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English IV: Home

How to Use This Guide

Welcome to the English IV Research Guide. This guide has been created especially for you to help you conduct scholarly research for your papers. Click on each tab to find information, tutorials, and even sample papers to give you an idea of how your finished paper should look. Stop by the library or email us if you have any questions. 

Big 6 Research Steps

1. Task Definition

  • Define your assignment & identify information needed to complete it.
  • Restate the assignment in your own words. What are you interested in learning?
  • Gather basic information about your topic by reading articles, web pages etc.
  • Talking with teachers, parents, and librarians is also helpful.

2. Information Seeking Strategies

  • Make a list of all possible sources & select the best ones.
  • Choose from nonfiction, news articles, reference books, web pages, databases, directories and multimedia encyclopedias.

3. Location and Access

  • Locate sources & find information within the texts.
  • Consult the library catalog, library reference section, search engines, and web-based references on this guide.
  • Use an organizer to map out your topic and sub topics

Writing is a Process

Source: Universities Face Jump In Student Enrollment. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 6 Apr 2016.

Big 6 Research Steps

4. Use of Information

  • Read, hear, view & extract the most valuable information
  • Use skimming and scanning to find information on your topic.
  • Look for key words, images, headlines, read first & last paragraphs of articles to help find the “right” information.
  • Take notes with NoodleTools or another method & cite your sources.

5. Synthesis

  • Choose the format of your project and organize your research notes according to how you will share the information.
  • If your format is a paper, begin by writing an outline.

6. Evaluation

  • Judge the product and the process.
  • Make a rubric to evaluate your work. Did you meet the objective?