Name: ______

“Were They Wrongfully Accused?” Research Project

Step 1: Choose a person who has been accused of a crime. ______

Step 2:Research that person’s crime on the internet.

  • You must use 3 sources (minimum). We will have three days with laptops in the classroom to do research.
  • Pick sources based on their credibility.
  • Examples: cnn.com, foxnews.com, msnbc.com, cbsnews.com, abcnews.com, nytimes.com, usatoday.com, news.google.com, news.yahoo.com, OR any other official news source); .edu sites, .gov sites
  • You may not use personal blogs, Wikipedia.com or any other wiki sources.

Step 3: Use MLA Format to create a Works Cited. Complete Graff Stems for articles.

Use this website for MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications):

Some examples:

Citing an Entire Web Site

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available).Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Felluga, Dino.Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili."eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

An Article from a Newspaper

Author (if available). “Article Title.”Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Branch, John. "Babe Ruth the Way You’ve Never Seen Him Before."New York Times. New York Times, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 8 Oct. 2009.

* Use n.p.if no publisher name is available andn.d.if no publishing date is given.

Works Cited

Branch, John. "Babe Ruth the Way You’ve Never Seen Him Before."New York Times. New York Times, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 8 Oct. 2009.

Felluga, Dino.Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili."eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Works Cited

______

______

______

Graff Stems for each article. This may come in the form of journal entries.

  • The general argument/conclusions made in (article/editorial title) is that…

Now choose any 10 to include in your response:

  • More specifically, (specific detail from the article)…. (try to include a direct quotation too)
  • In this article, (author of article/attorney/judge/etc.) suggests/proves/claims…
  • More specifically, I believe (more information with a specific detail from the article)….
  • For example, …
  • Although ______might respond or counter that…
  • Americans today tend to believe…
  • The purpose of ______is to…
  • Many people assume that…
  • People agree/disagree with…
  • Basically, ______is saying…
  • While it is true that ______, ______should …
  • Although not stated directly, …
  • The position of ______is…
  • On one hand… On the other hand…
  • This challenges…
  • ______is important because…
  • Common sense seems to dictate…
  • Ultimately, what is at stake here, in my opinion, is that…

General “gatekeepers” for MLA Citations and Direct Quotations:

  • Any paper lacking a Works Cited page (but including in-text citations) will receive a maximum grade of 60.
  • Any paper lacking MLA in-text citation will receive a grade of ZERO and must complete a rewrite that includes MLA in-text citation for a maximum grade of 60. WITHOUT SUCH CITATIONS, THE PAPER WILL BE CONSIDERED PLAGIARIZED.
  • All quotations must be integrated into your own sentences and no quotation may be longer than four lines.

YOU MUST USE A DIRECT QUOTATION FROM EACH OF YOUR THREE SOURCES.

In-text citation examples for direct quotes:

When you do not use the author’s name in the sentence:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

** If you do not mention the author’s name in your sentence, put their last name and a page number (if available).

When you use the author’s name in the sentence:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

** If you use the author’s name in your sentence, you just need a page number in the parentheses; if there is no page number, you don’t even need the parentheses.

When there is no author’s name to use:

We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).

** If you do not know the author, use the title of the article; you may shorten the title if it is extremely long; if there are no page numbers, simply leave the number out.**

Step 4: Construct a THESIS Statement.


What is a THESIS STATEMENT?In summary, a thesis statement is a single sentence, usually in the first paragraph of the paper, which:

  • Declares the position you are taking in your paper.
  • Sets up the way you will organize your discussion.
  • Points to the conclusion you will draw.
  • Boils down the main point of your paper to a single statement.

My thesis statement is: ______

______

Step 5: Outline your 5-paragraph essay using the following organizer.

Summary of Events/ Paragraph 1: Summarize the events before writing your essay. Answer all of the” who, what, when, and where questions” of the crime/alleged crime.

______

Introduction of Argument (Position of Guilt or Innocence) /Paragraph 1: Should consist of at least 3-4 sentences and move in a "funnel" progression from general to specific ideas. It consist entirely of commentary (no facts or sources yet).

The first sentence: grabs the reader’s attention and interest. (quotation, truism, fact, general observation)

______

Another sentence: adds general information regarding the topic that the reader needs to know.

______

Another sentence: adds more specific information about aspects of your argument (background, issue, past events) needed to understand why you will argue the thesis that follows.

______

Thesis statement: is your thesis statement = Topic + opinion on the topic. Usually includes a “must” or “should”

______

Body/Paragraph 2: The order of evidence and commentary can vary; for example, you can have: Evidence, commentary, more evidence, and more commentary.

Topic Sentence #1: explains a reason for your thesis; one aspect of the problem. ______

Supporting Evidence:(facts, examples, descriptions, support, proof, evidence) (quote from your sources)

______

______

Your Commentary on the Evidence: (1, 2, or 3 sentences)

______

______

______

______

Concluding Sentence: wraps up the paragraph. ______

______

______

Body/Paragraph3: The order of evidence and commentary can vary; for example, you can have: Evidence, commentary, more evidence, more commentary.

Topic Sentence #1: explains a reason for your thesis; one aspect of the problem. ______

Supporting Evidence:(facts, examples, descriptions, support, proof, evidence) (quote from your sources)

______

______

______

Your Commentary on the Evidence: (1, 2, or 3 sentences)

______

______

______

______

Concluding Sentence: wraps up the paragraph. ______

______

Body/Paragraph 4: The order of evidence and commentary can vary; for example, you can have: Evidence, commentary, more evidence, more commentary.

Topic Sentence #1: explains a reason for your thesis; one aspect of the problem. ______

______

Supporting Evidence:(facts, examples, descriptions, support, proof, evidence) (quote from your sources)

______

______

______

Your Commentary on the Evidence: (1, 2, or 3 sentences)

______

______

______

______

Concluding Sentence: wraps up the paragraph. ______

______

Conclusion/Paragraph 5: The conclusion should rephrase (not repeat) the thesis in 3-4 sentences and close the argument by opening up on an essential question or a clever or urgent call to action for the audience. The paragraph is entirely commentary.

______
______

______

“Wrongfully Accused”

Final Draft: Grading Rubric

*Zero points will be given for sections not completed!*

20 / 15 / 10 / 5
Intro/Thesis / Clearly stated thesis and at least 3 areas of info to be addressed. Original and creative; a clear picture is given and grabs reader’s attention. / Thesis of paper is present, but 3 areas of info to be addressed are not stated. Clear picture is not given, but grabs reader’s attention. / Thesis present, but 3 areas of info not stated. Does not grab reader’s attention. Non-related information included. Reader can still determine topic of paper. / Thesis not present, and 3 areas of info not stated. Does not grab reader’s attention. Reader can still determine topic of the paper through the info included.
Supporting Evidence/Documentation / All 3 sources are used; all info from sources is documented properly using MLA citation.
Topic sentences are complete sentences that connect logically to thesis; Transitions make paper flow well. There is at least one paragraph for each area of info addressed. / All 3 sources are used; no more than 2 pieces of info used without proper documentation. Format done correctly using MLA citation.
Topic sentences are complete sentences, but may not connect to thesis; transitions are present and paper flows well. / Only 2 sources are used. No more than 4 pieces of info used without proper documentation. Format done incorrectly (MLA), but still present.
Topic Sentences are not complete sentences and do not connect to thesis; transitions are present, but do not help with the flow of the paper. / Only 1 source is used. More than 4 pieces of info used without proper documentation. Format done incorrectly (MLA), but still present.
Not all paragraphs have a topic sentence; random information is included within the paragraphs and transitions are not present; paper does not flow well.
Commentary / At least 2 complete, commentary sentences are written for each paragraph and support the topic sentence and evidence. / At least 2 complete, commentary sentences are written for each paragraph, but both may not support the topic sentence and/or evidence. / At least 1 complete, commentary sentence is written for each paragraph and supports the topic sentence and evidence. / Commentary sentences are present in some, but not all paragraphs OR commentary sentences in all paragraphs do not support the topic sentence and/or evidence.
Conclusion / Summarizes and restates thesis in complete sentence; transition informing reader that paper is ending; call to action or final thought given. / Summarizes and restates thesis in complete sentence; no transition is made; call to action or final thought is not clearly given. / Restates the thesis exactly; may give more info not included in the introduction or body paragraphs; reader is not clear that the paper is ending; no call to action or final thought given. / Introduction paragraph is just repeated; reader is not aware that paper is ending; call to action or final thought is confusing or disconnected from topic.
Grammar & Usage / Punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are done correctly (Less than 5 errors). / Errors do not detract from the overall flow of paper (Between 6-10 errors). / Errors detract from overall flow of paper (Between 11-15 errors). / Enough errors to confuse the reader (More than 15 errors).

Comments:

______

Grade: ______Bonus Points: ______