ENGL 1102 -- Osborne (Cartersville) -- Spring 2021

Greetings!  This LibGuide has been created to help Professor Callan's Spring 2020 English 1102 class prepare for their Research paper assignment.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or one of the other librarians.  You can find my contact information in the lower right hand corner of this page.

Before you get started, you need to pause and make sure you understand all of the requirements of this assignment and your necessary research.

• How long does the paper have to be (pages, number of words)? 9-10 page paper (not including the Works Cited page)

• How many sources do you need?  Six plus sources are required and must include at least one print source and one scholarly/peer reviewed article from our library resources. After the fourth source, a motion picture may also be used. 

• What kinds of sources are allowed (e.g. books, articles, Websites)?  Sources must be credible.  You may use credible sources from databases, books, periodicals, and/or websites)  After your fourth source, a motion picture may also be used.

• Does your paper need to answer specific questions or be arranged in certain sections?  The paper must make an original, arguable claim related to the research question and support that claim with evidences using credible sources.

• What type of citation format does the professor prefer? MLA 8th Edition

• Are there any other formatting details that need to be applied to the paper (e.g. double-spacing, headings)?  All formatting should follow MLA 8th Edition requirements.  You can find more help with this on the "How do I set up my paper" tab of this LibGuide.

• When is the paper due? 

  Hard copies on Monday, March 15, 2021

  Due to turnitin.com before midnight, Sunday, March 14, 2021**

• What tasks are involved in writing this paper? – See Steps 2-6 outlined in the other tabs.

1. Introductory Paragraph Discussion

2. Notes & Quotes

3. Rough Draft

4. Avoiding Plagiarism Quiz

5. Final Paper

• How long do you think it will take you to complete each task?  Consider this question carefully and plan out your goals along the way.  This will allow you to finish on time.

• Create a daily and weekly timetable based on the due dates and how long it will take you to complete each task.

Remember to take time to think through your research process before you begin. 

• Do you have a good topic?  
  • The topic is manageable, and there is material on the topic
  • You can create a focused question or thesis statement with the topic
• Do you like the topic? 
  • The topic interests you
  • The topic has not been overdone

You may want to start by searching for your topic on Google or in Wikipedia.  This is a great way to find important search terms, topics, or source leads related to your topic.  

As mentioned before, it may be helpful to learn more about your topic before you actually begin your research.  Google offers a few different search options.  They have the search engine you are probably most familiar with which is Google search, but they also offer Google Scholar and Google Books.  Google Scholar as you might imagine attempts to find scholarly information on the internet; however, you should always be wary that these sources may not actually be quality sources.  Google Books will look to find books available for sale or borrowing anywhere in the world.  It may not be a great option, since some of the Google Book results could be unavailable.