Freshmen will be able to do the following in research:

• Find a variety of sources of information
• Judge the quality and relevance of sources
• Identify and record source information needed for accurate documentation in a bibliography
• Outline from a reading to discover the organization of the writer's ideas
• Take notes from readings
• Outline from notes to organize their own ideas
• Write a report from notes
• Write a bibliography
• Understand the concept of plagiarism as it relates to direct copying of words or phrases
• Paraphrase from reading

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Sophomores will be able to do the following in research:

• Review and refine skills outlined in the freshman curriculum
• Understand crediting sources of paraphrased material to avoid plagiarism
• Begin developing a thesis paper to demonstrate their growing understanding of he essay form
• Be able to include in-text citation using standard MLA format

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Juniors will be able to do the following in research:

• Practice the note taking, bibliography, and in-text citation skills learned in the freshman and sophomore years
• Select an appropriate thesis for thematic research
• Find and use a variety of printed and electronic resources
• Write a working outline
• Support a thesis with selected sources
• Use quotes appropriately and document them with in-text citation using standard MLA format
• Format the entire research paper, including a Works Cited page, by using MLA standards

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Seniors will be able to do the following in research:

• Review the note taking, bibliography, in-text citation, and outlining skills learned in the freshman, sophomore, and junior years
• Write an arguable thesis
• Find, evaluate, and use a variety of printed and electronic resources
• Support a thesis with selected sources
• Use quotes fluently and gracefully in the text of a research paper
• Document sources with in-text citation using standard MLA format
• Use MLA standards to format the entire research paper, including a Works Cited page

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