Research Paper

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Mock Congress Research Paper Guidelines

Philip Barbour High School

Social Studies Department

NOTE: This is a MINIMUM REQUIREMENT assignment. Failure to complete this assignment is a failure for the semester.

-You will be participating in Mock Congress at the end of the semester. In preparation for this experience, each student is REQUIRED to research and write a paper on a national problem/issue.

-The purpose of this research paper is:

1) to prove that there is a problem/issue of significance for the society in general,

2) to explain the extent and nature of the problem/issue,

3) to provide a proposed solution to this problem/issue.

-Later, you will be REQUIRED to write a legislative bill on your problem/issue, which will provide a recommendation for a specific solution. This research paper will be used to testify before a committee and/or speaking for that bill in floor debate during Mock Congress.

-This handout covers all the guidelines and minimum requirements for this assignment so you can plan accordingly to completing the requirements on time.

A) Minimum Requirements:

1. 4-6 Pages (MLA Format)

1. Must be TYPED (will NOT be accepted if handwritten)
2. 12 pt Times New Roman
3. Double-spaced
4. Min Page # does NOT include Works Cited page!
1. Minimum of 4 Research Sources (you may have more sources than that!)

Sources must be:

i.                  MLA Format

ii.                  Cited In-Text AND Bibliography/Works Cited Page

iii.                  Must be documented on your Research Notes Doc!

2. Research Sources

a.              Sources must be from within the last 5 years ONLY (unless approved by Mrs. McNaboe first)

                                                         .              Any source older than 5 years must be cleared with your instructor ahead of time, otherwise its usage will not be given credit.

b.              Non-Internet Sources and Database Works (use the ones provided by the library!!)

c.              Major Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals

d.              Acceptable websites: .edu, .gov, .org or major publication websites (ex: Time, Newsweek, Published Newspapers, etc.)

e.              Non-print related .com websites will NOT be accepted (unless approved by Mrs. McNaboe first)

Content

6. Background/History

g.              Opposing Viewpoints

i.                  these two combined = 70% of your paper

h.              Policy Proposal for Fixing/Altering the Issue

                                                         .              15% of your paper

i.                Defense/Validation of Policy Proposal

 .                  15% of your paper

B) Grading Rubric

            Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

           

            450 – 500 points = A

            400 – 450 points = B

            350 – 399 points = C

            300 – 349 points = D

                0 – 299 points = F

C) Point Deductions

Points will be deducted for the following paper (these will be deducted off the top prior to reading the paper:

1.     Late Papers will receive a MAXIMUM grade of 50% (250 pts).

a.              If you have not turned in a research paper (even for no credit) by the day bills are due, your paper will not be accepted and you will not earn credit for the class.

2.     Missing completed Works Cited page = -100 points

3.     Missing completed Research Notes Doc = -50 pts

4.     Minimum # of sources not met = -25 points per source under 4 Min. Requirement (i.e. 1 missing = -25 pts; 2 = -50 pts; 3 = -75 pts; 4 = -100 pts)

5.     Minimum pages not met = -25 pts per each ¼ page missing (Remember: Works Cited page does NOT count towards the 4-6 page minimum!!).

6.     Content = -0 – 200 points (depending on organization, content, composition, grammar, etc.)

7.     Improper MLA format/works cited full citations= -50 pts format; -50 incorrect Works Cited full citations.

8.     Improper MLA in-text citations = -50 points

Important! Important! Important!

Refer to the rest of this handout throughout your

research and writing process to avoid committing plagiarism!!

Plagiarism: taking credit for another’s work, or not properly referencing appropriate sources.

PLAGARIZED PAPERS (OR PAPERS SHOWING SIGNIFICANT SIGNS OF PLAGARISM WILL RECEIVE A ZERO SCORE AND WILL NOT EARN CREDIT FOR COMPLETING THIS ASSIGNMENT TOWARDS GRADUATION CREDIT.

PLAGARIZED PAPERS (OR PAPERS SHOWING SIGNIFICANT SIGNS OF PLAGARISM WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TURNED INTO THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE STUDENT WILL FACE FURTHER ACADEMIC DISCPLINARY ACTION AS DEEMED NECESSARY.

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use:

· Another person’s idea, opinion or theory

· Any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings – any pieces of information – that are not common knowledge

· Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words

· Paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words

To avoid plagiarism, you should also be familiar with the following terms:

Paraphrase: using someone’s ideas, but putting them in your own words. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the information.

Summary: putting only the main ideas or main points into your own words. Although summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material, you must still acknowledge the source of the information.

Quotation: using someone’s exact words. When quoting, you must always put quotation marks around the passage and you must still acknowledge the source of the information.

Common Knowledge: facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people. This is generally known information and you do not need to acknowledge the source. Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.

Some examples to compare

The original passage:

“Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.”

Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

An acceptable paraphrase:

According to James Lester, students often quote excessively in research papers, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

An acceptable use of a quote:

To produce a quality paper that showcases your ideas, “probably only 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter” (Lester 46-47).

An unacceptable plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

Plagiarism Do’s and Don’ts

Don’ts

· Don’t misrepresent other people's work as yours.

· Don’t make up fake sources, quotations, interviews, etc.

· Don’t think that by copying something over and changing every couple of words that you’ve put it in your own words.

· Don’t cut and paste without citing your sources.

· Don’t procrastinate on assignments and homework so that you end up under too much deadline pressure and become tempted to take shortcuts.

· Don't resubmit work for which you have already received credit in a previous class or earlier in your current class.

Do’s

· Do expect to make mistakes managing and citing sources; do expect to correct them.

· Do use strategies to help you manage your sources (for example, put sources you’re quoting or paraphrasing in a different font and font color until the final draft so you don’t accidentally forget they came from another writer).

· Do have fun with sources. Think of using them as weaving, building, playing with blocks, or any other metaphor that you associate with “taking what’s at hand and making something of it.”

· Do write before, while, and after you research, but especially before.

· Do have a clear idea of your thesis, purpose or argument so you can have a distinctive voice in your own essay and aren’t overwhelmed and intimidated by sources.