AP English 12

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AP Research Project

Mr. Layman’s                                              Email: Alayman@ycsd.york.va.us
OBJECTIVE   To write a research paper in MLA format
Topic You will need to find a problem, and research a solution to that problem.  This can be any subject that you are interested in and I strongly recommend that it is something you are interested in, as you will already have a pre-existing knowledge base for the subject.  These problems can be ANYTHING that interests you, from Darfur to tennis elbow, from LARPing to Perpetual Motion.  This does not, and I even encourage it not to be, have to be a global problem.  It could be a Teen issue, a Williamsburg problem, an annoyance that you find troubling.
There will be only one topic per year for all of my classes.
Length of Paper:  7-10 pages – Does not include Works Cited (Bibliography) or Title Pages.
Format of Paper

  1. Will be typed on one side of good white paper 8.5 X 11 inches in size.
  2. Will be typed with DOUBLE SPACING throughout.
  3. Leave a 1 inch margin at the top, bottom, right, and left sides of each page.  Indent the beginning of each new paragraph five spaces from the margin.  Indent set-off quotations (Long Quotes) ten spaces from the left margins.
  4. Have a title page with topic title, your name, and the date turned in.
  5. Have a header at the top of each page, with your first initial, last name, and page number in it.
  6. Must be typed in either 12 pt regular Arial font.
  7. Do not put in paper in binder, folder, etc.  Staple in upper left hand corner.
  8. Have a correctly used Long Quote in the paper.
  9. Not have more than 20% of the paper quoted from another source other than you.
  10. Have at least 10 different credible sources cited in the body and 15 total credible sources in the Bibliography.
  11. Have at least one book, periodical (magazine, newspaper, journal, etc), and credible website cited in the body of the paper.
  12. Must be cited using MLA format.
  13. Be both expository and persuasive in nature.
  14. Be a FORMAL paper in formal language.
  15. Be done in the sequential order provided.
  16. Be turned in on a hard copy otherwise.  Do not expect the teacher to do your printing for you.  It will not happen.  You have been WARNED!!!
  17. Sent/submitted by you to Turnitin.com for this project.  You will have to enroll in the class on Turnitin.com. 
VoiceThe formal paper should be written in the third person (he, she, it).  If one must refer to him/herself, use “the writer”.  The pronouns I, my, our, ours, we, us, you, your, me, must be eliminated from your paper.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the improper use of material:  literary theft.  This is making use of another’s printed material, either verbatim, or in summary, without giving appropriate and full credit.  Merely changing a few words does not render the material one’s own.  Plagiarism is a serious offense.
          An obvious form of plagiarism is copying any direct quotation from your source material without providing quotation marks and without crediting the source.  A more subtle form, but equally improper is the paraphrasing or material or use of an original idea that is not properly introduced and documented.  Remember that another author’s ideas, interpretations, and words are his or her property; in fact, they are protected by law and must be acknowledged whenever you borrow them.  Consequently, your use of source materials requires you to conform to a few rules of conduct:

  1. Acknowledge borrowed material within your text by introducing the quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority from whom it was taken.  This practice serves to indicate where the borrowed materials begin.
  2. Enclose within quotation marks all quoted materials with the exception of long quotations.
  3. Make certain that paraphrased material is rewritten into your own style and language.  The simple rearrangement of sentence patterns is unacceptable.
  4. Provide specific documentation for each borrowed item.  Remember the previous discussion:  another researcher may follow in your steps and need the same source.
  5. Provide a bibliography entry for every book or journal that is referred to in your paper.
  6. End the sentence with a properly punctuated citation appropriate for the quote, summary, etc.

Deadlines – All deadlines must be met at the assigned date.  You may turn things in early, but not late.  10pts will be deducted per school day late.  Late is defined as not turning it in when the teacher asks for it (Not at 1:47 that school day)
Date

Topic Selection                                                                5/12   20pts CW

Complete Final Thesis Statement (3supporting details)         5/14   20pts CW

Minimum 50 Note cards/15 Source cards                            5/16   65pts HW

Rough Draft                                                                    5/23   50pts Project

Creation of Turnitin Profile                                                 by 6/2    20pts CW

Final Draft                                                                        6/3     100pts Test

I will not be lenient on computer errors, misformats, etc. 

TURNITIN.COM
  1. Go to the website http://turnitin.com/static/index.html. 
  2. Select the “New Users” button in the upper right hand corner to start enrolling yourself in this class.
  3. Select the User Type.  You will need to select the “Student” from the dropdown menu and hit the “Next” button.
  4. Fill in the Class ID and the Class Enrollment Password.  The class ID = 2261166 Password=Bruton and hit the “Next” button.
  5. Type in your email address and hit the “Next” button.
  6. Create a password for this account, and type it into the blanks.  Please keep in mind that your password is case sensitive (for example, paSS123 would be different than pass123), must be 6-12 characters long, and contain at least one letter and one number (for added security).  Then hit the “Next” button.
  7. Select a Secret Question from the dropdown menu.  Type in the answer for that Secret Question, and hit the “Next” button.
  8. Type in the provided space, your first name, then your last name, and hit the “Next” button.
  9. Read the user agreement, and hit the “I Agree—Create Profile” button.
  10. Read the final screen and hit the “end wizard and log in” button.  You have now completed creating your Turnitin profile.

 

  1. Now that you have a profile, you need to submit your paper.
  2. Type in the email address and password for your profile.  Hit the “Login” button.
  3. Move the cursor onto the class named “0708 AP” and click.
  4. Move the cursor onto the “Submit Paper” icon next to the assignment “Research Paper 0708”, underneath the “Submit” column and click.
  5. Type in the title of your paper, then hit the “Browse” button.
  6. Upon hitting “Browse”, a new window will appear, listing the available files and drives on your computer.  Find your research paper and select it by highlighting it, then hitting the “Open” button.  This will close that window.
  7. There should be a file name next to the “Browse” button.  Click on the “Submit” button.
  8. A new page should appear previewing the document/file you opened.  If it is the correct one, hit the “Yes, Submit” button.  If it is not, hit the “no, go back” button and restart.
  9. A new page should appear, confirming the submission of your document.  This should prompt an email to be sent to your email address.  This is your proof that the file was sent.  Hold onto it until the paper has been graded. 
  10. Feel free to enter a discussion topic, as they will be moderated by me.  School appropriate conduct and behavior is expected, as I have approval of anything that is written.

*WARNING: Turnitin.com has an extremely fast log-out.  If you are inactive for a few minutes, it will log you out and you will need to restart whatever it was that you were doing.

RUBRIC

Research Paper Rubric
1-Paper is the correct length 7-10 pgs
2-Paper is written in the correct format with page header, pg numbers, font
3-The paper has the correct margins
4-Introduction of paper grabs the reader’s attention (hook)
5-Audience has enough information to understand the presented thesis
6-Sentences are constructed and punctuated correctly
7-Formal writing was used throughout the paper
8-Writing is organized in a logical manner using transitions
9-Correct grammar and punctuation is used
10-Words are spelled correctly
11-Problem presented was solved with a logical, researched solution.
12-Thesis was proven in the paper
13-MLA Citations are used correctly throughout the entire paper
14-Conclusion brings ideas together without restating the introduction.
15-Long quotes were used correctly according to MLA format
16-Paper has at least 10 different sources cited in the paper
17-There are at least one cited book, one periodical, and one credible website.
18-There are at least 15 sources were included in the Bibliography
19-MLA format is used correctly on the Works Cited and Bibliography
20-No more than 20% of paper is quoted from another source