the author of the printed source where you found the quote, use the (Qtd. in _____ ) format for the MLA note.
Your paper will use in-text citations, which make brief reference to the immediate source, and a Works Cited page, which is an alphabetized list fully identifying the sources you used. Carefully read both the textbook assignment for this project and MLA Citations under Writing Tools. These materials will help you decide on the best way to document each piece of evidence you use from your sources. Note that your decision will usually depend on whether you are presenting a fact or an expert's opinion.
Facts, statistics, references to current events and other informative material should usually be presented in direct language, with full documentation (author and page number) in the MLA parenthesis note (Brown 3).