Sunday, March 16, 2008

7th Period Senior Project Update

Several students chose not to submit the required rough draft by the end of 7th period Thursday. I stayed after class to help those who needed assistance and accepted those students' papers at the dismissal bell.

I have checked my e-mail account(s)for submissions and, sadly, have found none as of the time of this post.

Each of you needs to be aware that the grade "0" (zero) has been recorded for the rough draft if you did not submit the required document.

Be prepared to revise the rough draft this week, along with creating the PowerPoint presentation or story board.

EVERYTHING is due this Friday.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

English 12 7th Period Senior Project Information

Students have worked all week putting together the first rough draft of the senior project paper. I have allowed class time for typing text, locating sources, asking questions, and getting help. I have provided detailed instructions for setting up the pages in correct MLA format.
Some students are still working from a basic thesis statement and have not completed an introduction or a conclusion. I have instructed them to enter all information from all sources (minimum of three) into a Microsoft Word document that is saved to our server at school. The students also can save the information to a jump drive, floppy disc, or CD so that they can work on the paper at home. In addition, a student may send me his or her paper for questions via an attachment to my school e-mail bkcall@access.k12.wv.us. Also, a student can e-mail a word document as an attachment to himself or herself at home. Students should have already begun planning the PowerPoint presentation or story board. This component and the final draft of the paper are due at the end of next week (March 21). I have been taking daily grades on the progress each student is making. A final rough draft is due Thursday (March 13). Under no circumstances will I accept a rough draft later than Thursday at the end of 7th period English 12.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Term Paper Guide: English 12 7th Period

Paragraph #1
Find an interesting situation, quote, fact, or other “hook” to introduce your topic. Spend four or five sentences developing this information so that it leads logically to the thesis statement that will be the final sentence in the first paragraph.

Paragraph #2
Begin the first body paragraph with a simple transition (first, to begin with, initially, etc.) that bridges between the introductory paragraph and the body paragraph that states and develops your first point. This paragraph should be somewhere between five and eight sentences in length and must contain at least one parenthetical citation. Introduce the citation with a phrase such as “According to …” or “(Source’s name) states … .” Use MLA format in all parenthetical citations.

Paragraph #3
Begin the second body paragraph with a simple transition (second, next, in addition to [point number 1], etc.) that bridges between the first body paragraph and the second body paragraph that states and develops your second point. This paragraph should be somewhere between five and eight sentences in length and must contain at least one parenthetical citation. Introduce the citation with a phrase such as “According to …” or “(Source’s name) states … .” Use MLA format in all parenthetical citations.

Paragraph #4
Begin the third body paragraph with a simple transition (third, finally, last, etc.) that bridges between the second body paragraph and the third body paragraph that states and develops your third point. This paragraph should be somewhere between five and eight sentences in length and must contain at least one parenthetical citation. Introduce the citation with a phrase such as “According to …” or “(Source’s name) states … .” Use MLA format in all parenthetical citations.

Paragraph #5
Begin the final paragraph with a simple transition (in conclusion, to sum up, all in all, etc.). Restate the three points you have covered, rewording them in order not to sound too repetitive. Draw a conclusion about your thesis. This paragraph should be somewhere between five and eight sentences in length.

Works Cited Page
Using MLA format, list all required information about your sources. List the sources alphabetically by the author’s last name. If your source does not have an author (be sure to examine the book or article closely, and ask Mrs. Crum or me for help), list the source alphabetically by the first important word in the title.