Ms. Jacqueline Shaw--English Department-9th Grade Research Project

 

 

  When History and Fiction Merge

The 9^th Grade Regents Research Paper

   Library Resources

   Virtual Reference Collection   

      ABC CLlO American History   

      History Study Center       

      Literature Resource Center
      World Book Online

      Academic Integrity     

      NoodleTools Citations System

      Citation Machine      

ACCESS MY LIBRARY SCHOOL EDITION APP

      Log in to the Gelinas Information Center Using
      Your Smartphone or Tablet (click here for directions) 

We know that Jem, Scout, Atticus and the rest of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird are fictionalized. However, the sentiment of the time period and the struggles the characters faced were taken straight from the history books. Now that we know the details of To Kill a Mockingbird, it’s time to become an expert in a small aspect of 1930s life. It is important for us, the reader, to understand these social issues in order to gain deeper insight and appreciation into Harper Lee’s social criticism. 
 

Requirements:

1.   Well-organized 4-5 page research paper using a variety of credible sources

2.   Use MLA format for everything (will be reviewed in class)

3.   You must have 6 sources cited in the paper; at least two print sources and two web sources

4.   You must have at least 30 notecards (taken from all six sources for works cited)

5.   Use Noodletools for works cited, notecards, and outline.

 

Notecard Rubric

Comments will appear on Noodletools Research Paper Rubric

_____/20 – Focus

          Creative Essay Title + Informative Essay Title

          Demonstrates awareness of task

          Establishes a strong, distinct, provable thesis

          Maintains a single controlling idea throughout the paper

 

_____/20 – Content

          Supports the thesis by using a substantial amount of relevant and accurate evidence

          Each body paragraph is clearly connected to the thesis

          Incorporates well developed body paragraphs with no gaps or omissions

Minimum of four direct quotations from four different sources smoothly integrated into paragraph

          Sophisticated interpretation of significance of quotations

 

_____/20 – Organization

Includes concise topic sentences for every body paragraph that introduce a specific topic

Incorporates transitional devices that connect and relate ideas

Illustrates logical progression of ideas

Includes a developed introductory and concluding paragraph

 

_____/20 – Style and Conventions

          Includes clear, varied, and effective word choice

Demonstrates fluent and varied sentence structure

          Uses consistent voice and tone appropriate to audience and purpose

          Demonstrates control of spelling, punctuation, and grammar usage (including typos)

Proofreading Error List (-2 points when seen in the paper)

Do not use contractions.

Do not use “you” and “I” and “me” and “we” and “us,” etc.

              Check agreement of: subject and verb, pronoun and antecedent.

     Use titles correctly: underline titles of separate publications, use quotation marks for titles included in larger volumes, use no punctuation for your own essay title, do not use the author’s title as your own.

              Do not use fragments or run-ons.

     Do not confuse common homonyms: there, their, and they’re; to, too, and two; its and it’s; affect and effect; than and then.

              Use possessive apostrophes correctly.

              Do not capitalize common nouns; only capitalize proper nouns.

              Follow basic comma rules: between items in a series.

Hand in rubric.

 

_____/20 – Documentation

          Follows MLA format specifications exactly

          Demonstrates correct use of documentation (parenthetical and works cited)

Works cited page includes a minimum of six sources

Works cited has at least two print sources and two online sources

     Missing Criteria (-2 points for anything missing)

             Works cited

             At least one rough copy with editing marks from someone else

             Peer Revision Strategies

 

Lateness Deductions (if any): _____

Total = __________/100                            FINAL GRADE on Final Paper

 

STEP 1:

Choosing a Topic and Brainstorming

The following is an extensive list of topics to choose from. Select one topic to research further. Keep in mind that you will be narrowing your focus on this topic in the weeks to come; people have written entire books about these ideas—you only need to write 4-5 pages!

 

Status of African-Americans in the 1930s

     Jim Crow laws

     Voting rights

     NAACP

     Laws for African Americans

     Job opportunities for blacks

     Housing/neighborhoods

     Discrimination/treatment by white people

     Segregation

     Racism in the 1930’s

     Lynching

     Scottsboro Trial

     KKK

    

Women of the 1930s

     Description/details about the traditional Southern Belle

     Fashion

     Careers, family roles, wages

     Eleanor Roosevelt*

     Amelia Earhart*

     Ella Baker*

     Laws for women

 

Economic and Political Concerns of 1930s

     President Hoover *

     President Franklin D. Roosevelt *

     President Roosevelt’s “New Deal”

     The Dust Bowl/agriculture/sharecroppers/tenant farmers

     WPA (Works Progress Administration)

     Black Tuesday

     The effects of The Great Depression on the American People

     Hawley-Smoot Act

     21^st Amendment (1933)- Prohibition

     Social Security Act  

 

* = If you choose to write your paper on a specific person, please keep in mind that you are not simply writing a biography. You are focusing specifically on that person’s contributions to the 1930s. While some biographical information may be relevant to your into, the body of your paper focuses in on the decade at hand. 

 

Narrowing your Topic

Directions:

Complete the graphic organizer. Place your general topic in the middle and then, from your reading, try to find subtopics that would fit together to make a 4-5 page essay!  Remember to narrow your topic to specific points; you are not writing a book! 

 

From those ideas, make a list below of your 3 subtopics. Lastly, compose a thesis statement. This should be what your paper will prove. Make a statement about your topic, and then your subtopics will prove it.  

 

THESIS STATEMENT (temporary/working): What could you possibly want to prove about this topic?
  STEP 2: Collecting Information

        After you have chosen a topic, your next step is to gather information on your topic. In order to do this, you will need to exhaust a few resources. First, we will go to the library and you will collect information from print sources. Then, you will use electronic sources in order to collect more recent and up-to-date information. Although the world of technology can be wonderful at times, it is important to get comfortable using different types of resources.

 

1. Create a Works Cited List.

A Works Cited is a list of sources you have found that you are going to consider using for your research paper. For this Works Consulted, you will compile a list of 6 sources that you can use in order to prove your thesis. You do not exactly know what your thesis is going to be at this point, but you should have some idea of the direction in which you are going. While exhausting the sources, you will begin to get a clearer idea of what you would like to prove in the research paper (thesis statement!).

              A Works Cited must be in MLA format. Therefore, you must use Noodletools to cite          these sources properly. Not only will you be avoiding plagiarism, but doing so will help you       when it is time to go back to the sources and find the information that you previously     discovered.

 

    2.  A note on plagiarism

 

Plagiarism is essentially “idea-stealing”. It is taking credit for information that is not your own original idea. While research is all about getting information from other sources, you avoid plagiarism by giving credit to the source of information.  There are two ways to do this:

·         Directly quote the author. Use quotation marks around his/her own words, and mention whose words these are.

·         Put the information in your own words. You still must give credit to the author for the information! Use parenthetical (in-text) citations to do this.

 

Plagiarism is taken very seriously in our school, and we will spend more time in this unit learning how to avoid plagiarizing a paper. If part or all of your research paper is plagiarized, the dean and your parent / guardian must be notified. You will be required to redo the assignment, and a 65 would be the highest grade obtainable. Save yourself the trouble— showcase your own unique ideas, and give credit where credit is due! J   

Book List

All of these books will be available on the cart in the library

1.     Holding their own : American women in the 1930s   

             Call #: 301.41 War    Ware, Susan, 1950-

            Series: American women in the twentieth century

            Published 1982

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

2.     The NAACP   

             Call #: 305.89 RHY    Rhym, Darren.

            Series: African-American achievers

            Published 2002

             Reading Level: 8.9  Interest Level: 5-8

           

3.     The rise & fall of Jim Crow : the African-American struggle against discrimination, 1865-1954   

             Call #: 305.896 WOR    Wormser, Richard, 1933-

            Published 1999

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

4.     The Welfare state : opposing viewpoints   

             Call #: 320.1 Ben    David L. Bender.

            Series: Opposing viewpoints series

            Published 1985

             Reading Level: 8.0  Interest Level: Young Adult

           

5.     Civil rights : the struggle for Black equality   

             Call #: 323.1 GEO    George, Charles, 1949-

            Series: Words that changed history

            Published 2001

             Reading Level: 8.2  Interest Level: 5-8

 

6.     Black Tuesday : prelude to the Great Depression   

             Call #: 330.973 DOA    Doak, Robin S. (Robin Santos), 1963-

            Series: Snapshots in history

            Published 2008

             Reading Level: 7.9  Interest Level: 5-8

             Lexile: 1080

           

7.     The Great Depression   

             Call #: 338.5 GRE    Dennis Nishi, book editor.

            Series: History firsthand

            Published 2001

             Interest Level: Young Adult

             Lexile: 1130

 

8.     Causes and consequences of the Great Depression   

             Call #: 338.5 ROS    Ross, Stewart.

            Series: Causes and consequences

            Published 1998

             Reading Level: 8.2  Interest Level: 5-8

           

9.     The equal rights amendment : the history and the movement   

            Call #: 342.73 WHI    Whitney, Sharon.

            Published 1984

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

10.  The Eighteenth and Twenty-first Amendments : alcohol, prohibition, and repeal   

             Call #: 344.73 LUC    Lucas, Eileen.

            Series: Constitution

            Published 1998

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

11.  The Scottsboro Boys Trial : a primary source account   

             Call #: 345.761 SOR    Sorensen, Lita.

            Series: Great trials of the twentieth century

            Published 2004

             Reading Level: 7.0  Interest Level: 5-8       

12.  Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court   

            Call #: 347.73 LAN    Maureen Harrison & Steve Gilbert, editors.

            Series: Landmark decisions series

            Published 1991

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

13.  Prohibition   

             Call #: 363.4 PRO    Dennis Nishi, book editor.

            Series: Opposing viewpoints series

            Published 2004

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

14.  Prohibition   

             Call #: 363.4 REB    Rebman, Renee C., 1961-

            Series: World history series

            Published 1999

             Reading Level: 8.9  Interest Level: 5-8

           

15.  Prohibition : banning alcohol   

             Call #: 363.4 WOO    Woog, Adam, 1953-

            Series: Words that changed history

            Published 2003

             Reading Level: 8.4  Interest Level: 5-8

                       

16.  Fashions of a decade. The 1930s   

             Call #: 391 FAS    Maria Costantino.

            Published 2007

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

17.  The 1920s and 1930s   

   [ eBook ]         Call #: 391 MCE    McEvoy, Anne.

            Series: Costume and fashion source books

            Published 2009

             Interest Level: Young Adult

Unlimited copies           

           

18.  American civil rights leaders   

             Call #: 920 HAR    Harmon, Rod.

            Series: Collective biographies

            Published 2000

             Reading Level: 7.1  Interest Level: 5-8

           

19.  Women of the wind : early women aviators   

             Call #: 920 LAN    Langley, Wanda.

            Published 2006

             Reading Level: 8.2  Interest Level: 5-8

           

20.  Amelia Earhart : legendary aviator   

             Call #: 921 EAR    Haugen, Brenda.

            Series: Signature lives

            Published 2007

             Reading Level: 6.9  Interest Level: 5-8

             Lexile: 980

 

21.  Eleanor Roosevelt   

             Call #: 921 Fre    Freedman, Russell

             Lexile: 1100

           

22.  Herbert Hoover   

             Call #: 921 HOO    Holford, David M.

            Series: United States presidents

            Published 1999

             Reading Level: 6.6  Interest Level: 5-8

           

23.  Eleanor Roosevelt   

             Call #: 921 Roo    McAuley, Karen.

            Series: World leaders past & present

            Published 1987

             Reading Level: 8.5  Interest Level: 5-8

           

24.  Eleanor Roosevelt, with love : a centenary remembrance   

   [ Book ]           Call #: 921 Roo    Roosevelt, Elliott, 1910-

            Published 1984

             Reading Level: 8.9  Interest Level: Young Adult

           

25.  Franklin D. Roosevelt   

             Call #: 921 ROO    Spies, Karen Bornemann.

            Series: United States presidents

            Published 1999

             Reading Level: 8.6  Interest Level: 5-8

 

           

26.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt   

             Call #: 921 Roo    Israel, Fred L.

            Series: World leaders past & present

            Published 1985

             Reading Level: 8.7  Interest Level: 5-8

           

27.  The autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt.   

             Call #: 921 ROO PB    Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.

            Published 1992

             Interest Level: Adult

           

28.  Eleanor Roosevelt : a life of discovery   

             Call #: 921 ROO PB    Freedman, Russell.

            Published 1993

             Reading Level: 8.5  Interest Level: 5-8

             Lexile: 1100

           

29.  Africa to America : from the Middle Passage through the 1930s   

             Call #: 973 AFR    edited by Jeff Wallenfeldt.

            Series: African American history and culture

            Published 2011

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

30.  Opposing viewpoints in American history. Volume 2, From Reconstruction to the present   

             Call #: 973 OPP PB    William Dudley, volume editor ; John C. Chalberg, consulting editor.

            Published 2007

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

31.  The African-American struggle for legal equality in American history   

             Call #: 973 WEA    Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956-

            Series: In American history

            Published 2000

             Reading Level: 6.6  Interest Level: 5-8

           

32.  Progressivism, the Great Depression, and the New Deal, 1901-1941   

             Call #: 973.91 COL    Collier, Christopher, 1930-

            Series: Drama of American history

            Published 2001

             Reading Level: 7.1  Interest Level: 5-8

           

33.  The 1930s : from the Great Depression to The wizard of Oz   

             Call #: 973.91 FEI    Feinstein, Stephen.

            Series: Decades of the 20th century in color

            Published 2006

             Reading Level: 7.1  Interest Level: 5-8            

 

34.  Daily life in the United States, 1920-1939 : decades of promise and pain   

             Call #: 973.91 KYV    Kyvig, David E.

            Series: Greenwood Press "Daily life through history" series,

            Published 2002

             Interest Level: Young Adult

             Lexile: 1411

           

35.  The Depression and New Deal : a history in documents   

             Call #: 973.91 MCE    McElvaine, Robert S., 1947-

            Series: Pages from history

            Published 2000

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

36.  Prosperity, depression, and war, 1920-1945   

             Call #: 973.91 PRO    Laura K. Egendorf, book editor.

            Series: American history by era ; v. 7

            Published 2003

             Interest Level: Young Adult

           

37.  America in the 1930s   

             Call #: 973.917 CAL    Callan, Jim.

            Series: Decades of American history

            Published 2005

             Reading Level: 8.9  Interest Level: 5-8

           

38.  Roosevelt and the New Deal   

             Call #: 973.917 WOO    Woog, Adam, 1953-

            Series: World history series

            Published 1998

             Reading Level: 8.2  Interest Level: 5-8           

 

39.  Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, 1864-1896   

             Call #: 975 COL    Collier, Christopher, 1930-

            Series: Drama of American history

            Published 2000

             Reading Level: 8.0  Interest Level: 5-8

             Lexile: 1160

           

40.  Driven from the land : the story of the Dust Bowl   

             Call #: 978 MEL    Meltzer, Milton, 1915-

            Series: Great journeys

            Published 2000

             Reading Level: 8.0  Interest Level: 5-8

             Lexile: 1100

           

41.  Women's rights in the United States : a documentary history   

             Call #: REF 305.42 WOM    edited by Winston E. Langley and Vivian C. Fox.

            Series: Primary documents in American history and contemporary issues,

            Published 1994

             Interest Level: Adult

             Lexile: 1350

 

42.  Hard times : the 30s   

             Call #: REF 973 Our    by the editors of Time-Life Books.

            Series: Our American century

            Published 1998

             Interest Level: Adult 

           

43.  American decades. 1930-1939   

 Call #: REF 973.91 AME    edited by Victor Bondi.

            Published 1995

             Interest Level: Young Adult 

Note Taking

 Purpose of Notes:

• Once you have finished your Works Consulted, the next step is to start reading your sources, developing your topic for the paper, and taking notes.
• Think about what you want to prove about your topic – what will be your stance/argument/thesis statement?
• The purpose of notes is to record direct quotes that you could use in your paper (or, later on, paraphrase to use in your paper). 

General Information:

• Your notes should come from the 6 sources you plan to cite in your paper.
• You will record 30 notes total, so about 5 from each of your 6 sources.
• You will use 4 direct quotes in your paper.
• In your final paper, you must have a minimum of one citation from each of your 6 Works Cited sources.

Format:

• You will format your notes in the following way:
• Each notecard must be linked to a source. Select where this information is coming from in the drop-down menu to the right. This means you must create the works cited page before you write a single notecard.
• If this source is in print, record the page number. If it’s from a website, copy and paste the URL.
• Each note should have a brief title/main idea that indicates what the note is about.
• Directly quote the information you find useful.
• Paraphrase the information (aka put it into your own words).
• Write your own ideas in the last box. You could write questions, connections to other materials, or even where you think this information could go in your paper.
• Optional: You could tag your cards with key phrases, as well as put them in piles according to similar ideas.    

How to do In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations:

• See the Prentice Hall Literature  books for more information about writing in-text citations.
• Usually it is the author’s last name and page number: (Smith 33).
• For many database sources, they do not provide you with the page numbers.  Also, internet sources do not have page numbers.  In these cases, it is just the author’s last name: (Smith).
• If you have a source by two authors, it would look like this: (Smith and Jones 125).
• If there is no author, you have to use whatever comes first in the citation on the works cited – probably the title (either in quotes or italicized to match the citation on the works cited) with the page number.
• If you have two sources by the same author, you must distinguish between the two. Give the author and the title, separated by a comma: (Bates, “Prohibition”) … (Bates “The 1930s”).
• Quotes within quotes “become ‘single’ inside double” – if quoting someone other than the author, you must state that person’s name, too. Give the speaker first, outside of the in-text citation. Inside the citation, write “qtd. in" followed by the regular citation:  Aric Sigman says, “Facebook, MySpace, and similar websites may be supplanting human contact, and that’s bad news” (qtd. in Smith 33).
• Use [square brackets] to indicate if you changed a part of a quote or added something like a clarifying phrase to it. Example: “When he dreamed up the World Wide Web, [Internet pioneer] Tim Berners-Lee envisioned a tool that would give a voice to the common man.  The Internet would allow anyone to exchange information with anyone else around the world” (Metz).

STEP 4: Creating an Outline

Now that you have brainstormed for your topic, gathered and cited sources, and taken notes from those sources, you must begin to organize your paper.  You will do this by creating an outline on Noodletools.  The Outline should identify all major ideas to be covered in your paper and should be set up in an organized fashion.  Each main idea or topic (body paragraph topic) should be next to a Roman numeral, and each sub point for that main idea should be next to a capital letter.  Any details that fall under that sub point of that main idea should go next to the numbers.  YOUR OUTLINE WILL BE WRITTEN USING COMPLETE SENTENCES!     

III-IV. Body paragraph 2-3 should follow the same model as body paragraph #1!   

V. Conclusion

          A. Touchback

               B.  Heart of the Matter

          C. Thought provoking  zinger:  

STEPS 5 and 6:

Write the Rough Draft and Final Draft 

     Writing a rough draft will be easy, if you have constructed the outline properly. You should be able to take the sentences from your outline and put them in order to create paragraphs. Each Roman numeral is a new paragraph. Your rough draft and final draft will include all of the parenthetical documentation from your sources. Without the parenthetical documentation, it is plagiarism. Peer editing will be done on your rough copy, but if you would like additional guidance and help, you will need to schedule a time before or after school to do so (or during study hall, if you are free periods 3 or 4).  

*Please have a peer/parent/friend/sibling look over and edit your paper before turning the final draft in. An additional set of eyes will help to catch the errors that you have overlooked.  

*Most of this project will be completed during class, though some work will be required outside of school.

*Peer editing will also be done in class the day before the paper is due.  

*Be sure that you hand in the following assignments with your folder:

·         Your final copy

·         Your works cited

·         Any and all rough copies that have been peer edited (there should be at least one, even if you’re absent. Have a parent, sibling, or friend look it over for you and make their remarks).

·         Your peer revision strategies

·         The rubric

 

*The folder should be at least a 9x11 folder that can be securely fastened. Your name and period should be labeled on the front of the folder.

*Keep all graded assignments inside the folder. Work in progress as well as notes from class should remain in your notebook or binder.  

*Triple check that you have followed MLA format! Please use the handouts I have given you, as well as the resources from Mr. Miller.  

A note on absences / lateness to school the day the paper is due

You have been told well in advance when the paper is due. Even if you are absent, you MUST have someone trustworthy deliver the paper on that day. If you are late to school and miss my class, you must make sure I get the paper that day. If you are planning on leaving school early the day the paper is due, you must give me the paper before you leave. If a dire emergency leaves you unable to complete the paper or deliver it to me the day it’s due, you must include a handwritten note from home explaining the reason for its lateness. 

A reminder on the 9^th grade English lateness policy 

If the research paper is late, you will lose ten points for each day it’s late, up to three days. Your parent or guardian will be contacted if you fail to hand it in by Friday, February 7^th. If the paper is not in by Tuesday, February 11th, it is a flat 65 if it is handed in. If the paper is never handed in, it’s a zero.