Using the 4 steps of research writing

Using the 4 steps of research writing

On your desk:1. Your outline2. Your Works Cited Page3. Your research notes packet4. All your research articlesSomething to write with and paper to take notes.I will collect 1-3 at the end of the hour. Do not hand it if anything ISN’T complete.

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First, organize your info:

• You already have your info split up into body paragraphs on your outline.

• Now, you need to organize the pieces of information within each body paragraph.

• Let’s look at my example:

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I have 4 pieces of info that I want to put in this paragraph.

BODY PARAGRAPH 1: BACKGROUND

Subtopic: History of… (write your topic here): using military dronesTopic Sentence:The military has been using unmanned drones to gather intelligence for many years.Piece of Evidence I will use in this paragraph: Citation for the article this

piece of evidence is from:

Drones as we know them started in early 2000’s.

(Jones 2)

“In the Iraq war, drones helped gain valuable intelligence information used to protect American soldiers.”

(Smith 278)

Even before WWI Austrians used balloons to attack—sort of unmanned drone

(Smith 278)

Some powered by solar, some fuel, some batteries.

(Jones 2) 3

What order should I put them in?BODY PARAGRAPH 1: BACKGROUND

Subtopic: History of… (write your topic here): using military dronesTopic Sentence:The military has been using unmanned drones to gather intelligence for many years.Piece of Evidence I will use in this paragraph: Citation for the article this

piece of evidence is from:

Drones as we know them started in early 2000’s.

(Jones 2)

“In the Iraq war, drones helped gain valuable intelligence information used to protect American soldiers.”

(Smith 278)

Even before WWI Austrians used balloons to attack—sort of unmanned drone

(Smith 278)

Some powered by solar, some fuel, some batteries.

(Jones 2) 4

What order should I put them in?BODY PARAGRAPH 1: BACKGROUND

Subtopic: History of… (write your topic here): using military dronesTopic Sentence:The military has been using unmanned drones to gather intelligence for many years.Piece of Evidence I will use in this paragraph: Citation for the article this

piece of evidence is from:

Drones as we know them started in early 2000’s.

(Jones 2)

“In the Iraq war, drones helped gain valuable intelligence information used to protect American soldiers.”

(Smith 278)

Even before WWI Austrians used balloons to attack—sort of unmanned drone

(Smith 278)

Some powered by solar, some fuel, some batteries.

(Jones 2) 5

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Your turn:

• In each box, decide which piece of information makes the most sense to put first, second, third, fourth, etc.

• Number your pieces of information.

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Now, it’s time to write!

• You will be using 4 steps EACH TIME you put a piece of information into your paper.

• You will probably want to pay close attention to this, since ALL 4 STEPS must be present in your paper EVERY TIME you use a piece of information.

• Using the 4 steps successfully is a big part of your grade for this final paper.

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Here are the 4 steps. I will go through them one by one.

1) Introduce the source2) Give the info (paraphrase OR quote)

3) Cite the info 4) Explain the info (Highlight handout)You may take notes either on a piece of loose leaf paper or on an unused page of your notes packet. 8

Step 1: Introduce the Source• Step 1 will be the beginning of your sentence. • In step 1, you will say the source you got the information

from. Here are some examples:• According to Thomas Nelson, in his New York Times article

“Military Drones,” he writes,………• Thomas Nelson makes an interesting observation in his article

called “Military Drones” published in the New York Times; he says that……..

• Nelson also argues that………• In a New York Times article called “Military Drones,” Thomas

Nelson mentions that…….• In addition, Nelson believes that…….

• Pick one piece of evidence from your first subtopic and introduce it. Do this now. Just do step 1.

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Step 1: Introduce the Source• The first time you use a source:

• State full name of author, title of article or where it came from (title of magazine or newspaper, title of website).

• Example: Billy Jim Bob Jones states in his article “It’s Rodeo Time” in the New York Times, that…

• All times you use that source after that:• Only need to use author’s last name, or shortened

version of title of article (if no author).• Example: Jones also argued that…

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How I would put STEP 1 into my paper:

In his article, “Now’s the time to buy,” Eric Peters explains that

Pink=Step 1 Notice how I have the article title along with the author’s name in the BEGINNING of the sentence. It is NOT complete. I now need to insert my evidence and citation (STEPS 2-3)

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Step 2: Give the info/evidence

• This is the E in CEW• This is where you will actually use the info from your

outline.• Put info back into sentence form• Be really, really careful not to accidentally use phrases

from the original text• Put in your voice. Make it sound like you.• Make sure the finished product is a complete sentence

and makes sense!• Pick one piece of evidence from your first subtopic and add

it to step one you have written down. 12

How I would put STEP 2 into my paperIn his article, “Now’s the time to buy,” Eric Peters explains that it is a good idea to pay the $75-$150 to get your potential car inspected by an independent mechanic (Peters 1). I think this is a good idea, because then I could be sure that the car I buy is in good shape and runs well. Even though it costs extra money, the peace of mind will be worth it.

Pink=Step 1 Notice how I have the article title along with the author’s name in the BEGINNING of the sentence. It is NOT complete. I now need to insert my evidence and citation (STEPS 2-3)

Orange=Step 2 Give the info/evidence (summarize/paraphrase OR give a direct quote using “ ” quotation marks) Notice it is the paraphrase from the original notes I took from the research article. This is the Evidence in CEW. This sentence is ALMOST complete! Keep going. 13

Step 3: Cite the Info

• Look at the parenthesis next to the note you have taken. It should be the FIRST word for that entry on your Works Cited page.

• After your give the info, you will put the citation.• Include parentheses.• Period goes AFTER parentheses.• If you don’t do this, it’s plagiarism!• Here is the example: “Here is by quote” (Johnson).• Yes, this means that every paragraph will have citations

all over the middle of it.• Add your citation to the end of this sentence. It will match

what you have on your outline and the note sheet14

How I would put STEP 3 into my paperIn his article, “Now’s the time to buy,” Eric Peters explains that it is a good idea to pay the $75-$150 to get your potential car inspected by an independent mechanic (Peters 1). I think this is a good idea, because then I could be sure that the car I buy is in good shape and runs well. Even though it costs extra money, the peace of mind will be worth it.

Pink=Step 1 Notice how I have the article title along with the author’s name in the BEGINNING of the sentence. It is NOT complete. I now need to insert my evidence and citation (STEPS 2-3)

Orange=Step 2 Give the info/evidence (summarize/paraphrase OR give a direct quote using “ ” quotation marks) Notice it is the paraphrase from the original notes I took from the research article. This is the Evidence in CEW. This sentence is ALMOST complete! Keep going.

Yellow=Step 3 Cite the info (say where it came from. Look at your notes. You should have the information in parenthesis already!) The period is AFTER the (parenthesis). The sentence is NOW complete.

STEPS 1-3 always go together.15

Step 4: Explain the information• This is the Warrant in CEW.• How does this piece of info/evidence help answer your claim?• How is it important to understanding the claim and your

overall subtopic? • Overall, Step 2 and Step 4 (evidence and

explanation/warrant) should be about even in length.• Repeat key words from the claim and evidence.• Be careful not to get repetitive in this step. Vary it up, make it

your voice. • Basically, this is where you give your opinion about the

information or explain the information. Tell us the “so what?” Why does this matter?

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Phrases to start the warrant• In a new sentence or two, right after your steps 1-3,

explain why this evidence important to the subtopic you are writing about.

• This is important because….• This shows that….• This evidence shows that….• This could mean….• Another possible consequence…• You have to explain why this evidence is any good.

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How I would put STEP 4 into my paper.In his article, “Now’s the time to buy,” Eric Peters explains that it is a good idea to pay the $75-$150 to get your potential car inspected by an independent mechanic (Peters 1). This is important because having someone inspect my car before I buy it will help me see if this vehicle is worth the money the dealer is asking. Also, it doesn’t cost much and it might save the hassle of more expensive repairs I might have to pay for after I buy the car. It’s better to spend the extra money upfront instead of dealing with issues later.

Pink=Step 1 Notice how I have the article title along with the author’s name in the BEGINNING of the sentence. It is NOT complete. I now need to insert my evidence and citation (STEPS 2-3)

Orange=Step 2 Give the info/evidence (summarize/paraphrase OR give a direct quote using “ ” quotation marks) Notice it is the paraphrase from the original notes I took from the research article. This is the Evidence in CEW. This sentence is ALMOST complete! Keep going.

Yellow=Step 3 Cite the info (say where it came from. Look at your notes. You should have the information in parenthesis already!) The period is AFTER the (parenthesis). The sentence is NOW complete.

• Green=Step 4 Explain the info (How does this piece of info/evidence help answer your claim? How and why is it important to understanding the claim and your overall subtopic?) Notice this is a couple of sentences long. This is the Warrant in CEW.

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• Let’s look at an example of a whole paragraph.

• White is the topic sentence• Pink = step 1• Orange = step 2• Yellow = step 3• Green = step 4

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Example whole paragraphIn the Vietnam War, bombing specific targets was still rather primitive because smart bomb technology was still in the process of being developed, and the practice of carpet bombing caused many civilian casualties. Johnson says that hitting specific targets with bombs during the Vietnam war was still very difficult, and because of this the military would bomb everything around the actual target (Johnson 18). This strategy of mass bombing now seems almost barbaric because our bombs were still so primitive that the military had to blow up everything around intended targets. Johnson also shockingly states, “Estimates of collateral deaths from saturation bombing in North Vietnam range from at least 500,000 to as high as 1.5 million” (Johnson 18). This estimate is truly shocking. Even his low estimate of 500,000 is more than the entire population of the city of Minneapolis. These numbers certainly make one wonder how the leaders of the war justified such killing. Could news accounts of this much death at American hands have contributed to America’s reluctance to continue the war? It seems reasonable to assume so. With how primitive much of the bombing was in Vietnam, it’s no wonder weapons developers were under pressure to develop more accurate bombs.

For tomorrow:

• You will have 4 days in the lab, starting tomorrow, to type up your paper using all the info from today.

• You may only use a computer when your work is satisfactorily completed.

• If you want all 4 days to use the computer to type your paper, you should probably complete your outline tonight at home if you haven’t already.

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