Everything I Needed to Know for Jr. English I learned in my…
I-Search
Essay Informational Packet
***WARNING: BECAUSE THIS IS A FINAL EXAM, PAPERS NOT MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS MENTIONED IN THE PACKET WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ***
Table of Contents
Topic(s) / Page #sProject Overview and Requirements / 3
Detailed Breakdown of Each Section / 4-5
“Show Me the Points” (Section Descriptions, Points, & Due Dates) / 6-7
I-Search Grading Rubric / 8
“Get Your Brainstorm On!” / 9
Sample Student Introductions / 10-11
“How to ‘I-Research’ for College Research” (Section VI) / 12-14
Instructions for Citing Sources on Noodle Tools / 15-16
“Pham’s Fabulous Bibliographic Facts” (Sample Bibliography Entries) / 17-18
Outline for Section I (Gatsby) / 19-20
Outline for Section II (The Pursuit of Happyness) / 21-22
Outline for Section III (Independent Reading Book) / 23-24
Outline for Section IV (The Other Wes Moore) / 25-26
Outline for Section V (Influential Role Model Biography) / 27-28
Outline for Section VI (College and Career Research) / 29-31
Presentation Overview / 32
Presentation Rubric / 33-34
Putting the “I”in I-Search
Over the course of your junior year, you have been exploring various ideas centered around your personal concept of America and the realistic nature of the American dream. At the same time, you have also been strengthening your abilities as an analytic writer, while examining and implementing various writing strategies along the way. It is only natural, then, that both your closing assignment for Junior English and your final assessment for the course combine these two ideals in order to assess your analysis and application of the American dream as well as your personal growth as an analytic writer. Thus, for the remainder of the semester, you will be composing an in-depth, research-based, analytic I-Search essay as well as an engaging and thorough presentation on the paperthat will serve as your final exam.
So basically, I’m asking you to write a7-10 page research essay in which you respond to the following prompt:
In order to respond to the prompt as appropriately and thoroughly as possible, your I-Search essay must also meet or exceed the following requirements:
A clearly identifiable thesis statementthat clearly defines, in your own words, what a successful life in America isand that also builds a clear bridge as to how you will achieve this type of life in your future.
Solid, supported evidence (at minimum 7 sources and 14 smoothly integrated quoteswith appropriate MLA citation) from the following:
- 3 pieces of literature from this year (Gatsby, Wes Moore, and independent reading)
- 1 film relating to achieving the American dream (The Pursuit of Happyness)
- 1 biography of notable role model who you feel has achieved your vision of success(personal interview or research on a famous person)
- Outside research using databases (minimum of one college related source and one professional/career related sourcemust be included )
MLA Bibliography Page(all of the sources you read during your research, which must be at least 7)
Works Cited page (only the sources you actually cite in your paper, which must be at least 7)
12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1” Margins
TEA Format for well-developed paragraphs
7-10 FULL PAGES (not 6 pages or “almost” 7)
PAPERS THAT FAIL TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED; THEREFORE, STUDENTS IN THIS SITUATION WILL EARN A FAILING GRADE ON THE FINAL EXAM AND WILL NEED TO RE-TAKE THE CLASS.
Searching the“Sections”of theI-Search
Find a detailed description of every section of your I-Search below. This will serve as a reference and a guide that you should use when composing and placing information in each section. It will also serve as a check list for your final draft, ensuring you have all the sections and criteria necessary for a passing grade on the final.
INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
This section of your essay introduces the paper with a creative and original attention-grabbing hook, a bridgethat gives background information on the American dream, and a concise, well-worded thesis (the answer to the prompt on the previous page and also your version of the American Dream).
BODY SECTIONS
Sections I-VI must include 14citations from credible sourceswith correct citation and integration in order to receive a passing grade on the final exam.
Section I: The Great Gatsby
This section of your essay compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in The Great Gatsbyand judges the value of these ideas.
Section II: Film – Pursuit of Happyness
This section of your essay compares your idea of success to Chris Gardner’s in the film. Do you share any part of his vision of success? What lessons can you learn from his success story? What traits did he have that you will also need to make your American dream a reality?
Section III: Your Independent Book
This section of your essay compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in your independent novel and judges the value of these ideas.
Section IV: The Other Wes Moore (excerpts)
This section of your essay compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in the book. What mistakes did the characters make that you can avoid or learn from? What successes did they have they you can use as inspiration for your own life?
Section V: Biography of a Role Model (who has achieved his/her dream)
This section of your essay includes a biography of someone whom you research (either through a personal interview or credible sources) who successfully embodies your idea of American success and the American dream. Explain how/why this person connects well with your American dream and how/why this person achieved his/her American dream. This should be a notable member of society who has left an impact on the lives of others. What have you learned from this person, and how can he/she serve as a role model as you work to achieve your own dream?
Section VI: Real World Research on a Future College and Career
This section of the essay incorporates a detailed plan for achieving your American dream of success, incorporating what you have learned both positively and negatively from the sources above, as well as research on specific colleges, career paths, etc. that you wish to explore.
CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH
This section of your essay concludes the paper and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This should bring everything you have learned together. How has studying the American dream from a variety of perspectives helped you to develop your own plan for a successful future? What will you do if your future doesn’t go exactly the way you planned? Give your audience a sense of your own attitude toward life. End with a creative and original clincher, tying back to your hook and bringing your paper full circle. Make this your own, giving your reader a sense of your true personality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Use Noodle Tools to create a bibliography that lists all sources you read during your I-Search research, including – but not limited to – the sources you cited in your paper. At minimum, it should list:
The Great Gatsby
The Pursuit of Happyness
Your independent novel
The Other Wes Moore
An interview or a biographical source from research (about your inspirational role model)
At least one source about a college or trade/technical school you might attend
At least one source about the career you might pursue
That is a minimum of 7 sources. Many people will have more than this. Remember, even if you read about a career on a website or look up a college’s profile in the Career Center, you can still add those sources to your bibliography even if you don’t cite them in your paper.
WORKS CITED
After finalizing your bibliography, simply do a “save as.” Delete any sources from your bibliography that you read, but did not actually cite in your paper. Re-title this page “Works Cited” and print it.
ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCE:
You will sign up for a 20-minute conference with me during the second, third, or fourth week of May. During the conference, we’ll discuss your progress. You’ll tell me about your time management strategies, the feedback you’ve gotten from peers and/or teachers, and the changes you’ve made to improve your paper thus far. We will look over your paper together, and I will provide you with additional feedback on your draft. This conference can occur any time during the writing process, but I do expect you to take the feedback seriously and to make improvements to your writing.
FINAL SELF-REFLECTION:
Since you won’t have any formal tests or papers (aside from your final I-Search, which is your final exam grade, not a Quarter 4 grade), one major assessment for 4th Quarter will be your final self-reflection. A thoughtful, thorough reflection should be at least 500 words (30 points).
One paragraph should reflect on the writing process: What was easiest about the I-Search paper? What was most difficult? If you could go back and do something differently, what would it be and why? How did you use feedback from other people (me, peers, literacy center tutors, parents, siblings, etc.) to improve your writing?
A second paragraph should reflect on your I-Search presentation, how did you choose what information to share? How did you prepare for your presentation? What are your strengths as a public speaker, and what are your weaknesses? Overall, how does your I-Search outline your path to a successful future?
What grade do you deserve overall and why?
SHOW ME THE POINTS: TheI-SearchPoint Break Down
Upon the conclusion of this unit, you will not only be graded upon your final 7-10 page I-Search essay, but you will also receive valuable formative (10%) and summative (90%) points when making specific deadlines:
The Task / The Points / The Due DateFilm notes on The Pursuit of Happyness / 15 Formative points / Friday, April 5, 2013
Working thesis statement that clearly answers the prompt in a stylistic manner (as discussed this year). Thesis is one sentence written on a note card. / 5Formative Points / Thursday, April 25, 2013
First draft of an introduction that contains a creative and original attention-grabbing hook, a bridge that gives background information on the American dream, and a concise, well-worded thesis. / 10 Formative Points / Friday, April 26, 2013
Section I: This section compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in The Great Gatsbyand judges the value of these ideas; typed and double-spaced with 2-3 direct quotations smoothly integrated and cited properly according to MLA format. / 10 Formative Points / Monday, April 29 2013
Section II: This section of your essay compares your idea of success to Chris Gardner’s in the film, analyzing his vision and/or his traits that caused his success and applying them to your life. Must be typed and double-spaced with 2-3 direct quotations from the film smoothly integrated and cited properly according to MLA format. / 10Formative Points / Wednesday,May 1, 2013
Section III: This section of your essay compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in your independent book and judges the value of these ideas. Must be typed and double-spaced with at least 3 direct quotations from your independent book smoothly integrated and cited properly according to MLA format. / 10 Formative Points / Thursday, May 2, 2013
Section IV: This section of your essay compares your idea of success to the characters’ ideas in the nonfiction book, The Other Wes Moore. Must be typed and double-spaced with 2-3 direct quotations from the book smoothly integrated and cited properly according to MLA format. / 10 Formative Points / Friday, May 17, 2013
Section V: This section of your essay includes a biography of someone you researched (via personal interview or credible sources) who successfully embodies your idea of American success and the American dream. Must be typed and double-spaced with at least 3 direct quotations from a personal interview or research smoothly integrated and cited properly according to MLA format. / 10 Formative Points / Monday, May 20, 2013
Section VI: This section of the essay incorporates a detailed plan of achieving your American dream of success, incorporating what you have learned both positively and negatively from the sources above, as well as research on specific colleges, career paths, etc. that you wish to explore. Must be typed and double-spaced with at least 1 citation from research about a college, technical school, or trade school, and at least 1 citation from research about your potential career. All research (direct quotes and paraphrases) must be cited properly according to MLA format. / 15 Formative Points / Monday, May 13, 2013
MLA Bibliography due with at least seven sources that are cited correctly. It includes all sources read during research. Should be typed and double-spaced with hanging indent, following MLA formatting guidelines. / 10Formative Points / Thursday, May 16, 2013
Conclusion: This section of your essay concludes the paper and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This should bring everything you have learned together. Must be typed, double-spaced. / 10 Formative Points / Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Revised MLA Bibliography and Works Cited page (each with at least seven sources )that are cited correctly. Bibliography includes all sources read during research. Works Cited only includes sources cited in paper. Typed and double-spaced with hanging indent, following MLA format. / 20 Summative Points / Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Individual Conference with Mrs. Pham
(You will choose your time slot. Failure to show up for your selected conference time will result in a zero for this section.)
Points are earned based on completion of work, evidence of serious revision, and depth of discussion during conference. / 20 Formative Points / Mon., May 6 – Tues., May 21
Your slot: ______, May _____, 2013 at
__:__ am/pm
( __ period)
FINAL I-SEARCH PAPER THAT MEETS/EXCEEDS ALL OF THE CRITERIA LISTED ON ASSIGNMENT SHEET. **IF ISEARCH DOESN’T MEET CRITERIA, IT WILL BE PASSED BACK AND COUNTED AS “LATE” UNTIL IT SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS. ** / 200 POINTS= Final Exam Grade!
(20% of entire Semester II grade) / Friday, May 24, 2013
*Presentations also begin today.
Final I-Search Presentation: Conveys to your audience what the American dream means to you in terms of success in the future. Gives specific examples from a book or film we studied in class (Sections I, II, or IV), your independent novel (Section III), and your research (Section V or Section VI). Analysis ties texts/film/research back to your life and your vision of success. Presentation is 3-5 minutes in length with one audio and/or video clip and additional visual aids (PPT, Prezi, Movie Maker, etc.). Clearly practiced, demonstrating effective public speaking techniques. / 50 Summative Points / Friday, May 24
(Presentations will begin Friday, May 24 and continue through Friday, May 31, but everyone must be prepared to present on the first day. Volunteers will be taken first, and then names will be chosen at random.)
Final Self-Reflection: The first paragraph reflects on the writing process, and the second paragraph reflects on the presentation. Typed and double-spaced. At least 500 words. / 30 Summative Points / Friday, May 31
PhamJunior EnglishName: ______
I-SearchProject: Grading Rubric for Written Paper
Content
Introduction (15)______/15
Interesting, sophisticated attention getter
Effective transition between hook and thesis
Thesis establishes clear subject and stance and reflectsthe assignment
Section I – Section IV (80 pts—20 pts. each)Sec I: ______/20
Using a clear, opinionated topic sentence, section judges the AmericandreamSec II:______/20
presented in The Great Gatsby, The Pursuit of Happyness, the independent nonfiction book,Sec III:______/20
and The Other Wes Moore, connecting back to my vision of success for my own future.Sec IV:______/20
Using 2-3 quotations per paragraph (3 required for independent book), section establishes
characters’ version of the American dream.
Using sophisticated, in-depth analysis, section compares characters’ dreamsto my own
and judges the values/drawbacks of each.
Section V: Biography/Research (20)Sec. V _____/20
Using a clear, opinionated topic sentence, section names a personwho supports my version
of the American dream.
Using at least 3 quotations from research, section givesreasons why this person successfully lives
my version of the American dream.
Using sophisticated, in-depth analysis, section proves how evidencesupports my topic sentence.
Section VI: Real World College and Career Research (20)Sec. VI _____/20
Using a clear, opinionated topic sentence, section states my plan for success.
Using specific, relevant examples from research (with at least 2 citations), section explains how
I will achieve my American dream.
Using sophisticated, in-depth analysis, section proves my evidencewill help me achieve my plan.
Conclusion (10) _____/10
Final paragraph restates my thesis in slightly different words, recaps my main points,