MISCELLANEOUS/ RESEARCH

***ADVICE FOR CREATING THE AP LIT RESEARCH ESSAY PORTFOLIO:

• FOLLOW THE SAMPLE PAPER and DIRECTIONS on the AP LIT DOWNLOADS
• CONNECT EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO YOUR THESIS.
• CHECK YOUR WC PAGE CAREFULLY (CLUES FOR HELP ARE UNDER THE LINKS!!)
• DO NOT INSERT LARD, THINKING I WON'T NOTICE!
• THE PAPER SHOULD BE ORGANIZED LOGICALLY & FOLLOW A COHERENT OUTLINE.
• USE COLLEGE-LEVEL CRITICS ONLY--NO JUNK!  USE EDU. & ORG. SITES.  LEAVE THE .COM'S ALONE.
• THE FINAL PAPER WILL BE 10-12 PAGES, NOT COUNTING THE COVER, OUTLINE, & WORKS            CITED PAGES.

@@   HAVE A SEPARATE FOLDER TO HOLD ALL YOUR TERM PAPER MATERIALS:  drafts, copies of critical sources, information sheets, copy of materials I have given or e-mailed as attachments, etc.)@@

**NOTE:  You will not get full credit at turn-in points if the paper

     ***1) is not organized neatly in a folder; 

    ***2) does not have documentation of the quotations from your primary source; 

    ***3) does not show evidence from the critics, with highlighted copies of all your sources; 

    ***4) does not have a Works Cited page that matches up to your documentation.

--PRINT OUT AND UNDERSTAND COPIES OF THE SAMPLE PAPERS.  YOU MUST HAVE THE PEER RUBRIC SCORING GUIDE IN YOUR PORTFOLIO.   

 
!!RESEARCH NOTES & DATES (Dates to be added later)!!

**IMPORTANT:  YOU CAN ACCESS CRITICAL SOURCES ONLINE BY FOLLOWING THESE
DIRECTIONS UNDER MEDIA RESOURCES ON THE LHS MAIN PAGE  (use lower case
letters only):

All of the online databases use:
username: polk         [all lower case]
password: power        [all lower case]

ALSO, CHECK OUT GOOGLE + AUTHOR + REVIEW for your search.

NOTE:  EACH TURN-IN POINT for a preliminary paper or draft is a 100-POINT GRADE.    THE                   FINAL PAPER IS WORTH 400 POINTS.  All papers must be typed with one-inch margins.  They must be 12 font,        Times New Roman, and double-spaced.  Do NOT try to create large margins, as this ploy is obvious. 

Use THIRD PERSON, no "I" or "We."  Never use 2nd person "YOU."

Each page must have a last name and number in the upper right-hand corner-- ie, Smith 6.    You do not number the cover page.  Start with page 1 on the THESIS/OUTLINE page and end the numbering on the WORKS CITED PAGE.

STUDY THE "THESIS WITH HOLES" HANDOUT FOR PATTERNS AS YOU CONTINUE TO REVISE 

YOUR THESIS.  YOU WANT TO SHOW THE DEVICES IN THE WORK THAT PROVE A LARGE 

POINT--A THEME, A CHARACTER, A TONE.  THE THESIS STATEMENTS MAY BE TWEAKED 

FREQUENTLY UNTIL THE FIRST DRAFT IS DUE.

Librarian Talk . . . Evaluating the Internet!   The Internet will be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Ones from .edu, .org, .gov may be best. Think about:  Accuracy - The information should be researched and show proof that it has been. Source - Who wrote the information? Look at the domain.  .edu .gov. org .net are valid research sources. Authority - What are the author's credentials?  (Don't quote from another college freshman's paper.) Coverage - Does the page have the information you need for your research? Objectivity - If a work is biased, use it - just make sure your professor knows YOU know. And offer both sides of issues, where applicable.  http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/grapesofwrath.htm UNACCEPTABLE SOURCE EXAMPLE: http://www.rit.edu/~nrcgsh/bx/bx04b.html -  This appears to be part of a book, and the information is probably excellent. But there is nothing tells you title, author, dates, publisher or any of the other needed information.  As it stands, this site can not be used in an academic research paper.

PRELIMINARY PAPER #1: A casual TYPED (12 font, Times New Roman, double-spaced) paper describing your thesis and how you plan to set up your paper.  If you have researched critics, either in a library or on a web site (EDU. or ORG only), please give me an overview of what you found.  You must give credit where it is due to avoid plagiarism.  
In this paper, discuss the devices that you are covering and give me some examples. 

Show me several quoted passages and how you plan to embed them in sentences to make your points.  This is a trouble-shooting paper to help you avoid making serious errors on your preliminary papers and drafts.

In other words--just to be clear--this first preliminary is a casual paper, but you are to show me as much as you have in place.  For instance, give me your thesis and let me know how you plan to prove it with specific devices.  If you have a tentative outline in place, include that.   

Showing me an example of an embedded quotation or two that you plan to use also would help.  I want to see that you know how to embed short quotations from your book or play, your primary source, into your own sentences and document accordingly.  

If you have done some research from critics, show me some examples of how you work in their commentary to support your own thesis position.  DO NOT QUOTE ANYTHING FROM A CRITICAL SOURCE.  Put it into your own words and put the source in parentheses (SEE SAMPLES ON THE DOWNLOAD PAGE!!).   This step is called parenthetical documentation.  In addition, I would like to see the beginning of your Works Cited page.

This is a trouble-shooting paper to let me offer advice on your progress so far.  In that paper you tell me how far along you are and show me what you think you'll be producing...pieces of it. 

You should have this paper in a portfolio with copies of any samples you are following from the web site, any critical source information you are using, etc.  I would suggest that you copy and download all directions I have put online--both here and available at the downloadable site.  The more you have with you as you work, the more confident you will feel as you begin your written work.  All these items, hopefully, will be a part of your portfolio.

PRELIMINARY PAPER #2, in the folder--First 3 TYPED paragraphs of your paper, the introduction, including thesis, and 2 paragraphs that begin your support.  You must show quotations from your novel/play (PRIMARY SOURCE) and at least  1 or 2 critical commentaries, put in your own words and documented.  (SECONDARY SOURCE) 

REMINDER: Do not ever quote from the critics.  Only quote from your primary source.   I will give you feedback to let you know the strengths and weaknesses so far.  Please include your tentative thesis/outline page and tentative Works Cited page. 
Put COPIES OF CRITICAL SOURCES in this folder with anything used highlighted clearly.

Turn in as the 2nd part of your portfolio.  Make sure your 1st PRELIMINARY PAPER is included as well. At each turn-in point, I will expect to see all prior drafts included.

PRELIMINARY PAPER #3, in folder--complete paper with the thesis/outline page, embedded quotes, documentation, and Works Cited page. Number pages correctly.  The thesis/outline page is the first page, shown with your last name and the number1.  The Works Cited page is your last page.  Put your name and page number on EACH PAGE of the paper in the upper right-hand corner.  Make certain that you have made copies of all critical information andhighlighted it clearly.

FIRST ROUGH DRAFT--DUE , in folder.  This paper should look like the final product, complete in a folder with a cover page (name, date, period, and title of your work).  You should have all the critical material ready and set to go, highlighted clearly.  We will peer evaluate these papers in class--carefully--so you will need to print up a copy of the PEER RUBRIC SCORING GUIDE.  After this round, you may send parts of the paper to me online for help.  Do NOT send the whole paper.  I will designate areas of concern at each turn-in point.

2nd ROUGH DRAFT--DUE , in folder.  For many of you, this may be the "final" product if it looks set to go.  If you still have
problems, you may resubmit as often as needed until the WINDOW CLOSES. If you turn in a FINAL product by this date, I will give it "extra grade consideration," meaning  I will grade it more leniently.

LAST TURN-DATE FOR ANY REASON. (WINDOW CLOSES)--.  I will
expect more from papers turned in this late.

**NOTE:  All the way along, check out the LINKS to web sites that show how to document your papers and do a Works Cited page.  By 11 or 12th grade, you should have done enough of these research projects to know what you're doing.  People who understand libraries well should act as your assistants if you need advice.  TUTORS ARE AVAILABLE AFTER SCHOOL.  See announcement page.

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