Essay Template - On-Line Research Made Easy

The quick & dirty method of an On-line Research Paper. Always ask/Google - Who, Why, What, When, Where, How

1. What is the Topic (global warming) - define
2. What is the background history of the Topic
3. Why is the topic relevant to the reader
4. List & discuss 3 principals form your chapter concept map (elaborate on the strengths and weakness of each)
   
5. What events/people are influencing/changing the topic
6. How is the Topic influencing/affecting other areas/disciplines
7. Give a "real-world" example of the topic
8. Conclusion: (1) Future of the topic, (2) Personal reflection/opinion on the topic
9. Summarize: recap/expand each of the above outline, but in different words

10- Caveats: Personalize your essay, and interject your own unique style. Address your essay to a fellow student reader (not to Prof). Goal is to be able to coherently explain and make interesting your Topic. Use your own words (DO NOT COPY VERBATIM). Make sure the essay flows from paragraph to paragraph, and is coherent, and not simply a plagiarizing of words and ideas. Whenever possible, use, develop and expand your own original ideas and thinking. Cite and Reference all quotes - see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Global Warming (who, what, why, when, where, how)

1- Global warming is the increase in the average temp of the Earth's near surface and oceans.

2- Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990.

3- Global warming is already causing damage in many parts of the United States. In 2002, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon endured their worst wildfire seasons ever. The same year, drought created severe dust storms in Montana, Colorado and Kansas, and floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas, Montana and North Dakota. Since the early 1950s, snow accumulation has declined 60 percent and winter seasons have shortened in some areas of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington.

4a- Population Migration is caused by some hundred million people who live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.

4b- Mass Extinction - More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans.

4c- Environmental Changes - Some experts point out that natural cycles in Earth's orbit can alter the planet's exposure to sunlight, which may explain the current trend. Earth has indeed experienced warming and cooling cycles roughly every hundred thousand years due to these orbital shifts, but such changes have occurred over the span of several centuries. Today's changes have taken place over the past hundred years or less.

5- An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising public awareness of climate change and reenergizing the environmental movement.

6- Funding: For researchers in academia and in government, issues that are perceived to be an imminent crisis can mean more funding. The more threatening an issue is perceived to be the more likely it is to receive funding. The funds directed towards climate change research are substantial. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the amount of Federal funding for climate change related research increased to $4.4 billion in 2006.

7- Few people think of China as a desert nation, yet it is among the world's largest. More than 27%, or 2.5 million square kilometers, of the country comprises useless sand (just 7% of Chinese land feeds about a quarter of the world's population). A Ministry of Science and Technology task force says desertification costs China about $2-3 billion annually, while 800 km of railway and thousands of kilometers of roads are blocked by sedimentation. An estimated 110 million people suffer firsthand from the impacts of desertification and, by official reports, another 2,500 sq km turns to desert each year.

8a- After 2100, human induced global warming effects is projected to persist for many centuries. The sea level should continue rising for thousands of years after the climate has been stabilized.

8b- My personal viewpoint on the devastation of global warming is the acceptance of knowing some animal species will disappear, while other will emerge to face a new era of mother earth long history of death and rebirth.

9- Global Warming is the accumulation of human overpopulation and the exploitation of natural resources that emits pollutants that causes temp to rise. While this is not a new crisis that challenges earth long history of volcanic activity and meteorite showers, it does present a challenge to future human existence. The changes in population migration, environmental impact, and the untimely disappearance of species are daunting challenges facing mankind. The people and events most adept at making the global changes to modify human behavior has to be a government led activity. Alternative fuel resources such as solar, wind, and water has top be the forefront of new scientific thinking and funding.

Citing Quotations for Research Paper

Plagiarism is just plain cheating. It's using someone else's words or ideas in your paper as if they were your own. If you copy someone else's work on purpose, you know that it's wrong. However, if you don't understand how to cite another's work and accidentally plagiarize, you may still get accused of cheating. That's one good reason to learn quotation mechanics.

Original material:

Wuthering Heights is the most remarkable novel in English. It is perfect, and perfect in the rarest way: it is the complete bodying forth of an intensely individual apprehension of the nature of man and life. That is to say, the content is strange enough, indeed baffling enough, while the artistic expression of it is flawless. (Allen 223)

Student Version A:

The most remarkable novel in English is Wuthering Heights. It brings forth an individual apprehension of the nature of man and life; therefore, it is perfect in the rarest way. The artistic expression is flawless, but the content is strange, indeed baffling.

This is clearly plagiarized. The student has copied the original almost word for word, and there is no attempt to indicate what has been copied or where it was found.

Student Version B:

Wuthering Heights is a great English novel. It is perfect in the rarest way: it provides an individual apprehension of man's nature. The artistic expression is flawless, although the content is strange and baffling. (Allen 223)

This is a little better, but it is still an example of plagiarism. Even though an attempt has been made to indicate the source, we can't tell which words were copied directly. (Remember: just because you move the word order around a little or leave a word or two out, that doesn't make it your writing or your ideas. You still have to document.)

Student Version C:

Walter Allen insists that the "artistic expression" of Wuthering Heights is flawless (223). Allen admits that the content is strange and even baffling, but he argues that the novel is perfect because it accurately presents "an intensely individual apprehension of the nature of man and life" (223).

Here the student has correctly handled the use of the original. Some words are rephrased, but those taken word for word are clearly marked. Also, it is clear what source is being used.

Terms:

• Quoting is simply using someone else's words in your paper.
• Paraphrasing is writing someone else's ideas in your own words.
• Citing is indicating where you found the quotation.
• Documenting, strictly speaking, refers to keeping records of your sources and citing them in your paper.

Short Quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," but she did not offer an explanation as to why (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

A model for citing Internet materials

An acceptable form for citing information taken from this Web site, for example, is:

Foll, Scott. "Big Dog's Quotation Mechanics." 26 April 1997. (28 April 1997).

The format for citing any URL (Web address) is: Author's name (if known). "Title." Date of last update or revision. (Date of your accessing the page).

[The spacing and indenting follow the model found on the sample "Works Cited" page below.]

A form for citing Email is:

Foll, Scott. "Re: your question." 28 April 1997. Personal Email. (29 April 1997).

For more on electronic citation, see the reference mentioned above.

http://aliscot.com/bigdog/mla.htm

The Bannana

1. What is the Topic (bannanas) - define
2. What is the background history of the Topic
3. Why is the topic relevant to the reader
4. List & discuss 3 principals form your chapter concept map (elaborate on the strengths and weakness of each)
   
5. What events/people are influencing/changing the topic
6. How is the Topic influencing/affecting other areas/disciplines
7. Give a "real-world" example of the topic
8. Conclusion: (1) Future of the topic, (2) Personal reflection/opinion on the topic
9. Summarize: recap/expand each of the above outline, but in different words

1- A banana is a fruit that comes from a plant. It is green and turns yellow when ripe. It is commonly grown in a tropical environment. Bananas are high in potassium.

2-The banana is mentioned for the first time in history in buddhist texts 600 years BC. Alexander the Great discovers the taste of the banana in the Indian valleys in 327 BC . The existence of an organized banana plantation could be found in China back in the year 200 AD. In 650 AD, Islamic conquerors brought the banana back to Palestine. The Arabic merchants finally spread the bananas all over Africa.Only in 1502 the Portuguese start the first banana plantation in the Caribbean and in central America. http://www.vandamme.be/history.html

3- Bananas are a very important commodity for developing countries, with a clear dual nature which complicates the analysis. They are at the same time a major staple commodity, together with rice, wheat and maize, and a fundamental export commodity. Around one fifth of globally produced bananas are exported from the developing countries to the developed countries, an example of unidirectional South-North trade. The duality is also present in production systems, where large-scale banana plantations, mainly oriented to export markets, coexist along with smallholder banana farmers. http://www.scholar.com/userHomepage.dobbb?op=tagDetail&tagPrefix=tag&tagVal=VARIETY&tagViewMode=all

4a - The true origin of Bananas, world's most popular fruit, is found in the region of Malaysia. By way of curious visitors, bananas traveled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century BCE. In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th century. http://www.banana.com/

4b - Receipes - A popular dish in the Caribbean features banana fritters flavored with rum, a dish that consists of chunks of bananas dipped in flour, then into a rich batter. They are deep-fried in hot oil until golden and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. http://www.banana.com/recipes.html

4c- Medicine - Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. http://www.banana.com/medicinal.html

5- They are both sterile and parthenocarpic so the fruit develops without seed. There are major challenges to banana production from virulent diseases, abiotic stresses and new demands for sustainability, quality, transport and yield. Within the genepool of cultivars and wild species there are genetic resistances to many stresses. Genomic approaches are now rapidly advancing in Musa and have the prospect of helping enable banana to maintain and increase its importance as a staple food and cash crop through integration of genetical, evolutionary and structural data, allowing targeted breeding, transformation and efficient use of Musa biodiversity in the future. http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/mcm191v1

6- Growers adopted a frenzied strategy of shifting crops to unused land, maintaining the supply of bananas to the public but at great financial and environmental expense-the tactic destroyed millions of acres of rainforest. By 1960, the major importers were nearly bankrupt, and the future of the fruit was in jeopardy. (Some of the shortages during that time entered the fabric of popular culture; the 1923 musical hit "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is said to have been written after songwriters Frank Silver and Irving Cohn were denied in an attempt to purchase their favorite fruit by a syntactically colorful, out-of-stock neighborhood grocer.) U.S. banana executives were hesitant to recognize the crisis facing the Gros Michel, according to John Soluri, a history professor at Carnegie Mellon University and author of Banana Cultures, an upcoming book on the fruit. "Many of them waited until the last minute." http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-06/can-fruit-be-saved

7- Chiquita produces and distributes bananas and other fresh fruits and vegetables under the premium Chiquita brand. The company emerged from a pre-arranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002, giving bondholders a 95.5% stake for a $700 million reduction in the company's debt. Chiquita got out of the canned vegetable business when it sold its processed foods unit to Seneca Foods in 2003. Wachovia Corporation owns about 10% of Chiquita. http://www.knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Chiquita_Brands_International%2C_Inc.

8- The banana constitutes an almost complete diet if taken with milk. In ancient India this golden fruit was regarded as the nature’s secret of perpetual youth. Research seems to have thrown up evidence that regular intake of this fruit keeps blood pressure at bay, while it is also recommended in treatment of kidney disorders, tuberculosis, and urinary disorders. It is also said to prevent heart attacks and diabetes. http://www.indiacurrents.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4768660b1120b444829793f6d2182471

9- The banna is a humble fruit that is a major staple for many people around the globe. The fruit has its history from southeast asia and is now a major soures of revenue for many poor economies around the world. The possinle extinction of the fruit can lead to worlwide shortage which will affect many poor countries revene stream. The banana offers many medical remedies such as hangovers, digestion isuues and is known for its laxative effects. It offers many oppertunits for cooking receipes and can be baked, broilke, fried, lioquifiesd and eatea raw in salads. Scientists are working fraticall aroundthe globe to ensure that diseasesa and pests do not erradicate tyhis most valuable fruit. Farmers around the globa are beginning to realize that in order to m aitain the health of this fruit,. it is wise for thenm to practice planting between banan growing season othrre fruits to maintain the soli health. Chiquita bannans are the dominant producer of this fruit and they have very large plantauions aroundt the globe. In conclusion, I hope the banana is here to stay!.

How To Conduct Google Essay Research

1. Use Google search to specifically and briefly ask a question: (who, what, why, when, where, how). That is, phrased your subject/topic into a Google search question
2. Avoid information overload. Pick articles that are (1) from reliable sources .edu, .gov, .org are not-for profit sites, and tend to be written by experts in the field. (2) Choose short articles - less than 1-2 pages (side page cursor should be large), (3) preview article page: is the page well organized, looks professional, or cluttered and filled with advertising? Is it article well thought-out, looks like a university/museum-type piece, written by a prof.?
   
3. Copy and paste (1) parts of article into word, and (2) copy and paste web link to cite references later on
   
4. When reviewing a web page article - search for interesting bits of ideas/info that is directly related to your Topic. That is, quickly scan article for ideas that is maybe relevant to your Topic. Copy and paste. Goal is to identify only ideas that can be used to build your Research Paper (no different than a library research)
5. The premelinary web serach and rough draft of your essay should take no more than 1 hour. The steps to polishing and finalizing your essay is where the bulk of your time should be spent (-2 hours?)
6. Note: the primary goal of your web research is to spark ideas. You have to re-interpret these ideas and reshape it using your special knowledge and unique understanding. A vast topic, such as, the history of whaling, can lead-off into many different facets. You have to be able to pick 1-2 ideas and expand upon it. Example, the mass extermination of whales was driven by the human need for whale oil and its bones. Here you can focus on the human need. This is how web search and site review can help you gather and formulate ideas by sparking your imagination. And not robbed you of your originality and unique thinking.
   
7. By sticking to a standardized essay template, you will then be able to quickly and efficiently create a rough draft, thereby allocating the bulk of your time to polishing your essay
   

Helpful websites for college search:

http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch
http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,3868,4-21-0-52,00.html
https://www.collegedata.com
http://www.colleges.com/index.html
http://studentaid.ed.gov
https://studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/collegefinder/
http://www.homeworkplanet.com/college.html
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/tools/toolsindex_brief.php
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/dollars/tools/scholarship_search.htm
http://www.xap.com/GoToCollege/
http://www.collegeispossible.org/
click on “Resources”
http://www.collegeview.com/collegesearch/
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/advsearch/match.asp
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance/
http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/
check out: Financial Aid, College Search
http://www.collegescholarships.com/
http://www.student-loans.com/
http://www.collegescholarships.com/scholarships.html

Model Essay Outline

Information

• You need to convince the reader to read on.

Hook

• catchy, interesting beginning
• could be a surprising fact, example, question, quotation.

Topic

• description of subject
• sets the scene, provides background
• defines the scope of the problem

Thesis

• must be arguable, provable and worth providing

Body

• each paragraph must have a topic sentence
• organize paragraphs logically to develop the thesis
• begin and end with strong arguments, saving the best for last
• use transition signals to introduce each sub-topic
• integrate details, facts, figures, quotations and statistics as proof

Conclusion

• your final thoughts on the topic
• recall key ideas for the reader
• should not add new information
• offer a solution
• should not restate your thesis verbatim
• your final sentence should end with a bang.
  

How to Write an A+ Research Paper

STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC
STEP 2. FIND INFORMATION
STEP 3. STATE YOUR THESIS
STEP 4. MAKE A TENTATIVE OUTLINE
STEP 5. ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES
STEP 6. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT
STEP 7. REVISE YOUR OUTLINE AND DRAFT
Checklist One Checklist Two
STEP 8. TYPE FINAL PAPER

http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html

Essay That Rocks

Write a strong thesis. Your thesis is your statement of intent: what do you intend to demonstrate or prove in your paper. Here’s some types of theses that will grab your (and your professor’s) attention:

1. Challenge a misconception: Use your paper to challenge the received wisdom, the stuff “everybody knows”. E.g. “Lots of people think [A] but really [not-A]“
2. Find an unlikely connection: Use an idea from science to illuminate a concept in literature, or vice versa. For example: “Neils Bohr’s theory of the structure of the atom provides one way of looking at the relationship between Hamlet and the play’s secondary characters.” The idea here is to find a surprising new way of looking at or thinking about a concept.
3. Rehabilitate a villain. Defend a historical personage or literary character widely assumed to have been “a bad guy”. The biologist Steven Jay Gould was a master of this, writing about people generally portrayed as the enemies of scientific progress — Lamarck, Bishop Usher, Pope Urban VIII — as exemplars of the cutting-edge science of their day. Make your reader take an unfairly (or even fairly) maligned character or person seriously. (Note: I’d avoid using this approach for Hitler; no matter how well you write, it’s unlikely anyone will appreeciate your efforts to make Hitler seem like a good chap.)
4. Reframe a classic work in light of today’s technology, social structure, or culture. What kind of woman would Cinderella or Jane Austen’s Emma be in today’s corporate world? What could Newton or Julius Caesar have done with a MacBook Pro?
5. Reframe today’s world in light of the technological, social, or cultural context of a classic. What would Julius Caesar think of Jack Welch or Bill Gates? What would Johannes Kepler make of string theory? What would Jane Austen think of today’s career woman?
• Write about something you’re passionate about.
• Use yourself as a source - Use your own life experiences to illustrate the points you’re making.
• Consult the experts - The Internet makes it possible to directly reach people we’d have never thought possible even a decade ago. Google the leading voice in the field you’re writing about: a professor of chemistry at MIT, a leadership guru, a corporate anthropologist at Intel, and so on
• Choose your audience - Never, ever, write only for your professor. Write as if you were explaining your topic to a friend or family member, or to the President of the United States.