Research Paper Body Paragraph Criteria and Examples

Paraphrasing, Incorporating Quotes,Using In-text Citations, etc.

Body Paragraphs Must Include:

• A topic sentence• Paraphrased information• In-text citations• A lead in for a quote, including the author or

publication name• Direct quote from a source• More paraphrased or original information

after the quote

Topic Sentence

• This is the first sentence of your body paragraph. Be sure to make it very clear what your topic for the paragraph is in this sentence.

• Example: • Adolf Hitler: The great matchstick that lit the

fire of WWII.

Paraphrased InformationOriginal:Adolf Hitler was the most infamous political ruler of the twentieth century. Hitler rose from obscurity to become the leader of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, triggering World War II because of his expansionist foreign policy. Moreover, as the philosophical and political leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, Hitler implemented government policies based on anti-Semitism and racism. These policies became more severe over time and led to the mass extermination of Jews, racial minorities, and other groups.

Paraphrased:

Adolf Hitler: The great matchstick that lit the fire of WWII. The Nazi rose to power in Germany in the 1930s. As his anti-Jewish policies extended to include genocide -- not just within Germany -- but in other sovereign nations as well, other countries began to fight back.

In-text Citations• Citations need to go after every chunk of

paraphrased text that comes from the same source.

• If you are paraphrasing from multiple sources in the same paragraph, you must add a new in-text citation for each paraphrase from each source.

• In order to get your in text citation, look at your full MLA citation and pull either the first word listed OR the first word that differentiates your article title from the others.

• When citing a book, use the author’s last name and the page number the quotation or paraphrased information was found on.

• Examples: Database articles:“…even into Germany itself, meant Hitler had lost the great war he himself began” (World).

"Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice. Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

Books:“Frederick and his followers had already come through the five-barred gate… there were fifteen men, with half a dozen guns between them, and they opened fire…” (Orwell 101).

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.

Lead Ins for Quotations

• Use either the author or publication name to set up a quote:

• EXAMPLE: • World of Criminal Justice notes that Hitler’s biggest mistake

during WWII was his attempt to scheme behind the back of fellow dictator Joseph Stalin. “Hitler's great blunder came in June of 1941, when he ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies to that point and had divided Polish territory. Though the German army drove deep into Russia, a harsh winter stopped it in its tracks. Within a year, the army was in full retreat” (World).

Direct Quote

• Each body paragraph must have at least ONE direct quotation from one of your sources. Example:“Hitler's great blunder came in June of 1941, when he ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies to that point and had divided Polish territory. Though the German army drove deep into Russia, a harsh winter stopped it in its tracks. Within a year, the army was in full retreat” (World).

Adolf Hitler: The great matchstick that lit the fire of WWII. The Nazi rose to power in Germany in the 1930s. As his anti-Jewish policies extended to include genocide -- not just within Germany -- but in other sovereign nations as well, other countries began to fight back (World). World of Criminal Justice notes that Hitler’s biggest mistake during WWII was his attempt to scheme behind the back of fellow dictator Joseph Stalin. “Hitler's great blunder came in June of 1941, when he ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies to that point and had divided Polish territory. Though the German army drove deep into Russia, a harsh winter stopped it in its tracks. Within a year, the army was in full retreat” (World). After driving back the German army, Soviet forces followed the Germans west, continuing the fight. The combination of Russia’s attacks from the east and forces from the United States and Britain penetrating further west, even into Germany itself, meant Hitler had lost the great war he himself began (World).

• "Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice. Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

First Body Paragraph Example:Background on your topic

Second Body Paragraph Example:Allegorical Connection to Animal Farm

• George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the events that transpire soon after, including the battles from WWII when Hitler’s German armies invaded Russia. The real life events of Hitler betraying former ally, Stalin, also take place in the novel. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is taken aback by the dramatic betrayal of his former ally, the human farmer Frederick, who clearly represents Hitler. “…Napoleon had really been in secret agreement with Frederick… The very next morning the attack came… Frederick and his followers had already come through the five-barred gate… there were fifteen men, with half a dozen guns between them, and they opened fire…” (Orwell 101). The correlation between the “Battle of the Windmill” in Animal Farm and the real life Battle of Stalingrad is clearly laid out. Hitler signed a non-agression pact with Stalin during World War II and soon after invaded Russia (World). In Animal Farm, Frederick made a business deal with Napoleon, tricking him by paying with forged money. The next morning, the farm was attacked by Frederick and his men.

• "Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice. Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

• Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.

• Orwell did an excellent job portraying Hitler as Frederick. “Hitler believed Germans were to be the masters of the world, and he would do whatever it took to make it so” (People). It’s clear in Orwell’s novel through Frederick’s dealings with Animal Farm that he considers all animals to be greatly inferior to humans. This is shown several ways, including the way he swindles Napoleon out of money from the timber sale, to the sneak attack Battle of the Windmill, to the abusive and evil treatment Frederick was rumored to dole out to his own animals. “…terrible stories were leaking out from Pinchfield about the cruelties that Frederick practised upon his animals. He had flogged an old horse to death, starved his cows, he had killed a dog by throwing it into the furnace, he amused himself in the evenings by making cocks fight with splinters of razor-blade tied to their spurs” (Orwell 96). Rumors of Hitler’s atrocities on his own German Jews leaked into Russia during Stalin’s reign, and despite that, the two dictators still signed the non-agression pact. After Hitler broke the pact, Stalin cozied up to the allied leaders of Britian and United States. Likewise, after being betrayed by Frederick in Animal Farm, Napoleon then partnered up with Pilkington.

• “Adolf Hitler." People of the Holocaust. Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

• Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.

Third Body Paragraph Example:How well did Orwell represent your topic?