Student Resources

 

Using the Internet Safely and Responsibly
In order to help gain the knowledge and necessary decision-making skills to make safe and responsible choices when using the Internet, visit some of web sites below.
Safeteens Site for teens and parents to learn about Internet safety.
The NetSmartz Workshop Real-life stories told by teens about their Internet experiences and being safe online.
Cyberethics for Kids Interactive scenarios to understand appropriate online behaviors.
GetNetWise Detailed online safety guides for teens.
WebsafeCrackers An interactive site that offers strategies to help deal with different online situations.  It was developed in the UK with MSN.

Research Paper Guidelines
At some point you will assigned a research paper.  While the whole process can be overwhelming at first glance, breaking it down in smaller steps can be quite helpful.  Always, however, follow your teacher's directions when completing your research paper.

The following resources might help:  Cambridge Rindge and Latin School's Basic Steps in the Research Process.  Another good choice is Purdue University's Online Writing Lab or OWL.
Plagiarism Guidelines
Plagiarism is using another person's words and ideas and passing them off as your own.   Doing this is dishonest, unethical and can be illegal. 
  • If you quote words someone else wrote, you must put quotation marks around what you quote.  Someone reading it will then know you did not write the words yourself.
  • If you use ideas that are not your own but do not quote the idea word by word, you still need to show that the idea is not your own even if you include the name of the resource the idea came from in your bibliography.
  • If you paraphrase someone else's writing, you must give credit to the author.

To help better understand what plagiarism is, review the following web sites that offer valuable information.

Avoiding Plagiarism at Purdue University's Online Writing Lab or OWL can help you better understand how to avoid plagiarism.

Also, Plagiarism: What It is and How to Avoid It from Indiana University for methods of citing and paraphrasing information.

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MLA Guidelines
The Modern Language Association has developed guidelines to properly cite words or ideas that are not your own in a research paper.  The source of the quotation or paraphrased text is placed in parenthesis with the author's last name, date of publication, and page number.  The author's last name provides a link to a complete list of sources at the end of your paper detailing the full publication information.  This last page is called Works Cited page.

To become more familiar with the MLA guidelines to properly format a research paper, view these web sites:

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab or OWL has an excellent web page Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format. 

Another resource is from Bedford/St. Martin's a college publisher featuring Dr. Diana Hacker.

Other Web Resources
Try some of these web resources to help with your next research project:

 

Use your library card to access the Old Colony Library Network through our own Canton Public Library

Also, use your library card to access the Southeastern Massachusetts Library System or SEMLS
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and Reference Internet Public Library
Virtual Reference Desk Encyclopedia Smithsonian
U.S. Government Librarian's Index to the Internet
Almanac on the Web CIA World Factbook
Legal Encyclopedia Occupational Outlook Handbook

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