English 12: Senior ThesisPeriod 7

Mrs. LaMoreauxWinter/Spring 2010

Textbook: A Guide to MLA Documentation, Trimmer

Elements of Literature, Holt, Rinehart,Winston

Materials: 4 x 6 or 5 x 8 Index Cards;

Large folder or envelope

All class materials are posted at watkinsglenschools.com on my classroom page. You may email me at:

I am available for individual help, by appointment, during period1,5,8or after school. You may receive a long-term pass for the library during this quarter…and you may keep it as long as you are responsible about its use.

Course Outcomes:

Students should demonstrate competency in the follow areas:

A. Locating books and electronic sources to acquire

research materials which will include:

1. locating materials in the library.

2. using data bases

3. using advanced search strategies,

such as Booleansearches.

4. evaluating the reliability of the author

orsource.

  1. Reading and analyzing research materials and

arguments by:

1.Identifying major premises.

2.Locating and evaluating supporting evidence.

3.Recognizing claims and/or deductive conclusions.

4.Determining logical validity.

C. Writing a research paper through the process of:

1. Choosing and refining a topic that conforms

to the assigned criteria.

2. Locating and evaluating supportive material.

  1. Properly employing quoted, paraphrased, or

summarized material.

  1. Utilizing the MLA system.

Your Assignment: As part of your senior assessment of English/ Language Arts skills, you will be writing a senior thesis. This essay is a “capstone” project and you are expected to demonstrate your ability to write an effectiveargument AND to provide evidence to support your claim AND to correctly document your sources in MLA Style. Your syllabus will be guide you through the Research Process which breaks this large task up into chunks and mini-due dates. If you keep up with the assigned work and the mini-due dates, you will find this project very manageable.

  • Your paper is an argument which will contain an approved thesis statement supported by research.
  • Your paper is to be 10-12 pages, double-spaced, written in Courier New 12 pt. font.
  • You must include a typed outline and title page
  • You must include a works cited page at the end of your paper in MLA format. You must include use information from at least 10 sources. Your paper will not be graded unless you hand in photocopies or computer printouts of research sources listed on your Works Cited page. You need not photocopy books from the W.G.H.S.library. You are expected to use a variety of sources, including information from data bases, e-library, and books. You are limited to only one encyclopedia entry and one webpage.

Attendance:

As with all courses, attendance is very important. The W.G.H.S. attendance policy mandates a 90% attendance rate for course credit. If it is necessary for you to miss class, you are still expected to follow the guidelines on your syllabus and to meet the mini-due dates. Please notify me as soon as possible if you have an emergency which interferes with your ability to be in class.

Grading:

Your final paper will be evaluated using a rubric which will be provided to you for peer editing. The grade on your final paper is the primary source of your quarter grade, although your punctuality in meeting the mini due-dates, your responsible use of class time and attendance will impact the final grade. Missing class will have a negative impact on your grade!

Plagiarism: (based on the policy of CorningCommunity College Humanities Division)

  • There are ways by which a person can borrow and use other people’s ideas, information, or words, as long as the borrowing is properly acknowledged. However, unacknowledged borrowing – plagiarism – is a serious crime and is dealt with severely.
  • Plagiarism occurs when a person presents other people’s ideas, information, or words as if they were his or her own creation. Plagiarism is a form of theft, as well as cheating.
  • When a person copies a passage from a published source, such as a periodical, an encyclopedia, or book, or downloads a passage from an Internet source, and presents that information without proper documentation in a paper or project, then that person has committed plagiarism. Even if the wording has been slightly changed, a little plagiarism is still plagiarism.
  • If a person submits a paper or project in satisfaction of a course assignment that was authored in part or in whole by someone else, then that person is guilty of plagiarism (and the other person could be equally as guilty.)
  • Any act of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course. Papers that have been plagiarized may not be rewritten for credit during the same academic year.