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The I-Search is the major research project of your freshman year. The goal of this project is to teach students the fundamentals of research, how to cite sources, and how to organize and write a formal paper. I-Search not only emphasizes the results, but the process as well. Each student will complete at least one part of the I-Search project every week, and the final grade will be depend on steady progress.
Each student must have a unique topic that deals with ancient or recent history. It is preferred that you develop a topic that somehow connects to you, your family, or your family’s country of origin. Complete your topic sheet and make an appointment during your study halls or before or after school. If your topic selection is late, you will still have to make a selection and appointments, but you will lose 10 points off of your point total for I-Search.
The most important part of your I-Search topic is your THESIS. This is a statement that you prove during your paper. You will not write a report, but rather prove a point. You must have some sort of opinion that is not a given, not already accepted as fact, and you must use your research to prove that thesis. You may find that you must change your thesis, and that is fine, but you need to start out with one. Here are examples of appropriate and inappropriate theses:
Appropriate: Infringement of states’ rights by the federal government was the true cause of the American Civil War.
Note cards (or Noodletools) make it easier to gather information, record citation information, and write your paper. On the note cards you will gather the information that will help you to prove your thesis. In addition, your paper will require you to provide parenthetical citations in the body of your paper and a Works Cited page at the end. Note cards will help you keep track of your sources and provide the proper credit to the authors. Avoid plagiarism at all costs.
2 Internet site (cannot be an encyclopedia site like Wikipedia)INTERVIEW – 20 points (Extra Credit)
Students may interview an expert on their topic for extra credit. The interview cannot be with a family member or a member of the faculty. Be aware that college professors will soon be leaving campuses, so it is essential that you start this process early and make your teacher aware of any difficulties that you are having. The interview must be done in person, on the phone, or by skype.
Students will be required to submit their papers to Turnitin.com. This database is both a formative and summative tool for teachers and students which allows students to verify their documentation and citation of content as well as the originality of their work prior to submitting it for teacher evaluation.
You will present your findings to the class in a 5-7 minute oral presentation. The presentation can take on a variety of forms and creativity will be part of the grade. In the past, students have used, live talk shows, dressing up as a character from history, self-made videos (up to 2 minutes of total presentation), and power point.
April 7 – Internet or Periodical source, and 1st set of note cards
April 21 – 2nd and 3rd sources (periodical or Internet, book), 2nd and 3rd set of note cards
