Marin Aldrich : maldrich@seq.org Dana Ayers : dayers@seq.org Marcia Blondel : mblondel@seq.org Kathleen Coughlin : Faculty:kcoughli@seq.org

Sue Guglielmone:sgugliel@seq.org Derek De Nardo : ddenardo@seq.org Lisa Pomi : lpomi@seq.org Wendy Porter :wporter@seq.org

Mark Reibstein :mreibste@seq.org Charles Velschow : cvelscho@seq.org

Index

Senior Exhibition Project

Woodside High School

Welcome to the Senior Exhibition Project!   You are about to embark upon a year-long academic journey, during which you will be given the opportunity (your last before college and the "real" world) to develop essential academic skills.   By the end of this journey you will have exhibited these skills: organizing a great deal of information, working with teachers as well as adult mentors and peers, conducting research and an interview, and writing a paper of 8-10 pages in length.   In the course of this project you will be developing and honing such skills and habits as the following:

•  Asking meaningful questions and knowing where to find the answers

•  Analyzing the content and quality of information you find

•  Approaching an expert with confidence and maturity

•  Seeking advice and help when necessary

•  Pursuing a project in depth and maintaining focus over time

•  Developing and managing independence by organizing your time

•  Writing clearly and logically in support of your point of view

•  Seeking out an idea of interest to you and pursuing that interest actively and passionately

     These skills and habits will be challenges along your journey.    Some of you will combat them with frustration or try to find easier paths around them.   You might do only what each deadline requires, approaching the project with simply one goal - getting it done.   We hope, however, that you choose not to exhibit yourself as one who just gets by.   Such a person is generally the one who is passed over for promotions, ignored during the interview process, or lost in a sea of others more eager to succeed.

     Instead, we hope you will embrace the challenges of this project and become focused on higher goals - finding the best possible answer to your question and having your work reflect who you are in a positive way.   With this approach, you will be driven not just by deadlines but by a curiosity and desire to know something thoroughly and by a concern for wanting to show what you are truly capable of as a student.   The Senior Exhibition Project can be a momentous culmination of your secondary education, demonstrating, in a way far more meaningful than test scores, that you are ready to graduate from Woodside High School.   Begin this journey knowing we are committed to guiding you through each step and we believe each of you is capable of meeting these challenges and producing work of which you, your family, your peers, and your teachers can be very proud!

Senior Exhibition Project Elements

Due Dates and Points Schedule

Late credit is possible (50% of score earned) for work turned in to the designated teacher by 3:00 p.m. the day immedictely following the second due date listed.

* No late work accepted for these assignments        

Remember to save hard copies of all SEP-related materials and assignments as well as copies on disk!

The Essential Question

The Senior Exhibition may be the largest and most important academic undertaking of your senior year.   Answering the question you propose will span three classes and nine months, so you will need to very carefully select the topic to which you will devote this much time and effort.

You will need to have your essential question approved by your English or social studies teacher who will help you refine the question, but it is your job to work on the question until it reflects exactly what you want to research.   Please keep in mind the following tips:

•  Choose a topic that interests you and makes you want to find out more.

•  Develop a QUESTION.   Do not simply come up with a TOPIC.   A question requires research and your analysis/opinion.   A topic requires a report of information, as in grade school when you did reports on Nebraska, whales, and George Washington.

•  Write your question carefully, so that it asks exactly what you want to try to answer.

Below are listed some example ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS.   Notice how the questions are worded to require a personal analysis and not a report.

•  How would radical realignment of the National and American Leagues affect Major League Baseball, and should the leagues pursue such changes?

•  What are the causes of anorexia, and why are women more susceptible than men?

•  What is the future of electric cars in America, and how will they affect the car industry?

Notice that the questions have two parts--the first asks for information, and the second part of the question asks for analysis of the information.   Here are some formats for good questions:

•  How is   _________________ changing, and why have ______________________?

•  What are _________________, and what should the society do to _____________________?

•  What is the cause of _____________, and how can __________________________?

Once you think you have come up with a workable Essential Question, review the Essential Questions Rubric.   The rubric will help you to decide if your question will enable you to succeed with the project, or if you need to go back to the brainstorm list.   If you choose to revise your essential question, you must submit an Essential Question Revision Form (See page 9).

Essential Question Brainstorm List

The following   topics could be turned into very effective Essential Questions.   This list is intended to give you some ideas and let you see some categories from which Essential Questions could emerge.

•  Local issues

•  Crystal Springs Reservoir and water supplies for the Peninsula

•  Foreign species being introduced into the San Francisco Bay

•  San Mateo County welfare programs

•  Youth programs and facilities for teens in Redwood City

•  State or national issues applied to a local situation

•  Bi-lingual education in a local elementary school

•  Youth crime and how Redwood City is addressing it

•  Homelessness and how San Francisco is solving the problem

•  Current social issues

•  Body image issues/anorexia

•  Immigration

•  Pollution

•  Current political and economic issues

•  Inequality in the U.S.

•  Tax policy

•  Political scandals and public opinion

•  History

•  Vietnam War

•  Civil rights

•  Modernization of Japan

•  International issues

•  Asian economic crisis

•  Peace process in Ireland

•  Atomic weapons in Pakistan and India

•  Technology and science

•  Dot-coms and the economy

•  Censorship and the Internet

•  AIDS research

•  Arts/music/literature

•  Government funding of the arts

•  Current trends in music or literature

•  The influence one artist had on current art

•  Sports and entertainment

•  Effects of violence in the media

•  Economic issues in professional sports

•  Effects of competitive athletics on adolescent girls

•  Current trends

•  Population

•  Computers

•  Environment

Essential Question Rubric

Your Essential Question must meet the following criteria:

• Sustain your interest and curiosity for the next 8 months.

• Require extensive research.

• Require both factual reporting and analysis.

• Extend beyond your current knowledge.

• Allow for exploration of several possible answers.

• Be free of bias or opinion.

• Have ample resources available, including non-Internet sources.

• Have possible interview subjects.

Please note that in order to promote variety, diversity, and richness, the SEP teachers may limit the total number of any questions based on a given topic.

Points will be awarded based on the following rubric:

* Revision is required for a Not Approved score..   Questions that are provisionally approved must be revised before the final draft is due.

Name:  

English teacher/Period:  

Social studies teacher/Period:

Date:

Essential Question Score Sheet  

Topic :   ________________________________________________________________

Score:                                                                                               

Comments:  

Other topics of interest:

1._________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________

Assignment Score:                                                                                                   

Evaluated by:______________________________________

* Provisional approval requires further revision prior to final outline.

* Not approved score requires immediate revision.. To earn credit for your Essential Question, complete and submit an Essential Question Revision Form to your social studies teacher by ___________________.

When you receive this scored sheet, staple it to the inside front cover of your SEP folder!

Name:  

English teacher/Period:

Social studies teacher/Period:

Date:

Essential Question Revision Form

Original Question:

Proposed Revision:  

Rationale for proposed change (Refer to Essential Question rubric) :

* Attended tutorial - - - - SEP teacher's signature_____________________________________________ Date _______________________________

NOTE:   Be sure to staple this revision form on top of the original Esssential Question Score Sheet on the inside front cover of your SEP folder after both of your teachers have approved the change (signatures required).  

Project Guidelines and Checklist

Now that you have an approved Essential Question and you have accumulated 25-35 information cards and 4-6 source cards, you are in a position to formulate a plan for gathering additional information.   You will write a proposal in your English class delineating your plan for action.   In this proposal, you will do the following:

•  Clearly state your Essential Question

•  Explain your rationale for choosing the question

•  Describe prior knowledge and experience with the topic

•  Identify materials and resources assembled thus far

•  Identify materials and resources needed to complete the project

•  Identify the ideal interview subject

•  Identify and explain future steps for contacting interview subject

•  Identify your adult editor and describe his/her qualifications

•  Identify anyone else who could help you complete the project

•  Make a prediction regarding the answer to your Essential Question

•  Be attentive to grammar and spelling

At this point you should carefully review the project calendar (pp. 3-4) and create a timeline to ensure the successful completion of your Senior Exhibition Project.   Complete the following checklist:

•  I have contacted an adult editor.   Name?_________________________________.

•  The adult editor is aware of the timeline for this project.

•  I have made attempts to contact the following interview subjects: ____________________________________________________________________.

•  I have begun to consider possible interview questions.

•  I have scheduled time for research.   When and where?   __________________________________________________________________________

   _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.  

•  I have completed ____information cards and   ____source cards.

•  Other steps I have taken:

1.

2.

3

Research Writing Guidelines

Content

I.   Notecards

You will divide your notecards into two categories:

•  Information cards - For Check #1, use white cards, for Check #2 use yellow, for Check #3 use green.

A. Source Cards

For every source that you use, such as a book, magazine, website, etc., you will need to record some basic information about that source.   This information will eventually be used when you create your Bibliography/Works Cited page.  

Use the guidelines below to help you write your source cards.

B. Information Cards

Once you find a good source, you will want to take notes that are relevant to your research topic/question.   Each notecard must have the following items:

1. A topic or title

For example, if you are researching AIDS, some topics might include:   History, First Cases in the US; Government Response; Statistics; "Gay Disease;" Medications;   Rise in Africa;   etc.

2. A Source Card reference

Each of your Source Cards needs to be numbered.   Then, on each informational card, write the source card number in the top right of the notecard.

3. Information

•  It is extremely important that as you read, you write your notes in your own words .   If you are not doing this, you are in danger of creating a plagiarized paper.

•  Use abbreviations whenever possible.

•  Bullet point most of your information.

•  Besides bullet pointing, you might choose to quote, paraphrase or summarize the information.   See below for an explanation.

4.   Page number (if relevant)

Whenever possible, write the page number of where you found the information.

II.   Direct Quotation, Paraphrasing, Summarizing

A. Direct Quotations

  Requirements

• When you quote, be sure to copy the exact words of your source, including punctuation and capitalization. Note the following example:

  • Source:   Garcia, "Clawing into Controversy" (40)
  • Line from student's paper:   Garcia explains that because the mountain lions' natural habitat can no longer sustain the population, older lions "are forcing younger cats into less suitable terrain, including residential areas" (40).
• Use quotations sparingly.   Integrating many quotations can be awkward.
• Use quotations for memorable phrases, parts of historical documents, etc.
• Do not use quotations to explain facts.
• When you include a direct quotation in your paper, you must include the source within your paper so that your reader would then be able to find the complete source on your Works Cited page. This is called an in-text citation .   It's most common to include the author's last name and the page number of the source in parentheses after the quotation but before end punctuation.   There are variations on this format, however, depending on the accessible information about your source.  

B.  Paraphrase

"Paraphrase translates all of the source's content into different words.   It ensures your understanding of the material and records both the author's reasoning and the supportive details.   Like quoting, paraphrasing can be time consuming.   Be alert that all the material you record is relevant to your topic and purpose" (Chopra 109).

•  Summarizing

Summarizing entails reducing a few paragraphs or even pages to a couple of sentences that are in your own words.   You must cite your source if when summarizing you are using someone else's ideas!

III.    MLA In-text Citations

A.   Requirements

Whenever you include a direct quotation in your paper or anytime you use someone else's ideas , you must cite your source. In order to make your paper more readable, vary your use of the following formats:

2. Parenthetical Citations include the author's last name and a page number in parentheses after the cited material and before the end punctuation.   This example is from a book written by a person with the last name of Sundeen.

   Most states do not keep adequate records on the number of times cell phones are a factor in accidents;as of December 2000, only ten states were trying to keep such records (Sundeen 2).

3. The following demonstrates a combination of a signal phrase and a parenthetical citation that includes a page number from the editorial section of a newspaper.   This example is from Cohen's letter to the editor. 

   Peter Cohen, a driver at the scene of a terrible accident near Boston in December, reports that after
   he was rear-ended, the guilty party emerged from his vehicle still talking on the phone (E5).  
   

The parenthetical citation should be placed after the quotation or paraphrased information and before the period (right here).   If no author is listed, use a shortened version of the title. NEVER use a web address!

B.   Types of Citations

• Flagpole-sitting was one of the oddest fads of the 1920's (Nash 371).

•  As of 2001, at least three hundred town and municipalities had considered legislation regulating the   use of cell phones while driving ("Lawmaker" 2).

•  The 1920's was a time of great change in which various worlds clashed to produce an explosive, exciting, and challenging decade ( Roaring 20's ).

•  In his Inaugural Address, JFK inspired many when he urged Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country" (qtd. in Nash 701).

IV.   Works Cited Page

A.   Requirements

The purpose of the works cited page is to provide the needed information for the reader to locate any source used within the paper (Owl).   It will be the last page of your paper, will be entitled "Works Cited," and will include a list of all the sources referenced in your paper.  

Follow these rules for format:

•  Alphabetize the list by each author's last name (or the name of the corporate author, if applicable).

•  If there is no author, use the title, alphabetizing by the first main word of the title of the source.

•  Underline the titles of books, magazines, newspapers,   databases , and websites , and put quotation marks around the titles of "articles," "short works," "essays," and "poems."

•  After the first line of each source, indent the subsequent lines five spaces.

•  Double-space both within and between entries.

•  Put a period at the end of each entry.

B.   Format for Entries   

There is a very specific way in which you must list your information in the Works Cited page.   Below you will find instructions and examples of how to list your information.   Please follow these formats.   The following information comes from the Owl at the Purdue University website:   http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html .

Book

•  Book with one author

     Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . Denver: MacMurra and Beck, 1999.

     Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Note: If there are more than three authors, you may list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "and others") in place of the other authors' names, or you may list all the authors in the order in which their names appear on the title page.

•  Book with a corporate author

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . New York: Random, 1998.              

•  Book with no author named (like an encyclopedia)

Encyclopedia of Indiana . New York: Somerset, 1993.

•  Information on CD-ROM

•  Article with no author named

Note:   For parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and underlining as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: ( Encyclopedia 235) and ("Decade" 26).

-Type in 12 pt. Times-Roman font.

• Choose a person who has specific or expert experience with your topic.   Perhaps the person works in a field related to your topic or has done extensive research on your topic or has some other firsthand experience with your topic.   For example, if you are researching something related to child development, do NOT interview someone with babysitting experience.   Instead, seek out a clinical psychologist.

• Make a date in advance with the person you wish to interview.   Be flexible with your own time so that you can meet the needs of the interviewee.   Be sure to remember the time and date you arrange!  

• Allow at least 45 minutes to an hour for the interview.   Many interviews will last longer; therefore, plan accordingly.   Sometimes it takes twenty or thirty minutes for an interview subject to "warm up" to you.   Remember people very rarely get formally interviewed, so your interviewee may be nervous or unsure as to how he can help you.   Try to designate a setting in which your interview subject will feel comfortable and go prepared to guide the interview.

• Under no circumstances are you to interview a family member. Part of the objective for this assignment is to provide an experience with a formal interview.

• Upon meeting your interviewee, shake hands and make direct eye contact.   Thank your interviewee in advance for making time for you. Take a clipboard and pen and a tape recorder (if possible) to the interview.   This will help you to write your transcript of the interview after meeting.  

• Have your list of twelve or more interview questions ready, but do not hesitate to ask additional questions that may come to mind during the course of the interview.   Listen to your subject carefully.   Often times the interviewee will answer a future question on your list in the course of answering another question.   Do not ask the same question again!   Do not rush the interview.   In taking your time and encouraging your subject to take his time, you will create a relaxed environment.

• If you get a "yes" or "no" answer, ask for more explanation.   "Could you explain a little more about that, please?"   Be patient.   Interview subjects may need time to think about their answers.  

• Take your time in recording your interviewee's responses if you are not using a tape recorder.   Remember that if you DO use a tape recorder, you need to ask your interviewee's permission to record responses to your questions.  

• After you have asked all of your questions, ask your subject if he as anything else he would like to tell you or that you should know.   You may also ask if your interviewee has any advice as to where you may find additional information concerning your topic.

• Thank your interviewee and ask for a business card (if applicable) so that you may send a written thank you note after the interview.   Also, you may need official information in order to reference this person in your works cited page or to ask clarifying questions in the future.

• Begin your write up with an introductory paragraph .   Identify the name of your subject, the date and setting of the interview, and the subject's relevance to your research.   For instance, you may want to establish the fact that your subject is experienced with your topic and has worked in a related field for twenty years.   You may also want to include an account of the process by which you found your subject. (*See Special Note below.)

• After your introductory paragraph, you may begin listing your questions and your subject's responses.   For example, if your interview subject is a professional jazz musician, portions of your interview may look like this:

• Be sure to single space within individual responses and double space between each question and answer .   Number each question. 



• You may also paraphrase very lengthy answers, especially if you did not use a tape recorder for the interview.   However, be careful to capture as much direct information from your interview as possible.
  
• Close the interview write up with a brief paragraph summarizing your experiences with the interview .   You might address any new direction your research may take after the interview.   You might share how you found the interview helpful or not.   You might talk about how you felt conducting a formal interview.  

• It is proper to send a thank you note after your interview.   You may either send a handwritten note on an appropriate note card or stationery or you may type a thank you note in business letter format.   Ask your English teacher for guidelines. You will need to turn in your note with a stamped, addressed envelope.  

-Correct MLA heading: name/date/teachers/period/title of assignment

-Proofreading--Paper free of obvious errors