10.4/10.5 notes: grad papering The paper is an 8-10 page (not including works cited) argumentative research paper. You’ve never written one of these. You’ve probably written an expository research paper. What’s the difference? Expository: presents a topic to an audience but doesn’t offer any commentary, bias or solution. It exposes the audience to a problem and usually begins with a “what” question. What is climate change? What happens to high school students who get concussions? Argumentation: presents information (evidence or “grounds”) on a topic and offers a logical conclusion. Argumentation is reasoned, logical way of asserting the soundness, the correctness, of a certain position. How should we solve the problem of climate change? How should high schools protect their student athletes from concussions?

10.4/10.5 notes: grad papering I will grade the paper according to the rubric provided to me by CMS. You now have that rubric and due dates. (Note to future self: Pass out rubric and grad paper checklist now. Thanks for the heads up, past self! We rock! Meta-high five!!!)

10.4/10.5 notes: paper structure What is the grad paper? Well . . . Begin by identifying a social problem that can be solved. (Occasion) You will create a claim that will present a solution to that problem. That solution you identify should be debatable. (Subject/Thesis) You will identify an audience (or audiences) for whom the solution will be beneficial. (Audience) You will establish ethos through your presentation of scholarly research that proves the benefit of adopting your claim. (Speaker) You will convince the audience to adopt your claim through rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos). (Purpose) You will maintain an unbiased tone throughout your argumentation in order to pacify a potentially hostile audience. (Tone) Does know what I just did? Do you remember?

10.4/10.5 notes: Researching your topic Not today, SOAPSTone! Your time is coming. Soon. Research will be, for the most part, conducted independently. We will occasionally (infrequently? hardly ever?) have research days in which I take you to the library or bring in a laptop cart. Research will be cited according to MLA guidelines. I will periodically review MLA guidelines. And I mean review. As in a two-minute warm-up. If your knowledge of MLA guidelines is insufficient, the Purdue OWL is your new best friend. Wait? You don’t know the Purdue OWL??? Is this possible???

10.4/10.5 notes: Researching your topic Research should take a variety of forms. Books. Magazines. Newspapers. All online or print. You will actually have to read all these scholarly articles in order to synthesize what a variety of experts say about your topic and cull a large sample of facts. You should not rely on “info dump” sites. Here’s a rule of thumb you’ve been taught: if the URL ends with “.org” it’s good for research. Well . . . https://www.change.org/ But “.edu,” that’s ok, right??? http://www.phoenix.edu/

10.4/10.5 notes: Researching your topic There is no hard and fast rule for what is acceptable research and what is not. My best suggestion? If it doesn’t have an author you can identify, it’s probably not very scholarly. As usual, Purdue OWL is better at explaining this than I: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/01/

10.4/10.5 notes: final notes Mentor? Not required. Do you want one? Find a teacher whom you trust and ask. I will have a form for you to document your time with your mentor. Your mentor will have to document, too, what help she has provided. I will not be your mentor.

10.4/10.5 notes: final notes CMS is requiring you to complete service hours that relate to your project. So, for example, let’s say you’re concerned about literacy rates for poverty-level school children. Your paper will advocate a solution to this problem (based on the synthesis of your research). Your service will show you volunteering locally to effect that change. You will document the effectiveness of your volunteer-ship and present your research in the form of a 6-10 minute speech to a board of teachers.

10.4/10.5 notes: final notes The paper counts for 40% of your fourth quarter grade. Additionally, you will have to save each step of your paper in your portfolio (this can be kept in class). The portfolio should be an easy check, 50/50 test grade—provided you do everything and don’t lose anything . . . Remember, you do not have a final in this class. Well, do we have time for anything else? You wanna score a sample grad paper?