At this point int he process, students should consider two questions:
1) How do I organize my research?
2) How do I integrate my research into my discussion?
As usual, the answer to both these questions begins with Standard Essay Form and the topical outline that that each student has prepared. Let's look at the first question.
1) How do I organize my research?
Students already have the basic tool they need for organizing their research: their topical outlines.
Save the outline (use "save-as") as a separate Word file, and call it "Research Log". Then modify this new file by giving each Roman-numbered paragraph its own page. It is now a simple matter to insert the research--facts, statistics, data, quotes, and so on--into the exact place it needs to be according to topic. Be sure to record the information you will need for your in-text citations: authors' names (signal phrases), page numbers, and article, web site and journal titles, and so on.
In the "old days" before word processing students and scholars would write down their research information on index cards, and then they would shuffle their cards based on their plan of organization. Today, with word processing, we simply use cut and paste.
Equipped with their Research Logs, when students are ready to move on to the next step--writing the first draft of their papers--they will find their research information right where they need it in the over-all organization of the paper.
One thing to keep in mind is the idea of topic sentences. Do not integrate any research information, (facts, data, statistics, summaries, quotes and so on) into your topic sentences. Your topic sentences are 100% your voice and your ideas.
Your paper is your discussion, and your research is information that you are using to support your discussion. Think of your sources and quotes as representing what other people have said, and your paper is you reporting and talking about what people have said. In other words, research paper writing is essentially "gossiping" about what other people have said and done.
Keep the importance of topic sentences in mind as we consider the second question:
2) How do I integrate my research into my discussion?
Let's go back to Purdue Owl and the instructions for In-text citations. Please click HERE. As you explore the instructions, refer back and forth to this post.
Basically, there are two things you have to keep track of:
1) The signal phrase, which is usually the author's (or authors') last name(s). Use the author's (or authors') last name(s) in your discussion. Remember, when you write about your research you are essentially "gossiping" about what people have done and/or said.
2) The cite--which is information about the quote--is usually the author's name if the name is not mentioned in your discussion. If you are using a print source, the page number is placed in the cite. Sometimes, if you use the author's last name in your discussion and you are using an electronic source, then the author's last name suffices for a citation. Keep your reader in mind, however, and if it is appropriate, also mention the name of the web site or the journal of your source to make it crystal clear to your reader who and what your source is. Remember, we are very careful about our sources, and looking at them as sources helps us to be skeptical as we assess the value, the legitimacy, and the truthfulness of our sources. Please click HERE to revisit the notes on how to properly assess sources.
There are basically two kinds of quotes:
1) In-text quotes (less than four-lines long).
2) Block quotes (more than four lines long). Note the instructions on Purdue Owl (click HERE and scroll down to the heading "Long Quotations"). Block quotes are not placed in quotes; and the citation for a block quote should come after the period.
After reviewing the Purdue Owl instructions for quotations, have a look at the sample MLA paper. Please click HERE.
Finally, think again about your topic sentences. Do you see how your topic sentences should be in your voice and should not include any quoted material? As always, use you topic sentences to control your organization, and to control your paper.
When you are in control of your organization, your language will be clear!
