12th grade Career I-Search

The PCHS 12th grade essential questions are:

Who am I and who do I hope to become?

What skills do I need to succeed in college and as a human being? 

An I-Search paper is a personal research paper about a topic that is important to the writer.

You will be choosing a career that you may be interested in pursuing and your research will be via online sources and personal interviews.

An I-Search paper is usually less formal than a traditional research paper; it tells the story of the writer's personal search for information, as well as what the writer learned about the topic.

Your I-Search paper will use the structure illustrated in the following framework...

Your final paper will be 5-6 pages long (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font). Though most research papers are written in strict third-person, it is okay to use first-person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, etc.) in this one. 

To get started with some reputable databases, go to the Pali High library site: http://www.palihigh.org/library.aspx.

The user name for all databases is palihigh and the PW is dolphins. 

Here is an outline of how your paper will be structured. Throughout the drafting process, keep in mind the appropriate purpose, audience, and tone.  

I. The story of your search

•  Begin with a catchy hook! This will draw your reader's interest and make them want to keep reading. 

• Explain what you already knew about your topic.

• Tell what you wanted to know about your topic and what you knew before your research.

• Explain why the topic is important to you, and let readers know what motivated your search.

Create a research question (for example: "How can I get a job teaching high school English?" and then create it  into a thesis statement that is based on your research (for example, "One path to the best career ever is to get a bachelor's degree in English, get accepted and do the coursework in a teaching credential program, complete student teaching, and fulfill all state requirements for licensure. 

• Tell readers about your sources - how you found them and why you used them (for example, "First I...then I..finally I..."

II. Description of what you learned

Describe the findings of your research. Write at least one paragraph for each major research result. You must have at least 5 major findings.  Each paragraph here requires direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries of information from sources. (Remember to restate your thesis.)  CITE ALL OF YOUR SOURCES

(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/)

(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/)

III. Reflection on your search (1-3 paragraphs)

Describe what you learned and how your research experience might have changed you and your future (or not!). Support your findings and again, remind readers of your thesis.

IV. Works Cited page

Visit this page on the correct way to cite all kinds of sources within your paper and at the end. 

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/

V. - ? As you're in the 12th grade, I expect this paper to be flawlessly formatted in MLA format. In case you need a refresher or have any questions, refer to this site: 

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

It goes without saying that your original draft should NOT be your final draft. I will set due dates for each section of research and writing, and I will be checking your writing process. 

STEPS to complete before doing active research or beginning your draft!

1. Begin by filling out this graphic organizer:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/I%20Search%20Ch…

2. Though you probably feel like you were born with a cell phone in hand, brush up on ways to effectively use the web. Think beyond Wikepedia!

http://mediasmarts.ca/tipsheet/how-search-internet-effectively

and

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/558/

3. You will be required to interview a human being in the field, as well. Ideally it will be an in-person interview, but phone calls and/or Facetime calls will suffice.  For example, if you wanted to learn about becoming an English teacher, you could ask to interview one on campus. Alternately, you could interview a current college student pursuing that field. Career veterans are excellent sources, but make sure you include up-to-date information on the career. 

Be sure to create a set of questions before the interview. During and after it, be sure to write down all of his/her responses, as well as your reflections. Include in your report the "expert's" name (a pseudonym is fine), job title/position, place of employment, and why you chose him/her. 

When you go to write up this section in your paper, include how the interview confirmed what you already knew about the career and/or provided you new insight. 

4. Flip to the previous page for the structure of the actual paper. Again, final copies will be approximately 5-6 pages long, not counting the Works Cited page. 

Rubric to soon follow, but it's safe to assume the highest grades will have:

• quality research from online sources and at least one interview

• proper quotation integration (and citation)

• seamless organization and strong word choice

• flawless MLA formatting

• proper grammar/mechanics/spelling

• dated evidence of all note-taking (Google Doc is fine; it timestamps everything you do)

At the end of this project you will have learned about a career path in which you are interested. In addition, you will have organized the information into a well-written research paper.