How to Write a Research Paper for Beginners Unit - MLA - Middle and High School

Looking for an effective way to teach the research paper from start to finish without pulling your hair out? I get it! Research papers are multi-step and exhausting for both students and teachers. This unit for those of us who need an easier, more comprehensive way to teach the research paper without all the anxiety.

This unit teaches the basics of writing a research paper for beginners as students learn to do the following:

❤️ Evaluate Sources

❤️ Collect useful information

❤️ Incorporate quotes, paraphrases, and summaries

❤️ Write a thesis statement

❤️ Cite correctly using MLA format

❤️ Organize information

❤️ Write introduction, body, and conclusion

❤️ Create a Works Cited page using MLA format

What's Included . . .

► Step-by-step, daily instructions

► Evaluating Sources Group Activity with student instruction handout and exit ticket

► Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing . . . Oh My! task for understanding the difference amongst these

► Research Brainstorming sheet for students to decide topic, what they already know about this topic, and what they need to find out

► Source Cards Template

► Introduction handout with example

► Thesis Statement Process Examples handout to scaffold writing a strong thesis

► Your Thesis Statement task scaffolding the process of writing a thesis statement

► Body Paragraph handout with example and highlighting task for students to decide amongst topic sentence, research, analysis, and concluding sentence

► Conclusion handout with example

► Works Cited Made Easy handout of rules

► Incorporating Citing Information task to practice including cited information

► Citing or Incorrect Citing application task to apply citing knowledge to scenarios

►In-Text Citing task for students for additional practice citing sources

► Works Cited example

► Details for Advanced Students handout with more in-depth MLA rules if your students are ready to go further than beginners.

► Writing Topic and Concluding sentence practice

► Find the Error Competition

► Detailed Research Checklist (editable)

► Grading Rubric (editable)

► Overview of Research Process handout for students to keep for future papers

► Feedback Assessment for students to respond to your commentary

❤️Answer Keys included

⭐REVISED TO THE 9TH EDITION MLA.

This unit does not teach how to do long quotations or how to cite multiple works by the same author because those topics do not come up in this beginner’s research paper. A student outline is not used in this unit because the beginning paper is short, and this process makes it so easy that an outline is not needed. Of course, you may add those details if you wish.

There are a variety of activities included in this unit such as individual and group work, a competition, scaffolding exercises, etc.

❤️ Be sure to get this research paper unit, which makes research MUCH SIMPLER for students and teachers!!!

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