We know our students need critical skill development in the area of research and writing, so why aren't we doing it? Consider this model to create structure and save time. For more information, visit http://nicolelusiani.com/teacher-project/forthcoming-books/

1. TEACHING CRITICAL
RESEARCH AND March 3, 2012
WRITING SKILLS
NICOLE LUSIANI ELLIOTT

2. INTRODUCTION

3. GOALS FOR TODAY
Today‟s Participants will leave with:
 An understanding of the Research Paper
process
 Tools for how to teach the Research Paper
 Ideas for how to structure the Research Paper
process
 Methods for how to assess the Research Paper

4. GOALS FOR TEACHING
THE RESEARCH PAPER
 Students engage in the research process with a trusted
adult as their guide.
 Students distinguish between valid and less valid research
sources.
 Students apply their knowledge of literacy vocabulary to
the social sciences.
 Students build an academic narrative about a subject
that interests them.
 Students learn basic use of citations and references.
 Students develop a valuable and transferable skill that will
serve them in college.

5. THE RESEARCH PAPER
MEETS ITS GOALS
How those Goals get
Research Paper Goals Met
 Students engage in research  Teacher is with them each day and
p r o c e ss w i t h a t r u s t e d g u i d e . each step.
 S t u d e n t s d i s ti ng ui sh b e t w e e n v a l i d  Teacher guides students though source
a n d l e s s v a l i d r e s e a r c h s o u r c e s. s e l e c ti on .
 Students apply their knowledge of  Teacher guides students as they
l i t e r a c y s k i l l s t o t h e s o c i a l s c i e nc e s. d e v e l o p t h e s i s, c l a i m s, e t c .
 Students build an academic  T e a c h e r p r o v i d e s a n o p p o r t uni t y f o r
narrative about a subject that s t u d e n t s t o c h o o se a t o p i c t h a t
i n t e r e st s t h e m . i n t e r e st s t h e m .
 Students learn basic use of  T e a c h e r i n s t r uc t s s t u d e n t s a b o u t b a s i c
c i t a ti o ns a n d r e f e r e n c e s. c i t a ti o ns a n d r e f e r e n c e s.
 S t u d e n t s d e v el o p a v a l ua bl e a n d  S t u d e n t s c o m pl e t e t h e p r o c e ss w i t h
transferable skill that will serve p r i d e a n d b o o s t i n c o n f i d e nc e . T h e y
them in college. s t a r t c o l l e g e w i t h a s t r o n g f o u n d a ti o n.

6. WHAT IS THE RESEARCH PAPER?
CONTENT, SKILL, OR BOTH
 Content
 Incorporate it into an existing unit
 Use it as a way to teach a new unit
 Skill
 Teach it as a stand alone unit
 Both
 Use it as a way to review their favorite topic
 Use it as a way to bring depth to a topic that you glossed
over

7. WHAT IS THE RESEARCH PAPER?
OVERVIEW AND TIME COMMITMENT

8. PREPARING F0R THE RESEARCH
PROCESS: DECIDE DIRECTION
Backward Mapping Frontward Mapping
Start with the end Start with step one and
goal, plan move forward step by
backward, then move step.
forward.
Choose this option if you
Choose this option if are clear about your
you want to prove a general topic but open
particular point and/or as to the point you want
already have a clear to prove and/or your
destination for your end destination.
paper.

9. BACKWARD V. FORWARD
 E s t a b l i sh Y o u r T h e s i s.  B r e a k do w n I d e a s .
 F i nd S o u r c e s.
 B r e a k do w n C l a i m s.
 N o t e E v i d e nce .
 F i nd E v i d e nc e .
 D e v e l op T h e s i s.
 N o t e E v i d e nce .
 B r e a k do w n C l a i m s.
 Pause.  Pause.
 Revise.  C o l l e c t F u r t h e r E v i de nc e .
 Pause.
 C o l l e c t F u r t h e r E v i de nc e .
 C o l l e c t L a s t E v i de nc e .
 F i na l O u t l i n e.
 F i na l O u t l i n e .
 Draft, Edit, Revise.
 D r a f t s , E d i t , R e v i se .
 F i na l S t e p s  F i na l S t e p s

10. PREPARING F0R THE RESEARCH
PROCESS: DETERMINE NEEDS
Teacher Needs Student Needs
 Library  Index Cards or
 Computer Lab Equivalent
 Projector  Library Access
 Confidence  Computer Access
 Patience  Trust in the Teacher
 Support for Resource  Trust in Themselves
and/or EL Students  Willingness to take risks
 Support from the English and work hard
department and/or your
course team

11. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS
 Set up structure that is solid and serves the needs of
your students.
 Stick to that structure, even if they push the boundaries.
 Reassure them.
 Provide them with the final draft rubric on the same day
as the checklist.
 Tell them the “Why?”
 Have them repeat after you, “Trust the Process.”

12. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
FIND SOURCES
 Book Sources
 Read through the Table of Contents and/or Index
 Read a page or two to see how it feels.
 Use the bibliography to find other books on the topic.
 I nternet Sources
 Distinguish between .com, .gov, and .org
 Avoid: sloppy or unorganized it almost always indicates you need to move to
a different source, any organization that exists to tear down another group or
idea, and site that uses judgmental language
 Seek out sites that lists sources/references
 Schol arl y A rticl es
EVERY SOURCE THEY USE OR CONSID ER USING THEY MUST WRITE DOWN
THE PUBLICATION INFORMATION

13. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
NOTE EVIDENCE
 Summarize
What? Record the general idea of a large amount of material.
When? Do this when you‟ve read a large section (for example, a page in a
book) and you just want to sum it up in one statement .
 P a r a p h r a se
What? Restate the information in your own words.
When? Do this when you want specific information but not necessarily the exact
wording.
 Quote
What? Record the information exactly as it is written with quotation marks
around it.
When? Do this when you want to use and/or make a strong statement and
anytime you are using something that is already quoted in your source.

14. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
NOTE EVIDENCE
PUT ONLY ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION ON EACH CARD.
USE ONLY ONE SIDE OF EACH CARD.
A sample note card for a book or periodical source looks like this :
“The tactics of the Japanese indicate they will never
surrender.” President Truman, July 1945.
Source C, page 52
A sample note card for an Internet source looks like this:
“The tactics of the Japanese indicate they will never
surrender.” President Truman, July 1945 .
Source C, 3/25/ 11

15. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
ESTABLISH THESIS
 Lay out evidence cards.
 Consider trends, questions, etc.
 As they consider their evidence, an overall position
about the topic should surface. This will ultimately be
the thesis.
 Modeling how to write that thesis is key.

16. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
EXAMPLE THESES
Bel ow-av erage:
I think the U.S. was right to drop the bomb and you wil l , too, after
reading my paper.
A v erage:
The U.S . was right to drop the A tom Bomb on the Japanese in A ugust
of 1945.
A bov e-av erage:
The United States was desperate to end WWI I and since the Japanese
had no intenti on of surrenderi ng, the U.S. was total l y justifi ed in
dropping the A tom Bomb .
Excel l ent:
A fter four years and thous ands of l iv es l ost, by A ugust 1945 the U.S.
was desperate to end WWI I . The gov ernment compil ed strong
ev idence that the only way to bring the war with Japan to an end
was to do something dras ti c and dev astati ng; therefore, the U.S. was
justified in droppi ng the A tom Bomb.

17. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
DEVELOP CLAIMS
 Establish strong thesis first.
 Take the thesis and break it into parts.
 Guide them though the process of turning these parts
into claims: clear, concise, and take a position.
 Modeling is key

18. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
EXAMPLE CLAIM BREAK DOWN
Here’s our excellent thesis:
 A fter four years and thousands of l ives l ost, by A ugust 1945 the
U.S. was desperate to end WWI I . The government compiled
strong ev idence that the onl y way to bring the war with Japan
to an end was to do something drastic and devastating;
therefore, the U.S. was justified in dropping the A tom Bomb.
 Here’s our excellent thesis broken down into parts:
1-After four years and thousands of l ives l ost, by A ugust 1945 the
U.S. was desperate to end WWI I .
2-The gov ernment compiled strong ev idence that the onl y way to
bring the war with Japan to an end was to do something drastic
and devastating;
3-therefore, the U.S. was justified in dropping the A tom Bomb.

19. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
EXAMPLE CLAIM
Claim One Examples based on, “After four years and
thousands of lives lost, by August 1945 the U.S. was
desperate to end WWII.”
 Average: The U.S. was desperate .
 Above Average: After four years of bloody battle, the
U.S. was desperate to end WWII .
 Excellent: Because the human and monetary costs of
the war were spiraling and Americans at home were
anxious both financially and emotionally, the U.S.
government was desperate to end WWII.

20. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
WHAT‟S NEXT?
 Once thesis and claims are established, guide
students though a preliminary outline.
 Goal is to see where more research is needed.
 The next day or two should be dedicated to
filling in those gaps.

21. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
ORGANIZING THE RESEARCH
Sample Student Directions
 Spread your cards out over a large surface so you can see and read all the
evidence you have so far.
 O r g a n i z e y o u r c a r d s i n t o c l a i m p i l e s . Y o u r c l a i m s s h o u l d b e s o l i d b y n o w; i f n o t , y o u
wi l l h a v e t i m e t o r e v i s e t h e m wh e n y o u o u t l i n e .
 As you sort, you may come across cards that don‟t fit into claims and/or cards you
wa n t t o u s e e l s e wh e r e (l i k e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o r c o n c l u s i o n ) . P u l l t h o s e o u t f o r n o w.
 Wi t h i n e a c h c l a i m p i l e , p u t y o u r c a r d s i n l o g i c a l , s t o r y t e l l i n g o r d e r . E s t a b l i s h t h e
o r d e r b y h o w b e s t i t f l o ws t o g e t h e r t o p r o v e y o u r p o i n t .
 N o w t h a t y o u r c l a i m p i l e s a r e i n o r d e r , d e c i d e wh i c h c l a i m p i l e g o e s
first, second, and so on.
 I f you pulled out cards for the introduction, put them on top in order; if you pulled
out cards for the conclusion, put them on the bottom in order; if you have cards
t h a t d o n ‟ t f i t , r e c y c l e t h e m . Wh e n y o u a r e d o n e y o u wi l l h a v e o n e s t a c k o f c a r d s
that tells the story of your entire paper.
 N O W, N U M B E R Y O U R C A R D S ! Wr i t e a n u m b e r o n t h e t o p r i g h t c o r n e r o f e a c h
c a r d , c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y f r o m n u m b e r o n e . (I f y o u h a v e t w e n t y - f i v e c a r d s , t h e y s h o u l d
b e n u m b e r e d 1 - 2 5 . ) Th e s e n u m b e r s a r e c r i t i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e o u t l i n i n g , t h e
drafting, and the citation process.

22. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
OUTLINE
 They hate it.
 They need it.
 The goal is to establish the skeleton for the
rough draft.
 What if they refuse? So be it.

23. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
FINAL OUTLINE EXAMPLE
 I ntroducti on  (Cl aim One)
 WWII global war lasting  #2
roughly five years  #3
 Commentary
 Allies and Axis powers  #4
 Commentary
 Hundreds of thousands of  #5
lives lost, impact on  #6
millions by 1945
 Commentary
 Potsdam conference
abroad, Manhattan  Card #7
Project at home  Commentary
 #8
 Card #1  #9
 Commentary
 (Thesis)

24. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
DRAFT WITH CITATIONS
 MLA
 APA
 CMS
 Basic Citations with Footnotes

25. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
EDIT – REVISE – EDIT
 Self Edit
 Revise
 Peer Edit
 Revise
 Teacher Edit?
 Revise

26. TEACHING THE RESEARCH PAPER
FINAL STEPS
 Reference Page
 Title Page
 The Importance of Polish
 Congratulations

27. ASSESSING THE RESEARCH PAPER
CHECK LIST
 Each day you check in with each student
 Assign points on the spot, keeping track on their
checklist
 Include some kind of stamp or other “ok” to prove it
was you who assigned those points
 They lose the paper, they lose the points. Consider it a
lesson in responsibility.
 The checklist comes in with the final draft and the final
draft rubric. The bulk of your work is already done.

28. ASSESSING THE RESEARCH PAPER
FINAL DRAFT
 Use a rubric
 No comments on the paper
 Set a time limit per paper
 Stay focused on the “why?”

29. SHE WAS TAUGHT
THE RESEARCH PAPER
 “The class saved my a$$ in college. I wished I had taken
the class in junior high rather than senior year high
school. It would have saved me many tears .”
Kathy Bliss, Graduate Saint Mary’s College

30. HE WAS TAUGHT
THE RESEARCH PAPER
 “I had your classes twice in my 4 years at SLz and I think
the most important thing I learned is that the ability to
write a research paper is so much more than writing the
paper itself. It is important to know that having the
ability to research, and research the right way will help
a student in almost every facet of college life. As
opposed to spending hours mindlessly sifting through
the internet and textbooks you are able to quickly and
confidently find pertinent information for your research.
The term „research paper‟ sounds so specific but the
abilities you learn while writing one can be used in
many different ways.”
Jackson Tady, Graduate, Holy Names University

31. WHY DON‟T WE TEACH IT ANYMORE?
 Testing
 Pressure to Cover More Content
 Increased Class Sizes
 Fear

32. WHY AM I TALKING ABOUT IT NOW?
 More First Generation Students Going to
College
 Increased Cost of College
 Recent Graduates‟ Feedback

33. SKILLS I WISH I LEARNED IN SCHOOL:
BUILDING A RESEARCH PAPER

34. I FEEL THAT STRONGLY

35. THEY WERE NOT TAUGHT THE RESEARCH PAPER
SO I WROTE A HANDBOOK
 “I‟ve always struggled when it comes to research
papers. This guide gave me step -by-step instructions to
develop top-notch papers.”
Devonte Jackson, B.A. Candidate University of California, Berkeley
 “Most professors today assume that since you are in
college you know how to research, but many of us
don‟t. This guide is easy to follow and contains all the
steps necessary. It makes life easier.”
Jazmin Marquez, B.A. Candidate, University of California, San Diego

36. FOR YOU, MY THANKS
AND A FREE E-BOOK
 Index Card
 Name
 Email
 School
 Free E-book?
 E-Copies of today‟s handouts? (plus)
 Other updates?

37. QUESTIONS?