Interview is Part of the Research Paper

In case anyone missed the 50 times I've said it, here's 51: Your interview is part of your research paper! It is not separate. It is one of the six (or eight for an A) sources used in your research paper. Do not include the questions. Do not use the first person (I or me).

After your interview, read over your notes and choose the most interesting or pertinent ones. Put the quote or paraphrase in the part of your research paper where it fits best. In parentheses, write personal interview.

On the Works Cited page, list the interviewee alphabetically by their last name, first name, followed by personal interview (or phone interview, or email interview as the case may be) and the date on which you conducted the interview.

Final Drafts of Research Paper Due Nov. 25

Your 7-to-10-page research paper (with 6-8 sources) is due Wednesday. It may be turned in Monday for a lower grade.

Be sure to see your Writer's Choice book on citing sources, revising and presenting the final draft. You may also want to see the MLA citations link on this page.

If you are looking for an expert to interview, see the link to USC experts on this page.

Style Notes on Research Paper Rough Drafts

Many of you are making the same mistakes. Here are some notes on style:

Punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. That means commas, periods, exclamation points are followed by the quotation marks. "I fell down the stairs and nearly broke my neck!"

Book titles are italicized. You underline when you are writing by hand since it is hard to write in italics.

There's no need to use the words "out there" as in, "There are many people out there in the world."

There is no comma between the author's name and page number in a parenthetical reference. Example: (Smith 40)
There is no comma between the student's name and the page number in the upper right hand corner. Example: (Hernandez 2)

Grades

I will be turning in midterm grades this coming week. Consider your research paper rough draft your midterm exam.

Many of you are behind schedule. Too many people have not turned in their note cards; a few have not turned in their bibliography cards.

I am enlisting the help of your advisory teachers. I've spent the past two hours compiling lists of my students according to their advisory and writing letters to the advisory teacher. I've asked the teacher to meet with you individually to track your progress. I provided a color key to show who is getting an A/B and who is getting a D/F. Those who have a D or F, I made a note of your percentage and what assignments you are missing. Ms. Estangui, Mr. Tuomala and Mr. Alas are on board; I will speak to Mr. Garcia and Ms. Langer on Thursday.

Congratulations to those of you who have an A or a B. Good work!

To those with a D or and F, you have been warned.

Rough Draft of Research Paper due Friday

Monday: Turn in any late note cards by the end of class. Watch the section of the Standard Deviants video on "writing the first draft." Prepare an outline if you have not done so already.

Tuesday:Read the section on Drafting in your Writer's Choice book. See the link MLA Citations on this page.

Wednesday: school holiday. You should plan on setting aside this day to write your rough draft.

Thursday: You may continue to type your rough draft in the library. See handout Rough Draft Self-Evaluation Guide.

Your typed rough draft (including an outline) is due by the end of class on Friday. Any rough drafts turned in after this date will receive one grade lower for each day it is late.

Note Cards: Direct Quotation, Summary, Paraphrase

To review: the bibliography cards that you actually use in your research paper become the Work Cited Page of your research paper.

The notes you are working on become the seven (or more) pages of exposition for your research paper.

Your notes should be a mixture of direct quotation, summary and paraphrase. Remember to write only one idea per card. Include the author's name and page number on the card. The rest of the information is stored on your bibliography cards.

Twenty note cards are due Friday, but you may turn in up to 40 cards (total) for extra credit.

Bibliography Cards, Note Cards Due

You should have turned in 10 bibliography cards by now. Although you will only need 7-8 sources for your research paper, it's good to have some wiggle room.

You will now begin take notes from each of your sources. Write one idea per card. Use as many note cards as necessary. You may take a lot of notes from some sources and a few notes from another. (You may need to buy note cards.)

Due Friday: 20 note cards