Navigating the World of Research

American International School Kuwait Diploma Programme

Navigating the World of Research

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Focusing a Research Topic ...................................................................................................................... 3 Writing a Statement of Purpose ............................................................................................................. 5 Utilizing Key Words in Your Search ......................................................................................................... 6 Using Online Databases .......................................................................................................................... 6 Selecting Resources: Information Timeline ............................................................................................ 7 Finding Book Reviews ........................................................................................................................... 10 Using the Internet More Efficiently and Effectively.............................................................................. 10 How Do I Effectively Validate Online Resources for Authenticity?....................................................... 12 Successful Note-taking .......................................................................................................................... 14 How to Avoid Accidental Plagiarism ..................................................................................................... 17 Annotated Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 18 Formatting the Works Cited Page ......................................................................................................... 19 Experts on Campus ............................................................................................................................... 19 Appendix A: BIG 6 Checklist ................................................................................................................. 20 Appendix B: Databases Available at AUK .............................................................................................. 22 Appendix C: Simple Boolean Search Strategies ................................................................................... 29 Appendix D: Cornell Notes Template.................................................................................................... 30 Appendix E: The 6 Rs of Note-Taking .................................................................................................... 31 Appendix F: Example Annotated Bibliography ..................................................................................... 32 Appendix G: Example of Summary and Quotations ............................................................................. 33 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 35

Introduction
Staying organized during a research project will help ensure a successful end product. The BIG 6 model and Cornell Notes coincide with the Extended Essay due dates and information in this guide. Refer to Appendix A, BIG 6 Checklist, to assist you in staying on track, being prepared and meeting deadlines throughout the process.

Focusing a Research Topic

Focusing a research topic is narrowing the topic to one small part of a bigger idea to create a piece that is clear, tight and manageable. The writer focuses on one main point about the topic throughout the paper and uses key points to support the main point. The writer uses the best information, including examples and important details, within the word limits of the project that are required. The Purpose for Focusing a Research Topic If you choose a topic that is too big, you will not only have trouble selecting what to include from a huge selection of material available, you will probably leave out some critical information which would appear to the reader as if you do not have enough knowledge about the topic. If you pick a topic that is too narrow, you will not find enough information to write about and end up repeating yourself to fill the required word count. This can become repetitive. The process of focusing a topic takes practice and is challenging when you do not know enough about a topic. It will get easier as your knowledge base increases. Remember that the research process is a recursive one which means that you may need to revisit your topic choice more than once if you find it does not work out. Below are some strategies and methods to help you through this critically important part of the process. How to Focus a Research Topic There are different ways to focus your topic. Below is an example of one method. You may choose a particular method or a combination of them. Even if the overall subject does not seem interesting, you can pick an interesting angle on it. For example: You want to do a research project about an aspect of Chemistry and you do not know much about it. Try to find a subtopic that connects to your interests. Methodological: What makes Chemistry part of Science? How do scientific theories develop (dynamics of theories)? Sociological: What is the perception of Chemistry held by the general public? What is the relationship between Science and human values? Historical: th Why did modern Science originate in W. Europe in 16 century and Chemistry in th 18 century?

The Subtopic Method This method lets you decide on a certain general subtopic word by which to focus your topic. You can develop these subtopic words yourself or use some of the ones in the example below. You can also combine these general subtopics. You could choose to focus a topic by one, or even more than one, limiting subtopic. We'll use World War II as an example, a big topic that needs focusing. The limiting subtopics we'll look at are; chronological, geographical, biographical, event-based and technological. You may think of others that could apply to your topic. Focusing Chronologically World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. In those 6 years much took place to change the lives of millions of people and to redefine the boundaries of many countries. You could pick a particularly crucial year, month, week, or even a day, like D-Day, the Allied invasion of Europe, and have much to write about. The library has reference books that detail the war day by day. Focusing Geographically World War II affected almost every country in the world, even if fighting did not take place there. You could focus on the war in one geographical region, such as Europe or Asia where most of the actual fighting took place, or one country such as India and how, as a British Colony, it was affected. You could even pick a country to which you have a connection, by birth or heritage, and find out how it was affected by the war. It may have affected your own family in some way. Focusing Biographically You may choose to look at the war through the focus of a particular person, or group of persons. You may look at how the war was experienced by an African-American or JapaneseAmerican soldier, both of whom faced discrimination for different reasons. What about from the experience of an American President, or a German or Italian dictator, a Japanese General? How about the mother of an American soldier, a German prisoner of war, an American nurse in a South Pacific naval base, an prisoner in a Japanese-American internment camp, or a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp? This is an example of a history research project, but you will be able to find a biographical focus in other subject areas as well. Just try to find how your subject affects or was influenced by human beings. Focusing on an Event You may want to look in depth at a particular event. D-day would also fall under this category. So would the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Battle of the Bulge (or any other major battle that influenced the flow of the war), the signing of a particular peace treaty, or the forming of an alliance. If you use this focus, you will want to look at the cause of the event and the effect it had, in addition to the event itself. Focusing Technologically If you are interested in science, technology, machines, or human ingenuity in general, you may choose this criteria. For World War II you could focus on a particular vehicle like German U-boats, submarines, B-52 bombers, Panzer tanks. You could look at the science of the

atomic bomb. Or you could look at the coding used to relay secret messages and the methods of code-breaking that allowed strategic information to leak to the Allies (and incidentally gave rise to the development of modern computers). You may even be interested in the ingenious ways prisoners attempted (and sometimes succeeded) in breaking out of prisoner of war or concentration camps.

Writing a Statement of Purpose

What is it? A Statement of Purpose is a sentence that you write, which states, in some detail, what you want to learn about in your research project. The statement guides you as you work so that you will read and take notes only on what's needed for your project. Writing a statement of purpose will do 4 things to help you: You will get more interested in your project. It will keep you from getting overwhelmed about all the information you may find. It will help you develop a Thesis Statement that comes later on in the research process. It saves you valuable time and effort.

After you focus your topic and doing some overview reading, write a sentence that says what you want to learn about. Your Statement of Purpose may change 3 or 4 times before you are done. To write the sentence, first answer these questions as best as you can: 1. What is my real personal interest in the topic? (There will always be something that can interest you) 2. What do I specifically want to learn about my topic? (Don't overwhelm yourself with too many things. Two or three are plenty.) Start your Statement of Purpose with words like "I want to learn about..." For example: If you are very interested in Chemical Engineers who have changed the world. Statement of Purpose: I want to learn about Chemical Engineers who have made a difference in the world today and in the past. This Statement of Purpose will lead to eventually writing a Thesis Statement in which you will be able to make an assertion (a statement that he/she can defend) and support it with the evidence gathered in the research. Make sure your Statement of Purpose is specific enough.
Too General I want to know more about the use of persuasive language in political speeches. I want to know about Chemistry in the future. I want to know about the impact of monetary policy. I want to know about the impact of electronic communication technologies on meaning. More Specific I want to know how far the use of rhetoric in Barack Obamas speeches increased their effectiveness. I want to know if fuzzy logic will replace binary logic in the near future. Has the Kenyan central banks policy of interest rate cuts led to a rise in new car sales in Nairobi An analysis of the development and implications of Twitter reactions to the 2010 election campaign in Britain.

Utilizing Key Words in Your Search

Making a list of the words that are important to your topic will help you find the information necessary for developing your purpose, research question(s), thesis and supporting evidence. Also, it is important that as you exhaust a particular keyword search, you mark off your words so that you do not accidentally re-search (not research!) your research. These words and phrases are called keywords because they unlock the passages that will lead you to useful information. Where will I use keywords? Youll use them when you search in online databases, when using search engines to search the web, and when you use the indexes of print resources. Where do I find keywords? Generally start with your research question. As you read, you should highlight, underline, or jot down important words and phrases that are specifically related to your subject area. General keywords will ultimately be narrowed to more specific words, terms and phrases that relate directly to your topic. Your purpose and thesis statement, and even your research questions should all contain keywords that are essential to your topic. When should I begin to list keywords? As soon as you start reading you should start a list of keywords and phrases. You might try setting up 3 columns, one for key phrases, a second for keywords, and a third for synonyms (words that mean the essentially the same as your keyword) or related terms. Sample Research Question: To what extent are state and federal tax dollars used to support cultural enrichment for all citizens regardless of socio-economic status? Key Phrases public funding for the arts cultural enrichment working poor tax dollars Key Words citizens arts Synonyms /Related Words state/federal funding for arts cultural arts/fine arts working class/minimum wage earner income tax, state taxes, federal taxes Americans cultural opportunities

Research Tip: It is important to have an organized place to keep an ongoing keyword list. This is yet another reason to keep a research notebook.

Using Online Databases

Online databases will provide you with much of the research you need to complete your Extended Essay. These databases contain hundreds of thousands of articles, journals, newspapers, and essays in full-text at your fingertips that you can print straight from your computer or here at school. Databases that you will have access to for this project are listed in Appendix B. Descriptions are provided to help you identify which databases may suit your topic. AIS subscribes to Britannica Online, a encyclopedia based database with limited access to EBSCO Host articles. EBSCO is one of the worlds most widely used databases for university level research and offers quick access to academic journals on a variety of topics. When searching with your keyword list, use Boolean logic to maximize your search results. This will help minimize search time and provide you with exactly what you need. (See Appendix C, Simple Boolean Search Strategies).

Selecting Resources: Information Timeline

Now that you have spent some time searching databases online, you must begin to determine that different types of resources (the web, newspapers, magazines, journals, books, etc.) may be more appropriate than others for your field of study. You need to be aware of what kind of information is in each type of resource and who the intended audience is. Use the timeline below to learn more: Information Timeline Present Web Day Newspapers Week Popular magazines Months Scholarly journals Years Reference Sources Books

The Web Time Frame: Audience: Immediately - several years after the event General public - scholars, researchers, and students General public - scholars, researchers, and students General overview through detailed analysis One screen with few links; Many screens with several links

Authorship:

Content: Length:

Why consult a World Wide Web page? Immediate coverage of an event can provide up-to-the-minute analysis Access to information that is not available in print format because of currency Sometimes more detailed coverage if event/topic is current Possible additional resources from linked web pages Statistics Graphs Research Tip: Be sure you know how to appropriately evaluate web resources. Although information errors and misinformation existed long before the web came into existence, it is much easier to stumble upon false information in an online environment.

Newspapers Time Frame: Audience: Authorship: Content: One day - one week after the event General Public Reporters Summary or overview of the event; basic factual information covering who, what, where, when, and how Brief

Length:

Why consult a newspaper? Statistical information Local news coverage Immediate news coverage Photographs Editorials Newspapers, like journals and magazines, are a type of periodical. Periodical databases allow you to find articles from newspapers. A search of a periodical database results in citations to full-text newspaper articles.

Popular magazines Time Frame: Audience: Authorship: Content: 1 week-1 month after the event General Public Journalists General overview; summary of the event, covering who, what, when, where, how, and beginning to analyze why 1 to 5 pages, generally

Examples:

Time, Newsweek, National Geographic

Length:

Why consult a popular magazine? Statistical information General overview of a current event; more detailed analysis than a newspaper Public opinion Photographs Periodicals (also called serials) are publications printed in intervals and that continue to be printed for an indefiniteperiod of time. Journals, magazines, and newspapers are types of periodicals.

Scholarly Journals Time Frame: Audience: Authorship: Content: Several months-years after the event Scholars, researchers, students Journalists Research, theories, study, experimental results, analysis Many pages, usually over 5 Examples: Journal of Child Development, Journal of the American Medical Association, American Quarterly

Length:

Why consult a scholarly journal? More in depth examination of a subject Articles written by professional in the discipline Peer- reviewed prior to publication Additional resources from footnotes and bibliography Statistics Graphs

The Difference Between Journals and Magazines

Journals publish articles written by scholars and researchers. Journals are often published by professional associations. Articles in journals often include references to other related articles.

Magazines publish articles written for a general audience. Articles written in magazines rarely include bibliographies.

Research Tip: Try the beta version of Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com). From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research. Google Scholar orders your search results by relevance, so the most useful references should appear at the top of the page. This relevance ranking takes into account the full text of each article as well as the article's author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it has been cited in scholarly literature. Google Scholar also automatically analyzes and extracts citations and presents them as separate results, even if the documents to which they refer are not online. This means your search results may include citations of older works and seminal articles that appear only in books or other offline publications. However, do be aware that many results will be abstracts for which you will need to consult other databases for the full text or purchase the full-text article.

Reference Resources Time Frame: Audience: Authorship: Content: Length: Several months-years after the event General public - specialists Scholars and specialists General overview Varies among sources Examples: Dictionary of Art, Encyclopedia of the American West, American Decades, Encyclopedia of the Confederacy, Encyclopedia of Latin American Culture

Why consult a reference resource? Detailed background information, overview Compilation of articles on particular/specialized subject Wide coverage contained within one or more volumes Multiple viewpoints often portrayed - especially in a compilation of articles Authored by experts in particular disciplines Statistics Additional resources bibliographies

Books Time Frame: Audience: Authorship: Content: Length: At least one year to several years after the event General public scholars, researchers, students Scholars and researchers Detailed analysis; sometimes a compilation of articles from several scholars Numerous pages often over 100

Why consult a book? Detailed analysis of a subject Multiple viewpoints often portrayed - especially in a compilation of articles Additional resources found in footnotes and bibliography

Finding Book Reviews

When you need to know about the critical reception of a book, there are several sources to consult. There are several journalsLibrary Journal, Choice, Booklist, and Publishers' Weeklythat serve as tools for individuals involved in the purchasing of books (like librarians for libraries). While the reviews may still be useful, they are often very short and may not contain as much critical evaluation as other sources. Also, some of the periodical databases include citations to book reviews from journals in specific disciplines, like The Journal of American History. These are excellent reviews to consult because experts in the fields most often write them. The New York Times Book Review and the TLS (Times Literary Supplement) are standards in the field and are indexed by the majority of the online periodical databases. Research Tip: If you cannot find reviews in a periodical database, try an advanced Google search on the title of a book and the phrase term book review.

Using the Internet More Efficiently and Effectively

Web pages mean the "free web," web sites anyone can access, not the web-based research databases that are purchased by school districts or university and public libraries. Fee based Internet resources typically require a user password for access. For access to these resources, please contact a Librarian or your DP Coordinator. The web is a very interesting medium for research: 1. Anyone can publish information or misinformation. 2. There is no complete list of web sites. 3. There are no official organizers, catalogers, or evaluators. 4. Sites constantly change; new sites are constantly created; sites often disappear. 5. Finally, there are no standards for web search tools. When you use the web for research, don't assume: I can find it faster. The information is more current. The information is just as reliable. Searching is not evaluating. Given the nature of web information, it's vital to evaluate the web pages you dig up. See the table below on validating online resources. Continue reading this section to learn how to get the best results from search engines that you probably use already use.

1. Filtered Directories of Websites and Web Pages Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/) | Librarian's Index to the Internet (http://lii.org/ | Open Directory (http://www.dmoz.org/) The above sites are best used for browsing subjects to find quality web sites without having to worry much about the authenticity of the sites that they filter. Search Tips: When using a directory's keyword search option, note the subject categories your search retrieves. Use Boolean logic to keyword search whenever possible. (See Appendix C, Simple Boolean Search Strategies) Check off the keywords youve used so you do not r epeat your searches. Directories organize web sites by categories (i.e. subjects). People who work on directories decide in which category a web site should be listed. Since directories are built and maintained by people, directories include far fewer websites than search engines. However, directories are the best place to begin browsing a subject, and most directories focus on including quality web sites. 2. General Search Engines Googlescholar | Google | All the Web |AltaVista| but not Yahoo! The above sites are best used for finding specific sites or specific information, not for collecting information. Ironically, many novice researches will start research with search engines, even though they are the least helpful and most time-consuming way to research. First, there are some absolute truths that you must know about search engines that will make your job enormously difficult, even though they have some practical uses. The perils of search engines include the following: 1. Little filtering of any kindoutside Google scholarhas been done for you. 2. Sites searches will always return to you in the thousands, if not millions. 3. Results often appear in popularity of hits rather than true relevance 4. You mostly cannot conduct Boolean searches with multiple keywords to reduce that number. 5. The links will provide you mostly with websites rather than take you directly to relevant research Search Tips: Use more than one search engine (see how little they overlap!) Explore each search engine's various search options (such as Google's image search or advanced search) Don't assume the first hit is the best one If you don't find what you are looking for in the first 25 hits, modify your keywords and search again. Search engines use software (called spiders, webcrawlers, or bots) to automatically collect the words on millions of web pages. These words are fed into a searchable database. So when you search a search engine, you are not actually searching the Webyou are searching a database of words from web pages, collected by that search engine's spider in the recent (or not-so-recent) past. Relevancy software determines in what order hits are listed. Many search engines also provide a search directory. Search engines allow you to search for keywords, not for context. For example, a search for "sole" will turn up pages about fish, shoes, and "sole" as a synonym of the adjective single. It's up to you to provide the search with context. Think of related keywords that would narrow the search results. A search for "recipe for sole" will not turn up web sites about Nikes and Adidases. Research Tip: Heres an important note about advanced searching. Most search engines feature advanced search features. These usually allow you to:

 Search by file type (this enables you to find images, sound, video, etc.) Use Boolean logic with multiple search boxes, if you can! Limit by date, language, domain (.gov, .com, .org and others) Search within specific websites or see who links to specific pages. The differences between search engines become more important when we view their advanced search capacity. For the visual arts essays, Google (www.google.com) is excellent for images (it allows you to limit by black and white orcolor as well as file size) while Altavista (www.altavista.com) is still better for music. AlltheWeb (www.alltheweb.com) does both, but you cant access it via UCS server. For a comprehensive look at search engines in general, check out Search Engine Watch at http://searchenginewatch.com/. This is an excellent online evaluation and reference tool for the latest information about search engines.

How Do I Effectively Validate Online Resources for Authenticity?

While the Internet is indeed the largest trap for students to find poor and incorrect information, the truth is that all sources are prone to this threat, and many students dont realize it. A reputable scientific experiment conducted with the latest techniques and carried out with mathematical precision may produce terrible flawed or irrelevant data if the study was conducted in the 1940s. Poor logic or information that is opinion rather than factsuch as news commentary showsare excellent examples of how people gain and assimilate information without giving much thought to the motives of others. And the most commonlack of expertisehas a stranglehold over the Internet. Use the checklist below to help determine if an online source is an appropriate choice for your research. Who is the author/organization? The author/organization is: ______ Contact information is provided

This information is not listed

What is the copyright information? The publisher and date of publication are included There is no publisher or date of publication

What is the URL? Academic institution (.edu) Company (.com) Personal web page (e.g.,www.jamieoliver.com) Also pages such as AOL, Mindspring, MSN Or GeoCities, Tripod, Angelfire, etc Country specific (e.g., .uk)

U. S. government agency (.gov)

U.S. military site (.mil) Network of computers (.net) Non-profit organization (.org)

Other: ____________________

What are the qualifications of the author or group of the website? The authors qualifications are: _____

I could not find this information

What is the purpose of the website?

A company or organization website A forum for public information/service A forum for scholarly/research information

A personal web page For entertainment For advertising A forum for opinions, ideas or points of view Other: ____________________

What type of information does the website provide?

Balanced, objective, factual information Subjective and objective information Well supported arguments Links to other reliable websites and/or citations

Biased or personal opinion Unsupported arguments I couldnt tell Other ______________________

When was the website last updated? I couldnt tell

It was updated on: ________

Is the site well maintained?

Yes (no error messages or broken links)

No (error messages or broken links)

How does the website appear overall?

Well designed and organized Easy to read and navigate Help screen and/or site map Citations for a variety of resources

Poorly designed and organized Difficult to read and navigate No help screen and or/site map No or few citations

*If you have checked mostly on the left side of the table, then the website is probably by a reliable author or organization.

Official Information Required by the IBO At bare minimum and regardless of your documenting style, the following is expected from you as IB students: Internet references should include the title of the extract used as well as the website address, the date it was accessed and, if possible, the author. Caution should be exercised with information on web sites that do not given references or that cannot be crosschecked against other sources. The more important a particular point is to the essay, the more the quality of its source needs to be evaluated (Extended Essay: First examinations, Diploma Programme Guide 2009).

Successful Note-taking
Using Notecards Within the method of using notecards, there are many different formats to take notes. Again, the keys are to have a system that works for you, and includes all of the information you need. Using note cards is a great way to arrange research information visually. Have a bibliography card for each source. Have note cards for every major idea that the source discusses.

1. Create a bibliography notecard for each source you use. It will serve as the title notecard for
each stack of notecards dedicated to a particular source. On the bibliography notecard, youll want to include every piece of information youll need to cite your source. Heres an example of a great title notecard for a book:

Title

The Twelve Caesars, Book

Source A

Authors: Suetonius, Robert Graves, Michael Grant

Bibliographic datamakes generating the Works Cited easy

A system of referencing each of your sources

Publisher: Penguin City: London Year: 2003

Source type Where you found the source

From Rice University Fondren Library

2. Using the general principles of note-taking outlined in the earlier section, write note cards (one for
each main idea) with bullet points. Heres an example:
Heading-for easy reference The letter A tells you which source this card belongs to

Casius Julius Caesar-Early Life Lost his father when he was 16 Married Corneliahad daughter Julia Lost his sacerdotal office because he wanted to stay married and Sylla wanted him to divorce What is sacerdotal?

A 2

Notes are concise

Write notes to yourself of any questions you may have along the way.

Direct quotes are written carefully

Upon Caesars release, Sylla said, Your suit is grantedbut know that this manwill, some day or other, be the ruin of the party of noblesfor in this one Caesar, you will find many a Marius.

3
Numbers on the right indicate page numbers in the book for reference later on

The Cornell Note-Taking Method The Cornell note-taking method can be applied to taking notes for research. The method helps you retain information. The Cornell system is done on regular notebook paper thats divided up into four sections: 1. Start here-In this box, youll write down the title of the source and its bibliographic information 3. Major ideas or cues Next write down your own section headers and key ideas for the information on the right. 2. Detailed points As you read through your source, take your notes in this column. Write down bullet points of key information, quotes, and any questions about the material you may have. Also write down page numbers so that you can go back to the original source for reference if you need to. 4. Summary Here, youll write a summary of the most important information.

Heres an example of a notebook page:

On Writing Well, Book Author: William Zinser Publisher: Collins City: New York Date: 2006 1. Principles 2. Simplicity Much of the writing in America is poorlywritten using unnecessary jargon- ex. pilots messages, package instructions, Critical thinking = critical writing business documents --Why is so much writing today so bad? Writing is hard work professionals Sentences should be trimmed to only what is necessary. In order to write clearly, you must think clearly. Writing should keep the attention of the reader.
The bottom box contains a summary of the information from the section. It can be written as prose or in bulleted form The right column contains the detailed facts and information, questions are written so the researcher can go back and answer them later

Heading contains bibliographic data

Source A

Majority of English writing = poor (examples of bad writing)

The letter A tells you which source this card belongs to Headings from the book help organize the work Page numbers provide reference information

Left column contains cues- key points that will remind you of the more detailed information in the right column

Good writing doesnt come easy, requires revision Professional writers work revising

Good writing is simple and doesnt have unnecessary words. It gets the attention of the reader. The writing process involves hard work and several steps of revision.

Other note-taking tools There are a variety of electronic note-taking tools out there. If you like taking notes electronically, check out some of these tools.

Popular note-taking applications: Evernote Springpad Microsoft OneNote Springnote

How to Avoid Accidental Plagiarism

Importance of This Document Even if you follow all of the rules and guidelines of the manuals for your particular style of documentation and read through and follow the handouts for the AIS Extended Essay workshops, you still can find yourself in the unfortunate position of being accused of accidental plagiarism. Oftentimes, it is the result of one careless, seemingly insignificant error, that when repeated, blows up into a major academic incident. Our job is to make sure that you avoid this happening! The best way to avoid ever being accused of accidental plagiarism is to play it safe. The rules below should help you shut out any doubt as to your intentions. 1. Provide key phrases and clauses before a paraphrasing or summarizing sentence to show intent.

Since paraphrasing is your most common form of in-text citation, begin with the following: --According to _________, --The 1987 study conducted by _________ illustrates --Westcott argues that These key phrases will remind you that you are paraphrasing or summarizing and need to use documentation. 2. Before you submit your final version, reread each sentence. If it is not your idea, it must be cited. Always play it safe. It is better to mistake something for a paraphrase when its not than the other way around. If you dont cite a paraphrase or summary, you can be accused of plagiarism. If you cite something thats your idea, its simply a minor mistake. 3. Make sure your citations or footnotes follow the appropriate sentences. Frequently, a student will write a sentence that is paraphrased or summarized and follow it with a sentence that analyzes the paraphrase, but place the footnote after his own idea because he/she sees it as one complete thought. Two errors are committed: the student is paraphrasing a sentence that doesnt need it and accidentally claiming the paraphrase or summary as his/her own idea. This can be disastrous for the students extended essay. 4. Make sure you have a bibliographical entry for each source. Some students get into the bad habit of starting their extended essay without a complete bibliography because it comes last. Others find other sources later but forget to add them in. They cite their sources correctly in the body with parenthetical documentation or footnotes but have nothing listed in the bibliography to attach it to. This constitutes plagiarism, according to the IBO Extended Essay handbook. 5. Place the correct location number in your footnote or parentheses. In the footnote or parentheses, some students will ignore repeated reminders to include page numbers, volume numbers, issue numbers, and so on, in their in-text citations. To do so constitutes plagiarism, even if this carelessness isnt truly accidental. More accidentally, some students get caught up in the idea that page numbers are the magical solution to documenting every source when they dont: only books and novels really follow this rule. Magazines, newspapers, periodicals, the Bible, atlases, interviews, web sites, and most all others require other specific information. The following online game can help you avoid mistakes: The Cite is RightRutgers University Libraries Plagiarism Game: (http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/citeisright.html)

For more examples on creating questions, keywords, note-taking and synthesizing your information, visit the CRLS Research Guide: http://www.crlsresearchguide.org

Annotated Bibliography
When writing your paper and including information you have gathered, there are 3 main ways to do this: direct quotations, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Below is an article and examples of each of these types to give you a better idea of the difference. WHAT IS IT? A bibliography is a list of sources you collected and used for a research project (also known as Work Cited) An annotation is a summary or evaluation. An annotated bibliography is a summary of, and/or an evaluation of, each of the sources you used in your research project.

WHY USE IT? TYPES Summary: what are the main points/arguments of the source? What topics are covered in this source? Evaluation: Is it a useful source? Is it a reliable source? Does it fit in with your other sources or give an entirely new viewpoint? o Reflection: Ask yourself if this source was helpful to you? Did it help you form your opinion/argument? Great preparation for researching. Requires you to read more carefully and critically sources you want to use in your project. To help you determine what is being said about your topic from many different perspectives.

FORMAT Use MLA format for the bibliographic information. The annotations should be written in paragraph form after each citation. The paragraph should be indented. The only line that should be on the left margin is the first line of the bibliographic information (beginning with the authors name or the title of the work). The annotations can be short and simple (summary) or they can be in-depth and lengthy (evaluation) depending on your source and your analysis.

Formatting the Works Cited Page

As with every research paper you have completed throughout your DP experience, you will be completing a Works Cited page for the Extended Essay. Formatting of the Works Cited page is often tricky and must adhere to MLA guidelines. Refer to the example below when completing this part of your assignment.

Works Cited Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2009. <URL> Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients."Washington Post 24 May 2007: LZ01. Print Buchman, Dana. "A Special Education." Good Housekeeping Mar. 2006: 143-8. Print. Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print. Ideology.The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.

Formatting Notes: One inch margin all the way around Times New Roman 12 pt. font Hanging indention on second line - inch (8 spaces) o This can also be accomplished by: highlighting the whole citation, Clicking on the arrow at the bottom of the Paragraph box above Under Indention Special, change to .5

Experts on Campus
As always you have a multitude of resources at your disposal should you need assistance throughout your Extended Essay journey. Please do not hesitate to consult the research and writing experts you have available on your school campus. MS/HS Literacy Coach: Mrs. Susanna Davie AIS Librarians: Mrs. Cindy Mrs. Jennifer Mrs. Tina

Appendix A: BIG 6 Checklist

Step 1 Due dates: Task Definition I have: o Chosen and met with a supervisor o Defined my topic, after preliminary research o Read and understand the Extended Essay guides o Attended meetings, workshops and field trips on the EE o Created the Extended Essay Research Question o Created a draft thesis statement o Recorded and submitted this information to ManageBac, as required I have: o Chosen a format for taking notes (ie Cornell, printed, electronic, notecard, etc.) o Created factual questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?) to guide the basic research. o Created interpretive questions (Hypothetical, Predition, Solution, Comparison or Analogy and Judgment) to guide in-depth research. o Created a list of key word phrases (and synomyms) from the questions, to access resources effectively o Created a list of Boolean search strategies for e-resources o Recorded and submitted this information to ManageBac, as required Information Seeking Strategies I have: o Determined the most ideal types of resources to use o Chosen resources from a variety of media (ie print, electronic, informational databases, interviews, etc.) o Evaluated these resources to be reliable o Determined which resources are high priority and are most accessible o Planned dates to visit a library, work with a librarian or interview an expert I have: o Created an annotated works cited (bibliography) on resources chosen, using MLA format o Created a works cited, using MLA format o Recorded and submitted this information on ManageBac, as required Location and Access 3.1 I have: o Located the resources required (checked out library books, printed ecopies, viewed images or videos or interviewed experts) o Asked a librarian or supervisor for help, if needed 3.2 I have: o Used keyword phrases or Boolean search strategies to skim and scan indexes, table of contents, etc. for information o Recorded and submitted this information on ManageBac, as required Use of Information 4.1 I have: o Critically read, viewed or listened to the information o Determined if the resource is useful o Located information which answers the research questions 4.2 I have: o Taken notes on information which answers the research questions o Used specific, brief facts and not complete sentences o Used my own words when taking notes

Step 2 Due Dates:

Step 3 Due Dates:

Step 4 Due Dates:

o o

Step 5 Due Dates:

o Synthesis 5.1 I have: o Reviewed my topic and research questions o Reviewed the EE requirements o Written the thesis statement o Written a rough outline, using key points, to organize my information o Allowed my supervisor or others to review my outline and thesis statement o Recorded and reported this information on ManageBac, as required

Recorded the information needed for in-text citations (works cited, page number, name of expert, etc.) Reviewed my notes to ensure the information is accurate and adequate Recorded and submitted this information on ManageBac, as required

Step 6 Due Dates:

5.2 I have: o I have written a rough draft using the outline, notes and citations o Reviewed the Written Essay Checklist o Communicated with my supervisor, as the rough draft is edited and evolves into the final draft o Recorded and reported this information on ManageBac, as required Evaluation 6.1 I have: o Created the final draft of the Extended Essay o Included title page, in-text citations, works cited and annotated works cited o Followed MLA format o Met with my supervisor to ensure all IB requirements have been met o Met with my supervisor to review the final draft and made any necessary edits o Recorded and submitted my essay on ManageBac, as required 6.2 I have: o Judged and reviewed my work at each step and concluded (choose one): o I am proud of my work o I needed improvement in the following area(s):-----------------

Appendix B: Databases Available at AUK

Reference Databases Description This database is relevant to my topic:

Credo Reference

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Encyclopedia of Islam Online

Grove Art Online

Grove Music Online

The John Hopkins Guide of Literary Theory and Criticism

Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for research projects and homework. Search in hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 200,000+ images and audio files, and nearly 100 videos. A search and directory site featuring Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Web's best sites, news, magazines and more. Britannica premium service provides exclusive member access to the 32volume Encyclopaedia Britannica. Membership also includes access to research tools, thousands of articles. The Encyclopaedia of Islam Online provides desktop access to over 13,000 articles (number or articles in volumes I-XI, excluding supplements on every aspect of Islam from Abbda to Zurna). The online edition offers access to: Volumes I-XI of the English edition; Index of Subjects to Volumes I-XI & to the Supplement, Fascicules 1-6, compiled by P.J. Bearman, 2003; Index of Proper Names to volumes I-X & the Supplement, Fascicules 1-6, compiled by E. van Donzel, 2002; and, Supplement Fascicule number 7-8. Grove Art Online contains the full-text of The Dictionary of Art (ed. Jane Turner, 1996). Grove Art Online also includes all 2,800 articles from The Oxford Companion to Western Art [OCWA] (2001) and continues to offer new content and revisions on a quarterly basis. Grove Art Online offers over 1500 colour images and line drawings; links to the Art Resource searchable image database; and links to over 40,000 images on museum and gallery websites. Grove Music Online comprises the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London, 2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (London, 1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition, edited by Barry Kernfeld (London, 2002). Articles that have been updated since their appearance in print are date-stamped in the upper right corner of the screen. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of literary theory and discourse. Compiled by 275 specialists from around the world, the Guide presents a comprehensive historical survey of the field's most important figures, schools, and movements and is updated annually. It includes more than 300 alphabetically arranged entries and subentries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.

Journals Databases

Description

This database is relevant to my topic:

Academic Search Complete-Ebsco

Arab World Geographer

Association for Computing Machinery

Books in Print (Global Edition)

Business Source Complete-Ebsco

Cabells Business Directories

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Columbia International

Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals. Arab World Geographer is a quarterly publication with articles of interest to all geographers in the Arab World. It is devoted to advancing geographical knowledge pertaining to the Arab World. ACM Digital Library is the definitive online resources for computing professionals. It provides access to an extensive collection of more than 40 ACM journals, magazines, and peer reviewed articles, as well as conference proceedings and ACM SIG newsletters. This vast archive contains nearly 2 million pages of text, with full-text articles from ACM publications dating back to the 1950s, and third-party content with selected archives. Books In Print is indispensable resource offers professional reviews; tables of contents; full-text previews; cover images; author biographies; awards information; summaries and annotations; and much more. It combines the most trusted and authoritative source for bibliographic information with powerful search. Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full text content. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition, searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals. Cabell's Business Directories contain a wealth of information designed to help researchers and academics match their manuscripts with the scholarly journals which are most likely to publish those manuscripts. The electronic searchable Directories provide valuable information for each journal. With this information, authors can easily submit their manuscripts to the journals most receptive to their research. Online, The Chronicle is published every weekday and is the top destination for news, advice, and jobs for people in academe. The Chronicle's Web site features the complete contents of the latest issue; daily news and advice columns; thousands of current job listings; articles published since September 1989; vibrant discussion forums; and career-building tools such as online CV management, salary databases, and more. CIAO is a comprehensive source for theory and research

Affairs Online (CIAO)

Communication & Mass Media Complete-Ebsco

Education Search Complete-Ebsco

Emerald

ERIC

Euromonitor International

in international affairs. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs. CIAO is also a widely-recognized source for teaching materials including original case studies written by leading international affairs experts, course packs of background readings for history and political science classes, and special features. TM Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC) provides the most robust, quality research solution in areas related to communication and mass media. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to create a research and reference resource of unprecedented scope and depth encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline. This database offers a robust collection of full-text education journals. It is a bibliographic and full-text database covering scholarly research and information relating to all areas of education. Education Research Complete covers areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration, policy, funding, and related social issues. The database provides indexing and abstracts for thousands journals, as well as full text for over one thousand journals. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing. This database also includes full text for hundreds of books and monographs, and full text for numerous education-related conference papers. Emerald is a global publisher providing you with the highest quality, peer-reviewed research. With over 40 years' experience, Emerald manages a portfolio of over 290 journals. Featuring journals that are indexed by Thomson Reuters (ISI) and Scopus, content is selected for original contribution to the subject field, as well as practical relevance to policy making and future inquiry. ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and resources. The database provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.ERIC contains more than 1.3 million records and links to more than 323,000 full-text documents from ERIC back to 1966. A Global Market Information Database is an online business information resource that provides all types of research projects, including market entry case studies, company benchmarking, consumer profiling and country analysis. Euromonitor International contains 4 million internationally comparable statistics, 17,000 full-market company and 200 country reports, comments on merging industry, country and consumer trends. As well as being a database for international business and marketing courses, it supports economics, social sciences, humanities, geography and international relations.

Green File

Humanities International Complete (HIC)-Ebsco

IEEE Computer Society

Journal of the FirstYear Experience & Students in Transition

JSTOR

Lexis-Nexis Academic

Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts Library-Ebsco

Literature Online

MLA International Bibliography-Ebsco

GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records. It provides full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world. Produced by Whitston Publishing (an imprint of EBSCO Publishing), this database includes all data from Humanities International Index (more than 2,300 journals and more than 2.9 million records) plus unique full-text content, much of which is not found other databases. The database includes full text for more than 1,200 journals. IEEE Computer Society Digital Library is the premier collection of technical periodicals, conference publications and articles in the world of computing. It contains 26 peerreviewed periodicals, 4,100+ conference publications archived from 1995, and 200,000+ computing articles and papers. A semiannual refereed journal providing current research and scholarship on the first college year and other student transitions. The Journal publishes definitive scholarship by respected higher education researchers about the factors that relate to student success. JSTOR is a not-for-profit serivce that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content on a trusted digital archive of more than one thousand academic journals and one million primary sources. JSTOR archives and provides access to archival and current issues of more than 1,400 scholarly journals acroos more than 50 academic disciplines. LexisNexis is a leading global provider of contentenabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting, and academic markets. Across the globe, LexisNexis provides customers with access to billions of searchable documents and records from more than 45,000 legal, news and business sources. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) indexes more than 560 core journals, nearly 50 priority journals, and nearly 125 selective journals; plus books, research reports and proceedings. Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more. Coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s. Literature Online is a leading online resource for the study and teaching of literature in English. It is a fully integrated service that combines the texts of over 350,000 works of literature with huge resources of criticism and reference. The full text of over 341 current literature journals can be accessed through the renowned literary index, Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL). The MLA International Bibliography is a classified listing and subject index of scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics of

MLA Directory of Periodicals-Ebsco

Philosophers Index

Political Science Complete (PSC)-Ebsco

Project Muse

ProQuest Dissertation & Theses (PQDT)

PsycINFO-Ebsco

PsycARTICLES-Ebsco

more than 2 million records. The MLA Directory of Periodicals offers detailed information on over 7,100 journals, with 4,400 currently indexed in the International Bibliography. The detailed entries include editorial contact information, as well as frequency, circulation, subscription prices and submission guidelines. The Philosopher's Index is a bibliographic database with informative author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in the fifteen fields of philosophy, published in journals and books since 1940. Records cite journal articles, books, contributions to anthologies, and book reviews. Nearly 680 journals are cited, from 50 countries, in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and many other languages. Topics covered include: aesthetics, axiology, philosophy of education, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of history, philosophy of language, logic, metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, metaphilosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of science, social philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. It contains full text for more than 530 journals, and indexing and abstracts for over 2,900 titles, (including topranked scholarly journals), many of which are unique to the product. PSC has a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse. Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 400 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers. The Project MUSE complete collection offers a comprehensive selection of prestigious humanities, arts, and social sciences journals to support a core liberal arts curriculum. Every journal is heavily indexed and peer-reviewed, with critically acclaimed articles by respected scholars in their fields. MUSE is also the sole source of complete, full-text versions of titles from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies. This database is the world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1861 to the present day and offering full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997. It covers subjects like Business, Health & Medicine, History, Literature & Language, Science & Technology, Social Sciences, and the Arts. The PsycINFO, database, American Psychological Association's (APA) renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, is the largest resource devoted to peerreviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. It contains over 3 million records and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s with one of the highest DOI matching rates in the publishing industry. PsycARTICLES, from the American Psychological Association (APA), is a definitive source of full-text, peerreviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains over 150,000 articles from nearly 80 journals published by the APA, and its imprint the Educational Publishing Foundation (EPF), and from allied

RefWorks

Regional Business News-Ebsco

SAGE Premier

SocINDEX with Full Text-Ebsco

organizations including the Canadian Psychology Association and Hogrefe Publishing Group. RefWorks is an online research management, writing and collaboration tool. It is designed to help students and researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. It allows importing references from text files or online databases ( EBSCO, JSTOR, ProQuest..etc) and other various sources. You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds. This database provides comprehensive full text coverage for regional business publications. Regional Business News incorporates coverage of 80 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States. This database is updated on a daily basis. The SAGE Premier package includes leading international peer-reviewed titles, including high-impact research journals published on behalf of over 245 scholarly and professional societies. Our journals cover a wide range of subject areas, including business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technology, and medicine, allowing libraries to support the varied teaching and research needs of their students and faculty SocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. The database features more than 2.1 million records with subject headings from a 20,000+ term sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers. SocINDEX with Full Text contains full text for more than 860 journals dating back to 1908. This database also includes full text for more than 830 books and monographs, and full text for over 16,800 conference papers.

E-Books Databases

Description

This database is relevant to my topic:

Ebrary

EBSCO e-books

Humanities E-Book Collection

Ebrary contains more than 75,000 eBooks with full text, includes 16 key subject areas from more than 350 publishers. The subject areas are Business & Economics, Computers & IT, Education, Engineering & Technology, History & Political Science, Humanities, Interdisciplinary & Area Studies, Language, Literature & Linguistics, Law, International Relations & Public Policy, Life Sciences, Medical, Nursing & Allied Health, Physical Sciences, Psychology & Social Work, Religion, Philosophy & Classics, Sociology & Anthropology. Electronic books from some of the world's most renowned STM publishing houses, including Springer, Taylor & Francis and Wiley InterScience. The current package contains about 288 titles in different subjects purchased & owned by the library with unlimited access and an easy platform to use. ACLS Humanities E-Book (HEB) is an online collection of over 3,300 books of high quality in the humanities,

Palgrave Connect

SpringerLink E-Books

accessible through institutional and individual subscription. These titles are offered by the ACLS in collaboration with twenty learned societies, over 100 contributing publishers, and librarians at the University of Michigan's Scholarly Publishing Office. The result is an online, fully searchable collection of high-quality books in the Humanities, recommended and reviewed by scholars. These are works of major importance that remain vital to both scholars and advanced students, and are frequently cited in the literature. Palgrave Connect is a full-text database of E- books published by Palgrave Macmillan - a global academic publisher, serving learning and scholarship in higher education and the professional world. Available collections consist of 634 books in International Relations & Development, Political Science, and Social Sciences. New titles are added weekly to the database. More subjects will be included. SpringerLink is a full-text database of E- books published by Springer. New E-books, E-References and E-Book Series titles added every year. Springer's E-Book Collection uses the portability, searchability, and unparalleled ease of access of PDF and HTML data format to make access for researchers. Springer E-book Collections offer accurate reproductions of high quality Springer print book publications, together with all the added benefits of an online environment, including exceptional search capabilities and bookmarks. The current package covers about 1627 titles in Business, Management, Humanities, Social Sciences & Law.

Appendix C: Simple Boolean Search Strategies

Command Example Logic Result

OR

college OR university

Retrieve records in which AT LEAST ONE of the search terms is present. Retrieve records in which BOTH of the search terms are present.

AND (+)

poverty AND crime

AND (+) cont

poverty AND crime AND gender

The more terms or concepts we combined in a search with AND logic, the fewer results will be retrieved.

NOT (-)

cats NOT dogs

retrieve records in which ONLY ONE of the terms is present, the one we have selected by our search

" " (quotation marks)

working mothers

Requires words to be searched as a phrase, in the exact order you type them.

NEAR

dogs NEAR cats

requires both terms, like AND

The NEAR operator is used when you want to require that certain terms appear in the same sentence or paragraph of the document.

Appendix D: Cornell Notes Template

Topic: Click here to enter text. Source Page Nos._________

Main Ideas/Questions

Supporting Details

Click here to enter text.

Click here to enter text.

SUMMARY Click here to enter text.

Appendix E: The 6 Rs of Note-Taking

The Six Rs of Note Taking could be helpful:

Six Rs of Note Taking Record: write down main ideas/key words/concepts (bold, italicized words) Reduce: summarize main ideas (with key words/questions) Recite: retell main ideas in own words (quiz yourself)

Reflect: apply ideas in your notes (why is this important?) Review: go over notes, look for gaps (recite/reflect again) Recapitulate: write a summary of the main ideas (make connections)

Appendix F: Example Annotated Bibliography

EXAMPLE
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. Print. Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun. (Summary) Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach. (Evaluation) Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable. (Reflection)

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

Appendix G: Example of Summary and Quotations

So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don't Want To

by Roger Sipher A decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American education is in trouble. One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there. Such children have little desire to learn and are so antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the quality education that is the birthright of every American. The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend. This will not end public education. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted compulsoryattendance laws to legalize what already existed. William Landes and Lewis Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the number of children in school. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved. There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little effect on the number of children attending school and the argument that repeal would be a positive step toward improving education. Most parents want a high school education for their children. Unfortunately, compulsory attendance hampers the ability of public school officials to enforce legitimate educational and disciplinary policies and thereby make the education a good one. Private schools have no such problem. They can fail or dismiss students, knowing such students can attend public school. Without compulsory attendance, public schools would be freer to oust students whose academic or personal behavior undermines the educational mission of the institution. Has not the noble experiment of a formal education for everyone failed? While we pay homage to the homily, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," we have pretended it is not true in education. Ask high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Ask teachers if these students do any homework. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they receive a high school diploma. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do acceptable work or not. Abolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends. First, it would alert everyone that school is a serious place where one goes to learn. Schools are neither day-care centers nor indoor street corners. Young people who resist learning should stay away; indeed, an end to compulsory schooling would require them to stay away. Second, students opposed to learning would not be able to pollute the educational atmosphere for those who want to learn. Teachers could stop policing recalcitrant students and start educating. Third, grades would show what they are supposed to: how well a student is learning. Parents could again read report cards and know if their children were making progress.

Fourth, public esteem for schools would increase. People would stop regarding them as way stations for adolescents and start thinking of them as institutions for educating America's youth. Fifth, elementary schools would change because students would find out early they had better learn something or risk flunking out later. Elementary teachers would no longer have to pass their failures on to junior high and high school. Sixth, the cost of enforcing compulsory education would be eliminated. Despite enforcement efforts, nearly 15 percent of the school-age children in our largest cities are almost permanently absent from school. Communities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not in school. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not confuse their mission with that of schools. Schools should be for education. At present, they are only tangentially so. They have attempted to serve an all-encompassing social function, trying to be all things to all people. In the process they have failed miserably at what they were originally formed to accomplish.

Example Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation from the Essay:

Example summary: Roger Sipher makes his case for getting rid of compulsoryattendance laws in primary and secondary schools with six arguments. These fall into three groupsfirst that education is for those who want to learn and by including those that don't want to learn, everyone suffers. Second, that grades would be reflective of effort and elementary school teachers wouldn't feel compelled to pass failing students. Third, that schools would both save money and save face with the elimination of compulsory-attendance laws. Example paraphrase of the essay's conclusion: Roger Sipher concludes his essay by insisting that schools have failed to fulfill their primary duty of education because they try to fill multiple social functions (para. 17). Example quotation: According to Roger Sipher, a solution to the perceived crisis of American education is to "Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend" (para. 3).

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

Works Cited
"AUK: Library Online Resources." AUK: Library Online Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. <http://www.auk.edu.kw/library/catalog_online_databases.jsp> Berkowitz, Robert E., and Adam Berkowitz. The Big6 Research Notebook. Worthington, OH: Linworth Pub., 2006. Print. "Big6 Skills - CRLS Research Guide." Big6 Skills- CRLS Research Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Gover, Emily. EasyBib. Imagine Easy Solutions, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://content.easybib.com/>.