Sociolinguistics – LIN 340
Lic. Lourdes Vilar
Year 2024
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Your research paper is meant to be about any of the topics discussed during the course. Once you have
chosen a topic, you should proceed to find a piece of oral speech from your environment: home, street,
bus, TV, online videos, interviews, etcetera, which applies to your topic. This piece of information will be
the base for your research and final paper.
The aim of this research is to relate the theoretical aspects of the concerning topic that you have
learnt during the course, to practical issues by means of research. You are expected to look for information
in the light of insights derived from the course and produce a written report.
The final written document, as well as a video recording of your presentation, should be submitted
until November 17 at 11:30 PM to the Google classroom. The video recording of your presentation should
not be less than 6 minutes nor more than 8.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH PAPER
Definition:
A research paper is an essay in which you present your own interpretation, evaluation or argument
about a topic of your choice. That topic is about something you have already learnt and now you can
explore it in depth. You might as well provide support or evidence for that position in an organized report.
Your research paper has to be built upon what you know about the topic of your choice and include
information from sources such as books, articles, interviews, and academic sites that support your point of
view. You are supposed to use your own ideas, knowledge, and opinions. Most of your paper, at least 80%,
must be written in your own words.
Main Ideas:
Your paper should emphasis on a central theme of your interest. Organize it around the arguments
that in your opinion are the most important ones. State in your own words your main ideas and use
information from your sources to support them.
Sociolinguistics – LIN 340
Lic. Lourdes Vilar
Year 2024
Paraphrasing and Summarizing:
Include your ideas and the facts from your readings by paraphrasing and summarizing them.
Write the ideas in your own way, using different words and sentence structures and leaving out
unnecessary details.
Quotations:
Use quotations when the author's words are of interest to the topic. When you quote copy the
exact words using quotation marks, and cite the name of the author. If you fail to do that, you are risking
your paper for plagiarism.
Documentation:
The purpose of documentation is to give credit to the authors ideas you have read before and
during for your research. Your paper becomes more solid if you can prove that the information came from
reliable sources.
Follow the American Psychology Association (APA) guidelines when writing your paper.
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format
STEPS IN THE PROCESS
Choose a topic.
Do library and/or online research.
Narrow your topic.
Read actively and make notes.
Plan your writing, make an outline and present your ideas in a logical order. Outline form:
I. Introduction
- Background information and knowledge
- The purpose of your research and thesis statement (expository thesis statement
https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/writing-a-thesis)
Sociolinguistics – LIN 340
Lic. Lourdes Vilar
Year 2024
II. Body
III. Conclusion
Summary of main points
Thesis statement restated
Write and revise. Do not expect to write and finish your paper all at once. Read it over and
revise it, trying to improve the content and organization. Ask someone else (a classmate) to
read it and give you feedback.
Document your sources.
In the last page write a list of sources/bibliography.
Proofread. Read over the whole paper slowly and carefully, checking for errors in grammar,
punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
Make sure your paper follows the assigned format:
Length 1500 – 2000 words
Letter paper size
Margins: 2,5 cm on all sides
Double-spaced
12 points font size, Times New Roman font or 11 points font size, Calibri
Indent (or five spaces) the first word of each paragraph.
Do not give the first line an additional indent
Provide a double-spaced entry in the top left corner of the first page that lists: Student’s name:
Tutor’s name:
Subject:
Topic:
Date:
Sociolinguistics – LIN 340
Lic. Lourdes Vilar
Year 2024
Pages are numbered 1, 2, 3... starting with the title page, and including the reference page.
Header: Your title and the page number in the top right-hand corner
Should you have any questions, contact me through the WhatsApp.
YOUR PAPER AND VIDEO SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO OUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM
DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 17 AT 11:30 PM
