1. Look for a topic using books, magazines, journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, textbooks, indexes, brainstorming, freewriting, etc.

2. Write down words that describe the subject. These become keywords when searching for material.

3. Familiarize yourself with a subject you are interested in by using specialized encyclopedias. Articles in these encyclopedias give you a short overview of the subject and acquaint you with some of the terminology used in that area.

4. Make sure your topic is focused or narrowed enough to do effective research.

5. Determine the purpose or reason for writing (to inform, compare/contrast, examine cause and effect, or to analyze the topic.) Purpose will affect the type of information you look for.

1. List questions you need to answer to write your paper. Use these questions to guide your search.

2. Decide what sources you will use by looking at:
• Your library Book Catalog to find books on your topic
• Your library Research Computer Programs and the Internet to find electronic information on your topic. (Do this from the library IF you have a signed Internet Agreement on file. - IF you have the passwords, you can access these programs from any browser using a classroom computer, public library computer, and home computer.)
• Reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, yearbooks, and atlases. Think about the validity and appropriateness of your sources.
3. Make source cards.
   • For books:
     Write the author or editor's complete name, the title, the name and location of the publisher, and the copyright date.
   • For magazines and newspapers:
     Write the author's complete name, the article's name, the name and date of the magazine or newspaper, and the page number(s) of the article.
   • For encyclopedias:
     Write the author's complete name (if given), the entry title, and the name and copyright date of the encyclopedia.
   • For Internet sites:
     Use rules for MLA Citation Style Guide, (Modern Language Association).
4. Take notes from your sources on note cards. Make sure you look for information that suits your purpose and answers your research questions. Here are three ways to take notes:
   • quotation - copy word for word with their punctuation with quotation marks
   • paraphrase - rewrite what the author says in your own words, but capture the main idea and supporting details
   • summarize - put in your own words the main or general idea of the passage.
   • Note cards include:
     a heading of the main idea;
     the number of the source card in the upper right-hand corner;
     What type of material the card is:
     • 1.- quotation, 2.- paraphrase, 3.- summary, 4.- own idea; and at the end of the note, the page on which you found the material in your source.

1. Write a thesis statement, which states the main idea of your paper and suggests the organization and purpose.

2. Organize your notes, make a working outline, and begin writing - a process. You need to start and can change things if they need to be changed. Include an analysis of other people's ideas and share your own. Don't just string together facts.

3. Credit the sources of all direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries through parenthetical documentation. This means that next to the quotation or paraphrase you put in parenthesis (), the title of the book or author's name, and the page number where the information can be found. Don't plagiarize. You do not need to document you own thoughts and ideas.

4. Edit your paper. Make sure you have complete, accurate information, that you have met the requirements of the assignment, and that the writing is logical, well-organized, and clear.

5. Decide what changes you need to make and rewrite.

6. Proofread and correct grammar, spelling, and mechanics.

7. Prepare a Works Cited list. This used to be called the Bibliography. The format can be found in The Writer's Craft. (our district's English Dept. approved textbook). The basic format is also in a chart below.

8. Write your final draft making sure you have followed the formatting required by your teacher. If you have not received guidelines, the following is a typical standard. Type your paper in 12 point, letter-quality copy. If handwritten, use dark blue or black ink and write neatly and legibly. Use only one side of the paper. The paper should be double-spaced. Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner.

Plagiarism is just plain cheating. It's using someone else's words or ideas in your paper as if they were your own. If you copy someone else's work on purpose, you know that it's wrong. However, if you don't understand how to cite another's work and accidentally plagiarize, you may still get accused of cheating. That's one good reason to learn quotation mechanics.

Stude Guides - Don't miss this! Use this link for great study tips: Preparing to Learn, Project Skills; Taking Tests, Reading Textbook Chapters, and much more. (From the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota)

This chart is designed to be a quick reference guide to the MLA style of documenting sources in research papers. Your "Works Cited" section should appear at the end of your paper and works should be arranged alphabetically by author (or title, if no author appears in the entry). List only works you actually cited. (Your teacher may also request a list of works consulted.) Entries should be double spaced. For further information about types of entries not listed here consult MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

Please follow your printed MLA Guide for correct spacing and indentation for all examples

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format - This is a guide to using APA format for citing resources including a web page, an electronic journal or magazine, and email.

Big Dog - Our FAVORITE site for MLA format is Big Dog. You don't want to miss this.

Citation Machine - This is a good website to citations Recommended by Diana Fait, Teacher Librarian

The Writing Center - A good website for parenthetical citations. Also recommended by Diana Fait, Teacher Librarian

Guide to Writing Research Papers - This is the authorized site for all schools in the Antelope Valley High School District. This is a comprehensive look at research techniques, using citation based on MLA form, and more. The guide lists examples of citations for a Website, professional site, personal site, book published online, poem, article in an online journal, CD-ROM, and more.