A proper research report uses several sources and is focused enough for you to supply in-depth information on your

topic. If your topic is too broad, which is often the case, your first task will be to narrow its focus.

Your topic is given to you: Social Issues Group Project

The topic should interest you. You should be able to cover it in the number pages you have been assigned. You need to know enough about your broad topic to make a wise choice about how to narrow it.

A few ways to find out more about your broad topic: Skim books on your topic. Check the table of contents, the introduction, picture captions, or other possible sources of quick information, such as quotations that begin chapters. Ask questions of other people. (Primary Source) Browse the Internet or media database. (Secondary Source)

You can sharpen your research by developing a set of questions to guide your investigation. For example, the writer of the report on the Battle of the Little Bighorn was interested in the long term effects of the battle. His research questions included the following: What happened during the actual battle? What happened to the people who survived? Why was the battle considered important?

As you begin to get answers, the information may lead you into unexpected areas. If so, feel free to change your direction.
For this research project, some questions will be given to you.

Locating Sources
The best way to locate sources is to start with the

places that have the most information. You can find most of these sources at your library. For example: Newspaper -Atlases -Encyclopedia Books -Thesauri -Databases Magazines -Dictionaries Almanacs -Internet

You will need several sources, but they will help you only if they are good sources. Ask these questions about your sources: Is the material on my topic up-to-date? Is the author qualified? What credentials does he or she have? Is the author fair?

Use a separate index card for each item of information based on each question. Give each card a heading to what the focus is. (Write the question on topic of card) Write the source card number on each note card. Write the page number where you found the information in the source. Put quotation marks around anything you copy word for word from the source Paraphrase information You may use quotes Avoid plagiarism

Planning Your Report -Introduction * Hook * Background Information * Thesis -Body * Support thesis statement with three reasons * Examples, Supporting details -Conclusion *Restate your thesis using different words * Sum up your paper

Topic: Thesis Statement: I. Introduction A. Hook B. Background (Define topic) II. (Reason 1) Why does this problem exist in our culture? What caused it? Where did it stem from? A. B. C. III. (Reason 2) How does it affect our society? Who is affected? What other problems does it create? A. B. C IV. (Reason 3) How have people in our society tried to change or solve the problem? Have any of these solutions been successful in any way? A. B. V. Conclusion

Social Issues Research Group Project

Follow your outline Support your thesis Put paragraphs in order Integrate notes into your paper Documenting information (see MLA format sheet) Preparing a work cited list (see MLA format sheet) Revise Edit and Proofread Publish(Final Draft)

Book-write the authors name, the title, the city of the publisher, the publishers name, the copyright date, and the library call number. Magazine or newspaper article-write the authors name(if given), the title of the article, the name and date of the publication and the page numbers of the article. Encyclopedia article-write the authors name(if given), the article title, and the name and copyright date of the encyclopedia. Internet site-write the authors name (if given), the title of the documentation, publication information for any print version, the date you accessed the document, and the documents network address (in angle brackets). See page 491 in Grammar Book for examples.

Visual Presentation (PowerPoint Presentation). Oral Presentation (share information about your topic) Questions and Answer Research Abstract due May 5, 2014