Monday: Getting back to Cause and Effect

Planning your research paper...

Today I am asking you to return to your notecards and your groups in order to touch base and plan your essay.

 Once again, here is the link to the thesis and outline doc for ONE of you to copy and then share with your team and with me.

http://goo.gl/Qy3DtH

review my tips here: http://goo.gl/eCbNk9

Here is the game plan for the week:

Monday: Write thesis/plan essay structure and responsibilities

Tuesday: Review one more sample, write intro paragraph together and share on collaborize classroom

Wednesday: Everyone works separately on their portion of the paper and posts on collaborize for feedback.

Thursday:  I model feedback, if necessary.  Everyone reviews and then revises.

Friday:  Write conclusion paragraph AND Editing workshop for correct citations and/or grammatical problems.  Try out a few different sentence lengths and structures if possible:  periodic, cumulative, balanced, inverted.

PAPERS ARE DUE by Tuesday of next week!

THURSDAY: Research deadlines have shifted

Research check points

5 complete notecards made by each one of you:  due Monday.

Your thesis and outline are due on a shared doc by next Thursday.

Tips for writing a strong thesis http://goo.gl/eCbNk9

Template for sharing your thesis/outline: http://goo.gl/Qy3DtH

Rhetorical Analysis Feedback goes here.

ANALYZE from beginning to end--your understanding of the effect of organization is fundamental and can be a really helpful way to organize your writing, and will ensure that you are thorough in your analysis. 

Remember beginnning with the THEY SAY I SAY is a very popular strategy in argument---don't confuse the two.

"He uses syntax and diction to achieve his purpose/message"--STATE IT EXPLICITLY/PRECISELY!!!!!!

2007 RA sample papers: http://goo.gl/T3TLsP

Making Notecards for your Cause and Effect essay

Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to your research project.  When you log on at the start of class, you should have three tabs open on your computer:

1. The http://www.vhslibrary.com/ site----go to the Napa County Library site and click on databases. (Infotrac Newstand and Opposing Viewpoints)

2. Noodletools.com---log on  (have you entered your Research question yet on your dashboard?)

3. Your email so you can access the sources you send to yourself.


KEEP IN MIND, you cannot conduct a search on these databases the way you search on google!  Remember to use AND/OR/NOT like the librarian showed us and then narrow your search, using the column on the left hand side.

WHEN YOU HAVE FOUND A SOURCE:

1. email it to yourself and your partners
2. make a CITATION (that's the bibliography button on noodle tools)
3. make a NOTECARD (or two or three, depending on your source) linked to that citation
4. HIT "SAVE" when you have finished the notecard!

By Monday, I would like to see that each of you ( INDIVIDUALLY at this point) have collected at least 5 notecards in your noodle tools account.  Don't worry too much yet about a specific category of research, just find out as much as you can about your topic---next week you can meet and discuss what you have learned with your group and then splinter off more specifically.

Examining a sample Cause and Effect Research Paper

So cool!  Thank you, AP Test Calculator:  http://appass.com/calculators/englishlanguage/

Today we will read the essay "Urban Neanderthals" from The Compact Reader in order to understand what an academic research paper looks like in MLA format.  A secondary goal is for you to read closely in order to analyze the argument in the essay and how its structure achieves its purpose.

Please look for and annotate the following items in the essay:

1. Highlight the thesis.  Where does it occur in the opening paragraph?  What is the writer doing leading up to this thesis?  Can you tell where the emphasis will be in this paper--on causes or effects?
2. Underline the sources and citations mentioned in the body of the paper.  Look for each one in the Works Cited page to see how they correspond.
3. Outline the essay here.  I just wrote the format in for the first few paragraphs....continue the format as you go.

Monday: A Visit from the Librarian!

Here is a link to some online Research Tips.

Here is a link to databases--USE THESE!

Today you will be creating a noodle tools account at noodletools.com.  The school username and password are on the assignment sheet.  The first time you create an account you will need to use the link on the librarian's page.

HEADS UP:  Your topic and focusing question is due on Thursday. I will open up this sign up for the first 5 minutes of class every day, so those of you who already know your topics can claim them.

2nd period:  TOPIC/QUESTION SIGN UP

6th period: TOPIC/QUESTION SIGN UP

Cause and Effect Research essay prompt

Here is the prompt with all the deadlines posted: http://goo.gl/t1zSJY

Cause and Effect sample essay #2

Learning Target:  to share your analysis with your fellow classmates and deepen your understanding of the rhetorical mode of cause and effect

(15 minutes) Get into your writing group of 3:  open your google doc about "Let Free and Starve" and share your answer to the question you chose yesterday that you have written in your google doc.

Groups members: Listen carefully to your fellow group members.  Record their answers in your chart, based on your discussion.  Your answer may deepen what they said by revising or adding on more commentary.

(15 minutes) Read "Plato o Plomo: Silver or Lead" on page 472.

Fill out another template.  This time chose another category of question to answer. 

(10 minutes) Repeat the above discussion and note-taking strategy.

(15 minutes) Choose the most effective essay and outline it in the second page of the template. 

Debriefing cause and effect

Wednesday's Agenda

(10-15 minutes): Review answers to multiple choice from Monday.

(10 minutes): Post a "nugget" from your reading yesterday.  What should writers in the class keep in mind when they go to write their cause and effect research paper?

2nd period:  http://padlet.com/wall/3ro5ny1zzo
6th period: http://padlet.com/wall/nq6ed1hnoz

(15 minutes): Read "Live Free and Starve" on page 466 of The Bedford Reader or here online copy of essay

(15 minutes): Make a copy of this form and share it with me.

Here is my photo of the questions: Picture of Bedford questions

Then, in groups of three, choose one question from each of the first three categories:  MEANING, WRITING STRATEGY, and LANGUAGE.  Discuss the answers together and then assign each one of you one answer to put in writing. Then record your answers in the google document you have already set up.  Make sure it is shared with me at my gmail account.