CCS Handbook

Research Handbook

Clinton Central School

September 1998

Introduction

This handbook has four sections:

Lexicon
Research at Clinton Central School
Writing Reports and Research Papers
Clinton Central School Style Sheet

I. Lexicon

Controlling Idea	An angle or approach that a writer adopts toward the topic.
Documentation	The process of writing parenthetical internal citations and preparing a "Works Cited" page.
Graphic Organizer	Visual representation of concepts/processes and their relationships within an organized framework
Parenthetical Citation	Gives credit to sources quoted or paraphrased in a passage. Serves the same purpose as a footnote or endnote used in other documentation styles

Plagiarism	Defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as "the act of stealing and passing off as one's own the ideas of another; the act of presenting as one's own an idea or product derived from an existing source."
Report	A summary of information gathered from multiple sources.
Research Paper	A position paper on a particular topic which proves a thesis statement based on supporting research.
Rewriting	Revising--making changes mainly to the content of the work Editing--making alterations to the form of the work; improving readability Proofreading--reading for literal correctness (spelling and grammar); the final cleanup.
Subject	broad focus of research
Thesis Statement	A persuasive/argumentative statement supporting a position.
Topic	narrowing of the subject
Works Cited	A list of all sources paraphrased, summarized, or quoted in the paper.
Works Consulted	A list of all works used in preparing the paper

II. Research at Clinton Central School

Research at CCS is a developmental process. Beginning with a report in the primary grades and culminating with a formal research paper in grade 12, students will acquire the necessary skills for conducting research.

Research techniques are introduced to students in the elementary school. They will use a variety of sources to locate information for writing a report on their topics. Using skills gained in the elementary school, students in the middle school will write interdisciplinary reports using specific research techniques to develop a controlling idea. In the high school students, will build upon the middle school report by writing a formal research paper supporting a thesis statement. To meet a graduation requirement, every English 12 student will write an acceptable formal research paper.

III. Writing Reports and Research Papers

A Step-by-Step Process

Step 1. Select and Limit the Subject

Narrow the focus to a topic that can be covered in-depth within the assigned time limits.

	Example
Subject	Presidents
Topic	Richard Nixon
Controlling Idea	Because of Watergate, Richard Nixon was forced to resign.
Thesis	Richard Nixon should not have been forced to resign because he was working in the best interests of the office of the President.