A Plan for your Paper

 Use color highlighters to identify “ideas” that go together.  It is okay not to highlight something  You need at least 3 main subtopics for your paper

I. Section 1—Introduction II. Section 2—Describe the Search Process III. Section 3—Tell What You Learned IV. Section 4—Wrap it all up (Conclusion)

 Sections 1,2, and 4 are the easiest to write. They will be informal and conversational, using first person pronouns and reflecting on the process you have gone through.

I. Introduction a. Attention Grabber b. Research Question(s) c. Thesis Statement

II. Describe the Search Process a. write in first person (I, me, etc.) b. Share how you conducted your research. Where did you look first? what kinds of twists and turns did your research take? what failures did you have in researching a question? and most importantly WHY did these things happen? c. REFLECT—use the reflection section of your yellow sheet to remind you about each source.

IV. Conclusion a. Restate your thesis sentence in different words. b. Present your questions and highlight your research. c. Return to your attention grabber. d. End it all with a clincher sentence.

 Section 3 is the most challenging to write. It is the formal section of your research paper (similar to ROL). In this section, you must avoid first person pronouns and present your findings in a logical and organized fashion.

III. Tell What You Learned a. build necessary background on your topic b. subtopic #1 c. subtopic #2 d. subtopic #3 SEE THE ACCOMPANYING HANDOUT WITH TIPS FOR HOW TO WRITE THIS SECTION OF THE PAPER

 Go to Mrs. Ridgway’s Web Backpack page  Click on “DOCUMENTS”  Click on “I-Search Outline”  Open and save the document to YOUR “H” drive  Open Microsoft Word and access the document from your “H” drive  Type directly into the document, labeling each fact you take from your yellow sheets with the source # it came from.  Save before you close!!!  ONLY SECTION III OF THE OUTLINE IS DUE FOR NOW!!!