Islamophobia
1. You need a variety of different sources to enhance the credibility of your argument. I am requirin" rel="nofollow">ing that you have about a dozen, from a variety of sources, in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing the onlin" rel="nofollow">ine periodical databases, where you can access scholarly and scientific resources. Only use .com resources if they are main" rel="nofollow">instream news sources. Always know who has authored your research and whether they and/or the publication are credible.
Use "signal phrases" to alert the reader to the relative value of each source. Here is a list (Lin" rel="nofollow">inks to an external site.) of signal phrases.
2. Outlin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing:
Your outlin" rel="nofollow">ine is the blueprin" rel="nofollow">int of your paper, and it should provide the reader with a clear sense of your argument. In MLA style, you break your paper down in" rel="nofollow">into major sections, subsections, and supportin" rel="nofollow">ing ideas usin" rel="nofollow">ing Roman numerals, capital letters, numbers, and lowercase letters. Here is a sample (Lin" rel="nofollow">inks to an external site.) outlin" rel="nofollow">ine. Note that the thesis is at the top and that the outlin" rel="nofollow">ine references the specific research used in" rel="nofollow">in the paper. A simple way to thin" rel="nofollow">ink about this is to imagin" rel="nofollow">ine the Roman Numerals as the main" rel="nofollow">in poin" rel="nofollow">ints of your thesis statement (what, why, how), the capital letters as the topics of each in" rel="nofollow">individual paragraph, and the numbers as the details in" rel="nofollow">in those paragraphs.
3. Quotin" rel="nofollow">ing/Paraphrasin" rel="nofollow">ing/Summarizin" rel="nofollow">ing:
When you quote, you are copyin" rel="nofollow">ing the exact language as it appears in" rel="nofollow">in your research. Why do this? When you are citin" rel="nofollow">ing a person, such as an expert (an academic, a scientist) or someone well regarded (the leader of an organization), or a publication that is highly respected (such as the New England Journal of Medicin" rel="nofollow">ine), then usin" rel="nofollow">ing direct quotes can enhance the credibility of your argument. Long quotes (more than four lin" rel="nofollow">ines) should be avoided, except where the quote is crucial. Long quotes are handled differently in" rel="nofollow">in MLA style.
Most sources you can paraphrase or summarize. When you paraphrase, you are simply puttin" rel="nofollow">ing the research in" rel="nofollow">into your own words. When you summarize, you are simply condensin" rel="nofollow">ing a large amount of material in" rel="nofollow">into a short space, again" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">in your own words. Paraphrasin" rel="nofollow">ing and summarizin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">indicate that you have synthesized the research material in" rel="nofollow">into your argument. Most of your research material will be paraphrased and summarized.
In the same paragraph of your paper, you are likely to in" rel="nofollow">include all three of these methods.
4 Formattin" rel="nofollow">ing:
Your paper should be about 15 pages long, not in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing the outlin" rel="nofollow">ine or title page, but in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing the Works Cited page. Use 12 poin" rel="nofollow">int Times New Roman as your font, with one-in" rel="nofollow">inch margin" rel="nofollow">ins and a header on the top right-hand corner of each page with your last name and the page number. Begin" rel="nofollow">in numbers with the first page of your actual paper (not the outlin" rel="nofollow">ine). Article titles are placed in" rel="nofollow">in "quotes." Publication titles are placed in" rel="nofollow">in italics.
5. Tone and Language:
This is a formal argument, so you are writin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in third person and usin" rel="nofollow">ing an elevated level of diction. You may only use first-person if you have personal, specific experience of the topic. Use transition phrases to draw the reader logically through your argument. Here is a list (Lin" rel="nofollow">inks to an external site.) of transition phrases.