RESEARCHING and WRITING: Our Expository Essays are Finally Here!

RESEARCHING and WRITING: Our Expository Essays are Finally Here!

HARD WORK PAYS OFF! 

 

We’ve all heard this before and we now have PROOF!  The work began in February, and finally most students are done!

Here’s a quick timeline of what we worked on throughout this process:

Research Research Project Bukowski & McKnight. How will research help you? Buying a phone Buying new sneakers Buying a car Going on vacation Health information. - ppt download

February – Students selected their own topics to make the research and writing process an interesting and personally meaningful experience.  We learned how to narrow a too-broad topic, and identify something that could be manageable for an essay of between 1-5 pages.

 

 

Late February – We began the research process by learning how to find information using our databases on the Virtual Learning Commons.  Students learned how to do searches using key words and phrases. We used the VLC exclusively in order to ensure that the information we gathered would be of good quality.  Although it is important for students to learn how to navigate search engines like GOOGLE or BING and distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, the length of time we had for this project required a level of certainty from the start.

Research Design: Definition, Types & Characteristics | Leverage Edu

March – During the first few weeks of March, we researched our topics.  We gathered articles online, read a lot about our self-selected topics, learned how to take notes in our own words, kept a record of our sources, and filled our Reading Notebooks with interesting information to be used later in our writing.  Putting research into our own words helped us to avoid plagiarism and ensured that we truly understood what we were reading.

Late March and Early April – Students took their notes to the classrooms where they wrote their essays by hand in their writing notebooks.  First we reviewed our notes, made outlines for our essays, and colour coded our notes in accordance with our outlines.  In other words, students decided what each paragraph would focus on and which notes would go in each paragraph.Tips for How to Start Writing in a Journal for Beginners

We spent many days learning what makes for a good introduction, how to write clear topic sentences, how to write transition sentences at the end or beginning of each paragraph, and how to finish our essays with strong conclusions.  Students also learned how to cite their sources by using a Works Cited page at the end of their essays. This informs the reader of where the student-writer found the information in the essay.  Students also learned how to properly use an in-text citation for a quote they wanted to use from one of their research sources.

April – Students had opportunities to read their work aloud to a peer who was ready to offer revision advice.  We revised and edited and then spent the last couple of weeks typing our final drafts!  And, we’re DONE!

Please take a moment to read an essay or two!

We are so proud of all of our hard work!

 

 

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