Pre-Writing
Choose a person from the past that you find fascinating. You might want to make a list of historical people you wish you could meet. For example, I would love to meet Queen Elizabeth I of England, Henry James, Napoleon, and Homer. Think about topics that interest you. If you love sports, you might want to focus on a famous athlete from the past. Maybe you wish you could have been with the first space team to step on the moon’s surface. You could choose one of those men to use as the subject for your biography. Just make sure you love your subject enough to research him or her and write a biography about that person.
You are required to write a five-page biography; however, you should research your topic so well that you have enough information to write a twenty-page biography. I want, you to learn about and know this individual so well that you feel like you understand him or her and so that you can helpwill have so much information on your reader understand that person as well. If you’d like, you may write on a specific part of your subject’s life, just as Joseph Lash focuses his biography on Annie Sullivan’s younger years prior to entering Perkins school for the blind. Focusing on a specific part of the individual’s life will allow you to describe that time period in greater detail. As you begin to research, consider periods/stories of your subject’s life that you find most fascinating.
The Research Paper
Finding Sources
You will need to use at least five sources of information for this assignment. (Your research paper needs to be at least five FULL pages, double spaced.)
You can use books, encyclopedias, computer, magazines, newspaper articles, documentary videos, etc. If you need help, ask a librarian to teach you how to find the information you need.
Try to find primary sources to use in your research. A primary source is an original document written by the person you are researching. For example, if you were researching Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin would be a primary source and would allow you to “hear” Franklin’s voice.. Benjamin Franklin, Scientist and Statement by Bernard Cohen would be a secondary source, as it is an author presenting his/her research about a person or event.
Gathering Information (Taking Notes)
Keep track of your sources. One way to do this is to make bibli- ography cards. Put the information about your source on a note card, and then number the card. The basic information you need about your sources is author(s), title, and publication information. If you are using an internet source, you will need the url (web address), the domain name, any author/editor available, the copyright date (usually located at the bottom of the page), and the date you accessed the site.
Refer to the Works Cited information and the MLA document from the BYU writing lab for the correct way to format your sources and to make sure you have all of the information that you need. You will be writing a works cited page, and so you will need all of the necessary information to write that page. You will also need to know where you found all of your information; so make sure you keep your notes from each source clear and organized so that you can cite your sources correctly.
Franklin, Benjamin. My Words: Selected Journal Entries of Benjamin Franklin. Boston, MA: Pegasus Books, 1996
Take notes on any information you gather. You can use note cards if that is easiest, or you can take notes on paper or even in a blank document on your computer. However you decide to take notes, you must make sure you know what information is quoted directly, and what you have written in your own words. Unfortunately, I have had several students receive failing grades because they did not realize they had plagiarized. When they took notes, they copied quotes directly from their sources and then put those quotes directly into their essays without even realized that they were quotations. The easiest way to avoid this is to clearly mark any quoted material as a quote. As you take notes, write everything else in your own words so that you don’t worry have to worry about inadvertently plagiarizing.
Once again, make sure you write down the page number (or where you got the information) and author next to the information you gather so that it is easy to cite your sources correctly. Here is an example of a research note card:
Benjamin Franklin
As Benjamin Franklin began his research on the physical world and its connection to mankind, he realized that so many changes could occur in the area of science and invention. (Franklin, Benjamin at www.Franklin.net accessed on 9/5/12)
Make an Outline
Once you’ve gathered all your information, organize your ideas into an outline. Your outline will show the topics and sub topics you will include in your biographical research paper. Here is an example of topics in an outline:
Introduction
Colonel Joshua Chamberlain; Civil War Officer
Joined the Union Army and was transferred to Gettysburg
Expert on war weapons
Due to weapons expertise, helped win the Battle of Little Round top
Next, identify your subtopics and insert them under your main topics.
For example:
Expert on war weapons
Professor of history
Left the University to join the Union cause
Expertise put to use for strategic measures
Note: The examples above are purely hypothetical. Remember that you need to consider your subject and what aspects of that individual’s life you are going to have comprise the biography.
Write the Rough Draft
Using your outline as a guide, write your first draft of the research paper. Start with an introduction that explains the purpose of your research.
The final sentence of your introduction should be your thesis statement. A thesis statement tells your reader exactly what you will be discussing in your essay. A thesis statement is a sentence, usually found near the end of the first paragraph of an essay that states the “thesis” or main idea of the essay. Everything in the essay should support the thesis statement. Before you can write your thesis statement, you need to be very clear about what the purpose of your essay is. Think about the person you have chosen as the focus of your essay. Think about what you want your reader to know about them. Think about a question about that person that you might want to answer through your essay. Here are some examples of strong thesis statements that I have received from my students:
Martin Luther King, Jr., spent his adult life fighting for civil rights, and although sometimes he and his supporters were badly bruised, he proved that through nonviolent acts justice can be redeemed.
Florence Nightingale was passionate about helping people and making change in nursing, and she overcame many obstacles to be successful.
Much of Mickey Mantle’s passion for baseball came from an unusually tough childhood, but the dreams of his father and grandfather helped Mickey realize how much talent God had given him and why he should never take his gift for baseball for granted.
This is an account of how a young river boy named Samuel Langhorne Clemens discovered the name he would make famous and his adventures along the way.
After reading each of these thesis statements, you have a clear idea of exactly what the paper will be discussing and the purpose of the essay. The rest of the essay then ties directly back to and supports the thesis statement. For example, in the first example, the reader knows that much of the essay will focus on the adult life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and how he and his supporters fought for civil rights through nonviolent acts.
A strong thesis statement is an essential part of writing a strong essay, and you will need to highlight your thesis statement in your rough draft to show me that you understand what a thesis statement is and how it shapes the rest of your essay.
For even more about thesis statements, visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/1/
Once you have a clear thesis statement and a strong introduction, you can follow your outline and write the body of your essay. Make sure the information you include continues to support your thesis statement.
After each piece of information, you need to include a parenthetical reference. Usually this means including the author and page number in parenthesis immediately after a piece of information. That way, if I were to go to your source, I would be able to immediately find the information you included. You will need to documentu- ment everything you will use from your sources, not just quotes. Here is an example of a parenthetical reference:
Benjamin Franklin is credited with some of the first inventions to have an influential effect on society (Trulock 30).
Refer back to the MLA handout you downloaded for using and formatting in-text citations correctly. For even more information about in-text citations, visit this page at the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
Some of my students like to use headings to organize their essays. MLA formatting of headings is shown below:
Childhood
Early Writings
Conclude your essay with a strong conclusion that ties everything in your essay together and reflects upon the life of the individual you discussed and his/her impact on the world. It may be appropriate to include some of your own personal thoughts and conclusions in your final paragraph as well.
Works Cited Page
At the end of your biography, you will need to include a works cited page. The works cited (bibliography) section lists all of the sources you have cited or used in your research in order to gain sufficient information on your subject. Here are a few guidelines for this page:
The basic information you need to include about your sources is author(s), title, and publication information. (Double space after the author and title; single space after the publication information.)
Center the title “Works Cited” one inch from the top of your page.Double-space before the first entry.
If the entry runs more than one line, indent five spaces for the second line.
Double space each entry and triple space between entries. Pay attention to the spacing and order of the information.
List each entry alphabetically by the author’s last name. If there is no author, use the first word of the title (disregard articles: a, an, the).
Note: The following references are hypothetical. The format for each reference is what you need to follow.
Books
One Author
Weintraub, Stanley. Earlier Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Truman Talley Books, 1995.
Two or Three Authors
Liddell, Hart, and Basil, Henry. Benjamin Franklin: A Biography. New York: Putnam, 1971.
More Than Three Authors
Allison, Andrew, et al. The Real Ben Franklin. Washington D.C.: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 1991.
No Author
The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: Newspaper Enterprise
Assoc., 1986.
An Article in a Reference Book
“World War II.” The New World Encyclopedia. New York: New World Press, 1989.
Government Publications
United States. Congressional Quarterly Services. Congress and the Nation: A Review of Government Involvement in Invention. Washington: GPO, 1965.
Periodicals
Signed Magazine Article
Mechan, Jon. “The Man behind the Name.” Newsweek, 13 July 1988: 49.
Unsigned Magazine Article
“Protesting an emperor.” Maclean’s, 8 June 1998: 43.
Signed Newspaper Article
Nossiter, Adam. “Wartime Nightmare is Still Alive in French Town.” The New York Times, 18 June 1998: 12A.
Note: 12A refers to page 12 in section A of the newspaper. Cite the edition of a major newspaper (if given) after the date. (18 June 1998: late ed.:12A.)
Unsigned Newspaper Article
“We World War II Veterans Fought for Faith.” Editorial. Knight Rider New Tribune, 15 April 1998: 4K.
Letter to the Editor
Beckingham, Jane. Letter. Chicago Tribune, 11 June. 1978, sec. 1:17.
Other Print and Nonprint Sources
Computer Software
Ziemke, Earl F. “World War II.” Microsoft Encarta 95. Computer software. Microsoft Corporation, 1995. Windows Compatible, 8MB, Compact Disc.
Note: At the end of the entry, include any information needed for the operation—for which system the program is designed (Windows), the units of memory needed to run the program (8 MB), and the program form (disk, CD).
Internet Reference
“World War Two in Europe Timeline.” History Place: World War II in Europe. 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.
A note about Internet sources: URLs (web addresses) are no longer required in MLA citations; however, for this course, I do want you to include the URLs. Please include them in brackets as shown above.
Television and Radio Programs
“An Interview with World War II Veterans.” 60 Minutes. CBS. WITI, Milwaukee. 13 Nov. 1965.
Movies
“The Battle of the Bulge.” War Chronicles. Lou Reda Television Production. A&E Home Video, 1985.
Interviews
Bartholomew, Eldeon. Personal Interview. 15 July 1998.
Here is an example of a Works Cited page. Refer to my example to see what your page needs to look like.
Works Cited
Bacheider, John B. Bachelder’s Gettysburg Battlefield Maps. 27 maps. Dayton, OH: Morn- ingside Books, nd.
Chamberlain, Joshua L. Gettysburg Campaign Official. Records. Series. Vol. XXVII/1. July 6, 1883. Online http://www.civilwar.net/.
CoCo, Gregory A. A Vast Sea of Misery. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1968.
Trulock, Alice Rains. In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 1992.
Willy, Bell I. The Life of Billy Yank the Common Soldier of the Union. Reprint. New York, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1971.
For more information, once again, visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
The Final Draft of the Research Paper
Important Note: You will follow MLA formatting guidelines for your essay with ONE exception. Instead of including your heading (with name, course, etc.) at the top of the first page of the body of your essay, I would like you to include this information on a separate title page. In order to ensure that your essay fulfills the length requirements, you should not have any of that information in the body of your essay. Your essay must be at least five full pages in length.
Make sure you have someone read through your typed rough draft and give you feedback. You will only receive half credit for your rough draft if there are no corrections made by your reviewer in the revision process.
Highlight or star (**) your thesis statement on your rough draft.
Go back through your rough draft several times and clarify your ideas, check your accuracy, and document everything. Make sure you have completed everything.
Make sure your final draft is polished, revised, and formatted correctly.
Number your pages according to MLA formatting rules.
Your final paper needs to be at least five FULL pages, double spaced. You must use Times New Roman 12-point font. Your margins should be no larger than 1 inch on each side. (Once again, follow MLA formatting guidelines for font type and size, margins, and so forth).
Here is how your final paper should be organized:
Title page (title of your research paper, your name, and the date)
Outline (double spaced)
Final draft (double spaced with the pages numbered in the right- hand corner)
Works cited page
Rough draft (with corrections)
I look forward to reading your biographical research paper. Once again, remember to be honest in your writing. Plagiarism must be avoided. Plagiarism is a serious offense, as it is the unauthorized use of someone else’s ideas (writing, illustrations, and photographs). For example, cutting and pasting a sentence or paragraph from an Internet source is plagiarism. It is quite easy to tell the difference between your writing and that of another, and so I am almost always able to figure out whether or not my students have plagiarized. Don’t compromise your integrity; it is too valuable.
