8/14/2019 FRP Parent Letter
1/1
February 2010
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
Over the next few weeks, all ninth-grade students will be
producing a research paper in their historyclasses to support
research and writing skills that are emphasized as part of the
ninth-grade curriculum.This project aims to reinforce skills
already presented and introduce new research skills in an attempt
tochallenge our students and help them with the transition to the
tenth grade.
Students have been assigned a designated thesis question that
they will begin researching in class. We will
also review basic note card organization and requirements for
annotated bibliographies. Research in thelibrary will take place
during the second week of the project. The following week, we will
spend four classperiods in the LHS computer labs so that students
will have an opportunity to begin their papers duringthe school
day. All homework for this time period will focus on gathering more
information from CaryLibrary resources or investigating a topic on
the Internet at home. Students will be evaluated on theirability to
collect and organize information.
The requirements of the paper are as follows:Type: Analytical
research paper, focused on proving a thesisLength: 4-5 pages,
double-spaced, 1 margins, 12-point Times New Roman fontResearch:
Most research will be on 3x5 or 4x6 note cards (models
provided)Organization: Outlines and webs will be used to organize
notes
According to our department policy, the process and final paper
will count for 60% of each students finalexam grade. The other 40
percent will be an exam at the end of the year during the finals
period. Thesetwo percentages combined will constitute 20 percent of
each students year average. Graded andcommented essays will be
returned to students on the last day of the school year.
The paper will include:
An annotated bibliography of at least 4-6 sources (models
provided)The annotation will answer a series of questions from a
guideline sheet. Required sources
will include the textbook and one LHS supported database article
(such as the ABC-Cliodatabase). Other sources will be composed of a
minimum of two books and two Internetarticles.
CitationsStudents will cite any direct quotes, uncommon
information (information found in fewerthan three sources), and the
ideas of others in parenthetical citations. The format of
thesecitations will be given in class. There should be at least one
parenthetical citation in eachmajor argument of the paper. 4-6
unique parenthetical citations must be used to show
balanced research.
While much of the writing of this paper will take place in
school, we do expect students to e-mail or printout sections of the
paper they are working on for continued writing at home. Students
will need to have ane-mail address or a flashdrive so they can have
access to their documents both at school and at home.They will also
need standard sized notecards and a separate binder dedicated
entirely to the FreshmanResearch Project.
The paper is due on Monday, March 23, before 3 p.m for ALL
CLASSES
Please sign the bottom portion of this letter by Wednesday, Feb.
24, to show that you have read thisletter and understand the
upcoming project.
Sincerely,
Jacquelyn Ruback ([email protected])Social Studies
Department, Lexington High
School---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I
have read the explanation of the ninth grade research paper and
understand the requirements.
Student Signature: _____________________________ Date:
_______________
Parent/Guardian: _____________________________ Date:
_______________
