The Research Process

1. Begin your research by reading on your topic from your textbook. This will enable you to narrow your topic to something you can handle. If you are doing an English essay, primary sources (novels, short stories, etc...) are the best place to start.
2. You need to begin to make a list of all the books, articles, and other resources on your topic. This is best done by:
   • .checking the electronic index in the library
   • using the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature – a series of volumes in the reference section of most major libraries which will guide you to relevant articles
   • using the online database resources in the library
   • use appropriate Internet Search Engines, such as Google
   • browsing Library bookshelves in your subject area
3. Try to write down a few “Research Questions” to focus your reading. For example, instead of reading everything there is to know about the United Nations, jot down questions about the topic that interest you, such as “What is the role of the United Nations in Iraq?” or “How effective has the United Nations’ response to the situation in Afghanistan been?”
4. Make brief notes on the material you find in your sources that is relevant to your topic. Do not write everything down: use point form, split page or mapping note taking techniques to summarize key points. You may find it useful to use index cards instead of full sheets of paper. Always record complete source information in a clear manner (see notes regarding Documentation). The Denison “library squares” are useful for this. Remember: information for which you have incomplete or non-existent source documentation is not valid!
   

Writing the Essay

1. Begin a working outline; i.e. begin to organize your material under subtopics. The use of index cards to take notes can really speed up this stage of the process. Continue to revise your working outline as you come across new information especially if it modifies your understanding of the topic.
2. Firm up your thesis statement and transform your working outline into your final outline. Your final outline should organize your ideas and incorporate your research in a way that will support your thesis in a coherent and convincing manner.
3. Begin to write your first draft. Write it quickly to get your main ideas out. Attempt to follow your prepared outline and do not worry about the “roughness” of your writing at this stage. Be prepared to rewrite your draft several times as you refine your ideas and delete irrelevant information. In your first drafts, concentrate on making your ideas clear and supporting your thesis consistently and fluently including quotations in appropriate places. In your final drafts, focus on the mechanics of your writing. Work on sentences which flow, eliminate unnecessary words, strive for precision and variety in diction, and check punctuation and grammar.
4. Begin your essay by clearly stating the main idea or thesis you are trying to prove. This opening paragraph should also indicate exactly how you will go about this. The paragraphs following the thesis paragraph should represent the evidence you have which proves your thesis in a logical, convincing argument. Your final paragraph should echo your first in summarizing what has been illustrated in your essay, and should not introduce any new information. A good essay conveys the sense of having a beginning, a middle and an end. It has coherence, in that sentences flow from one to another, paragraphs are smoothly linked one to the next, and the end of the essay echoes and reinforces its beginning.
5. Write your essay in proper essay format as outlined in that section of the online guide.
   

Format & Layout

1. Use white paper of standard size (8 ½ by 11 inches), ruled if you are writing your essay, un-ruled if you are typing or word processing. Where at all possible, submit a typed essay. Use 12 pt. font, preferably Times New Roman.
2. Use only one side of the paper.
3. Double space all essays, whether you write or type, and leave margins of 1 inch at the top, bottom and sides of the page. This makes for increased legibility and allows space for the reader’s comments.
4. Page numbers must be in the top right hand corner, ½ inch from the top. Do not use p. or page; only the number is necessary. Do not number the title page of the essay, or include it in the total number of pages. Do not number the first page of the essay, but include it in the total number of pages so that your first numbered page is page 2.
5. The student’s name, the date, the title of the essay and the name and number of the course (e.g.: 12 University English) must be clearly indicated on a separate title page. Centre the title of the essay but do not underline it, except for words which are the title of an independently published work (e.g.: a book, play or long poem). Titles of short stories, short poems, articles and essays appear in quotation marks and are not underlined.
6. Fasten the pages of your essay together with a staple or paper clip at the top of the left-handed corner. Avoid binders: they may look attractive but they add bulk and make pages difficult to turn.
7. A binder is acceptable for handing in rough work, drafts, logs, etc.... Ask your teacher for his/her preference.
8. Remember to save a copy of the essay in Rich Text Format (RTF) and give it to the instructor in the format specified (i.e.: floppy disc, cd, email or direct submission to Turnitin.com).
   

Documenting Sources

At Dr. Denison Secondary School, as well as most Colleges and Universities, The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd Edition, 1998), by Joseph Gibaldi, is the approved guide for documenting sources. Its central feature is that sources are documented in parenthesis which are keyed to a Works Cited list. If you are documenting sources for which there are not examples listed here, consult the MLA Handbook in the Library or English Department.  There is also an excellent handout available in the Library.
 Note: in some subject areas, such as History or Science, there may be some variances in the format of documentation. Consult your subject teacher.

1. Use apt quotations and sources judiciously to underscore important points and to support them with concrete evidence.
2. The MLA style uses parenthetical references, also known as embedded citations, in the body of your essay to identify the source of any material that is not your own. You must follow the proper form. The parenthetical reference is designed to provide only enough information for the reader to find the full listing of the source on the Works Cited or Works Consulted page at the end of your essay.
3. Short quotations are very effective and may be worked easily into your sentences without formal introductions. They must be enclosed in quotation marks. Note that the period follows the parenthetical reference, and that there is NO comma between the author's last name and the page on which the quotation is found.
   e.g.: Confederation did not grant the language, civil law and educational  system already established in Quebec any “protected position in the nation as a whole” (Creighton 13).
Quotations of over three lines in length must be indented 5 spaces and double spaced. Note that the reference follows the period and there are no quotation marks. The parenthetical reference must also be lined up at the right margin.
• e.g.: Regarding Great Expectations, Angus Calder suggests:
  

  Like Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Great Expectations is the story of the discovery, by a man risen from an orphaned infancy to good fortune, that the basis of his prosperity is not what he thought it was and that a strange Fate has loaded him with guilt. (Calder 16)

4. All references must be credited. In addition to direct quotations, ideas and opinions borrowed from other sources must be acknowledged with proper references. Statistics, statements or figures that are not generally known or self evident must be properly referenced.
5. The content of the parenthetical reference varies depending on the source used. Refer to the MLA guide in the library or English Department for complete details.

Here are some formats you may need to use:

• Simple Citation: put author’s name and page number (Jones 26)
• No author: put title of article in quotation marks and page number (“Everest Challenge 145)
• Author already mentioned in text, single source for essay: only indicate page number (15)
• Multi volume work: use volume and page separated by a colon and a space (5:81-90)
• More than one work by a single author: indicate title as well in abbreviated form (Davies, Fifth 55)

Citation from play: Act, Scene, and lines separated by period (3.1.99-110)
 
 Works Cited/Works Consulted
 

1. A Works Cited page is an alphabetical list of all the books, essays, articles, web sites, etc... that you have referenced in your essay. It is the last page of your essay and is numbered.  The title, Works Cited, must be centred at the top of the page. It is not underlined. Double space every line and begin at the margin. When an entry is longer than one line, indent five spaces starting on the second line of the entry.
2. A Works Consulted page is exactly the same as a Works Cited page, except that it includes sources which you may have consulted but have not referred to directly in your essay, as well as those sources which are referenced directly in the essay. Do not use both the Works Cited and Works Consulted page. Pick whichever one fits your needs, or do as instructed by the teacher.

   All entries on the Works Cited page must be consistent in format. Below, you will find some examples of the correct works cited format for a number of different types of sources. If your source is not represented in the following examples, check the Denison Library or the English Department for the MLA Handbook.
   REMEMBER THAT ALL PUNCTUATION MUST BE METICULOUSLY ADHERED TO!!
   Note that all entries must be listed in alphabetical order by the first letter of the last name of the author, or by the first letter of the title if there is no author given. The examples below are given headings for reference purposes only.

A book by one author:
 Kenner, Hugh. The Invisible Poet. T.S. Eliot. New York: Ivan Oblensky, 1959.
 A book with an editor:
 Griffith, John W. ed. Classics of Children’s Literature. New York: Macmillan,  1981.
 An article from a monthly periodical:
 Steele, Shelby. “The Recoloring of Campus Life: Student Racism, Academic  Pluralism, and the End of a Dream.” Harper’s Magazine Feb. 1989: 47-55.
 An article from a weekly periodical:
 Bemrose, John. “Shakespeare’s Lost Manuscripts.” MacLean's 1 June 1987: 54.
 An article from a daily newspaper:
 Suzuki, David. “Computer Can’t Compare with Brain.” Globe and Mail 9 May  1987, natl. ed. : D4.
 A book review:
 Owne, Margaret. “Poking Fun.” Rev. of A Nest of Singing Birds by Susan Charlotte Hayley. Prairie Fire Mar. 1986: 176-78.
 A work in an anthology of essays, stories or poems:
 Stevens, Wallace. “A Primitive like an Orb.” In The collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. New York: Knopf, 1968. 440-443.
 A radio or television programme:
 “Final Mission.” Star Trek: The Next Generation. FOX. WUTV, Buffalo, 24 Nov.
1990.
 An article accessed from a periodically published database on CD-ROM:
 Monastersky, R. “Ozone hole starts strong, fades quickly.” Science News 19 Oct. 1996: 246 +. Magazine Article Summary Full Text Elite. CD-ROM.  EBSCO. Jan. 2001.
 “DNA crime bank open for debate, Rock says.” Toronto Star 21 Sept. 1994, final ed.: A15. Canadian NewsDisc. CD-Rom. Micromedia. Dec. 1994.
 An article accessed from a non-periodically published database on CD-ROM:
 “Alcott, Louisa May”. DISCovering Authors: Canadian Edition. CD-ROM.  Detroit: Gale, 1994.
Internet Documentation: World Wide Web:
Basic Form:
Author/editor (if available). Homepage Title. Copyright/Update Date. Sponsoring Organization (if available). Date accessed day month year <URL>.
Basic Form (no author):
 Homepage Title. Copyright/Update Date. Sponsoring Organization (if available). Date accessed day month year, <URL>.

SEE THE EXTENDED VERSION OF INTERNET CITATIONS ON THE LIBRARY SITE.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is derived from the Latin word, plagiarius (“kidnapper”) and refers to taking another person’s ideas or words and presenting them as your own. It is not a form of “borrowing”, it is stealing. As with other offences, ignorance is not an excuse. Plagiarism may result in a mark of zero and a failing grade in a course. Here is a list of sources which must be acknowledged in your essay to avoid plagiari

1. Direct quotations of someone else’s words.
2. Paraphrases of someone else’s words. A good essay will often present derived material, not as direct quotation, but in your own words. The source of the idea, however, must be acknowledged in parenthesis within your essay.
3. Facts and information derived from someone else. Acknowledge any material that is less than obviously familiar, or that is open to interpretation.
4. Ideas derived from someone else. Acknowledge not only those ideas which the original source states plainly, but also someone else’s broad line of argument or specific method of leading towards a particular conclusion.
5. Matters of common knowledge (such as the approximate circumference of the earth, or the fact that John F. Kennedy was assassinated) need not be acknowledged, and the same goes for familiar proverbs or sayings

 NOTE: Plagiarism may occur because a student does not take careful notes. As you summarize a source, carefully distinguish between direct quotation, paraphrases and original ideas which may occur to you in the process of reading or thinking. Note that merely including a source in the list of Works Cited does not itself constitute acknowledgment of derived materials. Acknowledgments must be made at appropriate junctures in your text.

For more information on Plagiarism and how to avoid it, follow this link to the Library's Power point presentation on this subject.

The Writing Process

Transitions

Peer Editing