English 10 Regents
Mrs. Hartmann
Bellport High School
Students' Page
Introduction ⎮ Task ⎮ Process ⎮ Evaluation ⎮Conclusion ⎮Educators
Introduction
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson often
drew different conclusions from the same clues, the same pieces of
information. They then looked for additional evidence to prove
that something was true.
The process of solving a mystery and the process of writing a research paper have several things in common. Both require gathering and studying clues, evidence, and information; weeding out "red herrings" or irrelevant information; organizing thoughts; and presenting accurate conclusions.
You are a self-employed research writer. You have been hired by the Unsolved Mysteries Society to conduct background research for an upcoming documentary. It is very important for you to provide accurate information, because the people at the Unsolved Mysteries Society pride themselves on presenting nothing but facts. Your professional reputation (and your future paychecks!) will be affected by the quality of the report you produce for them.
The process of solving a mystery and the process of writing a research paper have several things in common. Both require gathering and studying clues, evidence, and information; weeding out "red herrings" or irrelevant information; organizing thoughts; and presenting accurate conclusions.
You are a self-employed research writer. You have been hired by the Unsolved Mysteries Society to conduct background research for an upcoming documentary. It is very important for you to provide accurate information, because the people at the Unsolved Mysteries Society pride themselves on presenting nothing but facts. Your professional reputation (and your future paychecks!) will be affected by the quality of the report you produce for them.
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Task
The
Unsolved Mysteries Society has commissioned a research paper of at
least 4 pages, analyzing the information about one of these topics.
Your paper will explain what facts are known, what theories have been presented to explain the facts, which theory has the most support, and what aspects of the mystery remain unexplained. The producers will use this information as they prepare the script of the documentary. Additionally, your paper will provide an accurate Works Cited page to allow the producers to check your sources and avoid lawsuits. See the Evaluation rubric below to see how the Society will review your paper and what is required.
The process of conducting and presenting research has several steps:
Your paper will explain what facts are known, what theories have been presented to explain the facts, which theory has the most support, and what aspects of the mystery remain unexplained. The producers will use this information as they prepare the script of the documentary. Additionally, your paper will provide an accurate Works Cited page to allow the producers to check your sources and avoid lawsuits. See the Evaluation rubric below to see how the Society will review your paper and what is required.
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The process of conducting and presenting research has several steps:
- Choose an unsolved mystery. See topics
for some ideas or come up with your own unsolved mystery to research.
- Find facts and theories about the mystery.
- Take notes from books, magazine articles, and the Internet. Keep
track of your sources, especially the page numbers of print materials
and the URL (Web address) of any online materials. Ask your teacher for
a format for your notes. You must have at least one print
source. Keep track on a reference
sheet!
- You will be turning in note cards, remember to keep them.
- Think about what you have learned.
- Do you have any unanswered questions? If you do, you may need to continue your research.
- Organize the material you have gathered into a useful form.
- Some people like graphic organizers; some like outlines; some like lists. The important thing is to plan.
- Draft your paper.
- Get your facts and ideas into written form. Be sure to indicate
the source of facts, ideas, and phrases you found during your research,
so that you avoid plagiarism. MLA In-text
citations.
- Think some more and revise your paper.
- MLA
Works Cited page is needed. You might also be able to complete your
citations through Citation
Machine.
- There is more to revising than checking spelling and punctuation, although those are also important. You might want to reorganize, or you might see that you need one or two more facts.
- Publish your work.
- Your final draft must be MLA formatted with a Works Cited page
and an MLA cover page. It has to be typed and double-spaced.
- Celebrate a challenging job well done!
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Evaluation
Your research paper will be graded on
the following criteria. Remember that there are other parts of
the project due for points prior to the paper itself being turned in.
| THE
REPORT MEETS THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: |
Beginning |
Developing |
Competent |
Proficient |
| CONTENT |
||||
| Includes at least 10 verifiable
facts about topic. |
||||
| Mentions at least three leading
theories and discusses how reliable each theory is. |
||||
| Mentions the unexplained aspects
and tells why they are unexplained. |
||||
| Gathered evidence in support of
a thesis, including information on all relevant perspectives. |
||||
| Communicates information and
ideas from primary and secondary sources accurately and coherently. |
||||
| Makes distinctions between the
relative value and significance of specific data, facts, and ideas. |
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| RESEARCH AND CITATION |
||||
| Includes a correctly formatted
MLA Works Cited page of reference materials for a report using a
variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents. |
||||
| Uses a variety of reference
sources, including print, journal, and internet sources, to locate
information in support of topic. |
||||
| Demonstrates correct citation of
sources, including direct quotations and paraphrased material. (In-text
MLA Citation) |
||||
| WRITING
STYLE |
||||
| Anticipates and addresses
readers' potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations. |
||||
| Uses technical terms and
notations accurately. |
||||
| Uses varied and expanded vocabulary. | ||||
| Uses appropriate tone and style. | ||||
| Final draft is legible, shows
accurate spelling and correct use of conventions of punctuation and
capitalization. |
||||
| Demonstrates appropriate manuscript conventions, including pagination, spacing and margins. | ||||
| Produced a paper at least 4
pages long. |
||||
| PREVIOUSLY
EARNED
POINTS: |
||||
| TOTAL SCORE: |
To print a copy,
click
here. You do need a Adobe to read it.
Your paper will receive a 10 point
deduction for each day it is late. Please make sure to turn it in
by the deadline.
Conclusion
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were always able to solve the crime. No situation remained a mystery to them for very long. But they are characters in fiction.
You, in contrast, have investigated a real mystery. You have seen that not all sources of information are equally reliable. You have seen that some explanations are based more on opinion than on fact. You have seen that nothing replaces your own informed judgement.
You have learned how to find the most accurate information available, how to give credit where credit is due, and how to present your findings to others.
Congratulations! You did it! Even Holmes and Watson would be proud.
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Conclusion
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were always able to solve the crime. No situation remained a mystery to them for very long. But they are characters in fiction.
You, in contrast, have investigated a real mystery. You have seen that not all sources of information are equally reliable. You have seen that some explanations are based more on opinion than on fact. You have seen that nothing replaces your own informed judgement.
You have learned how to find the most accurate information available, how to give credit where credit is due, and how to present your findings to others.
Congratulations! You did it! Even Holmes and Watson would be proud.