Get the Facts!

1. Get the Facts! Steps for Getting Interesting Facts for an Exciting Famous Person Essay

2. When was Albert Einstein born? How did John Denver die? Why is Diana Spencer famous?

3. You can find out the answer to these questions and many more by doing research! Albert Einstein was born on Mar. 14, 1879. John Denver died in a plane crash. Diana Spencer was better known as Lady Di, The Princess of Whales.

4. Good essay writing requires research. • You need to find information about your famous person. • There are a variety of ways to do this: books, magazines, the internet • It is important to use multiple sources. It is not enough to only read 1 article about your famous person. (you should be able to find at least 5 articles to read)

5. Take Notes! • Make point-form notes about your famous person. • Don’t spend unnecessary time writing sentences. Often it is more likely you will accidently plagiarize when you make notes in full sentences. • Organize your information as you collect it. • Keep in mind your essays outline. • You need general information(P1), interesting facts(P2&P3) and social impact(P4). • Where does the information fit into your outline? • Keep track of where you get your information. • You will need to include a “Works cited” at the end of your essay. • Get as much information as you can. • It is easier to take away information when you have too much than it is add information you don’t have.

6. Keep It Interesting! General Rules for Interesting Facts – • 1. They should relate to why the person is FAMOUS or UNIQUE. Usually they will relate to accomplishments, how the person changed the world, or a tragic or unusual event or experience in the person’s life. • Roberto Clemente as a star baseball player overcame racial tension but died tragically trying to help others. • Martin Luther King used non-violent tactics to fight racial inequality and worked towards achieving economic justice for all Americans. • Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and established the Nobel Prizes.

7. 2. The interesting fact should tell something about the famous person’s PERSONALITY. Awards are often not a good interesting fact, because they usually don’t show personality. An example of a not-so-good interesting fact: • Roberto Clemente won many awards. He won 12 Gold Glove awards. He is tied with Willie Mays for the most gold glove awards for outfielders. He won his awards 12 years in a row. • These are details, but they don’t show why Clemente is more interesting or special than other baseball players. Many baseball players win awards, but not many baseball players experience racial tension or give to charity.

8. 3. DON’T make your interesting fact too general – “Martin Luther King did many things to help black Americans.” It is too general. To fit the controlling idea, now you would have to just list the things he did, which would not be interesting. Examples of a good fact and controlling idea: • At the beginning of Roberto’s career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had experienced lots of racial tension coming from his teammates and from local media. • Rev. King used brilliant tactics to achieve justice for black Americans.

9. 4. DON’T make your interesting fact too specific either – “Roberto Clemente was called a ‘Puerto Rican Hot Dog’ by reporters.” That is interesting, but it is a specific detail about the kind of racial tension Clemente overcame; not the main fact.

10. 5. Make sure you can find at least 2-3 SPECIFIC DETAILS to explain more about each interesting fact. If you can’t find any specific details, you should probably change your interesting fact. Example: • Fact 1:Roberto Clemente experienced racial tension. • Detail: Who? Racial Tension came from local media and from his teammates. • Detail: Example Some newspapers called him a “Puerto Rican Hot Dog.” • Detail: Result Roberto was concerned about his image and asked reporters to stay away from him. He did not want to be recognized as a bad person. • Detail: How? Roberto continued to stay positive. • Detail: Example He was noted saying that he didn’t believe in color. • Detail: Result He became a union leader in the Major League Baseball Players Association where he defended players rights and worked towards getting better player benefits

11. Let’s look at an example using Martin Luther King • What facts will make the most interesting essay? • What details will help to explain the facts?

12. Now it is your turn! Start the outline for P2 & P3 of your Famous Person Essay. P2: Fact? P3: Fact? Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Explain the who, what, where, when, why, and how for your facts.

13. What kind of information makes good social impact? • Social Impact includes: • 1. How the world is DIFFERENT today because of the person • 2. Other PEOPLE who were INFLUENCED by the person. • 3. How the person is REMEMBERED today.

14. 1. How the world is DIFFERENT today because of the person • There is more racial equality in America as well as other nations thanks to Martin Luther King. • Mining and engineering marvels of the 21st century were made possible thanks to Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite. • Countless lives have been lost due to dynamite being used for evil purposes.

15. 2. Other PEOPLE who were INFLUENCED by the person • Nelson Mandela was inspired by Martin Luther King • Barack Obama was inspired by Martin Luther King. • Latin-Americans were inspired by Roberto Clemente • Jose Canseco was inspired by Roberto Clemente • Ted Kaczynski was inspired by Alfred Nobel

16. 3. How the person is REMEMBERED today. • Each year Major League Baseball honors an individual player who shows great humanitarian effort with the Roberto Clemente Award. • Martin Luther King Day in the United States is the only public holiday given to a non-president. • Nobelium is element named after Nobel.

17. Now it’s your turn! • Outline P4: Social Impact • Give the impact and explain • You should have at least 3 social impacts. Think about: • What kind of impact has your famous person had: • Changing the world? • Influencing other people? • How do we remember them? • Awards and scholarship? • Institutes, museums, stadiums? • Monuments, holidays? ***Remember to start big with world changes before you say he is on a postage stamp***