Research Papers- Graded and in Skyward

Parents and students-

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday break. I am posting to let you know that all research papers have been graded with the scores put into Skyward (so that you can view them through the parent portal). 

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me. Students will get their entire research folder in class on Monday, January 5th. This will include my scoring rubric with comments about the paper. 

Overall, I was impressed by the quality of both the research and the writing. For the most part, students did a great job this year and they should be proud of the work that they put into their papers. 

Research Paper Grades

Seniors-

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to parents and students that think that their research paper is "missing". Since I am grading papers and adding the grades to Skyward as I go, if the paper has yet to be graded it has been marked as missing. If a paper is truly not turned in, the grade will be a "0" on Skyward. These apologies go out especially to Nick Leghart, who was unable to see a horrible movie at a very late hour because his parents thought that his research paper was never turned in.

I have posted some of the grades for the research papers. I know that this has been a long time coming, but reading over 100 six-page research papers is taking longer than I anticipated. My goal is to have all of the papers back to you by 12/23.

If you have questions about your grade, please speak with me during activity period or after class. I have no problem sitting down with you to explain why you received the score that you did. If in Skyward it says "Redo- Did not meet requirements" you need to see me ASAP in order to find out why you are being asked to complete the assignment again.

Mr. Cullen

Because Nick Rehak Complained...

Students,

It seems that the students that do check the blog regularly are upset that I have neglected my "updating duties". For that, I apologize. While there is no valid excuse, it has been a struggle to grade all of the rough drafts of the research papers. So, here is the update that you were looking for, Nick Rehak:


Star Wars Paper
Your Star Wars paper will be due on Monday November 10th. Please remember that this paper is analytical in nature and should demonstrate your understanding of how to apply critical lens theory. I expect that these papers are revised & edited final drafts, not simply done the night before. You have classtime to work on this assignment, so you might as well use it.



Final Research Paper
The final research paper is due to me on Monday, November 17th. At this time, you will also be turning in your notes, Works Cited Page and the rough draft that I evaluated. If you turn all of these things in early and/or take one of your drafts to the writing lab (ask me for a pass) you will receive bonus points.



Reading Circle Books: Take II
1/2 of your reading circle book will be due on Tuesday November 25th. Starting Monday November 10th, you can take your reading circle quiz in my classroom during Activity Period. Please do not ask to take the quiz during class. On Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, I will meet with the groups individually to discuss their novel.



How cool is this? I found a website that will put a small amount of text into the "Star Wars" font.
Now I know why I love the internet so much.

The Senior Research Paper has Arrived!

Seniors,
I hope everything is going well with your research paper. I am creating this post as a way for you to have a central resource for all of the information regarding the research paper. I will continue to update this post as the research process continues, so please check back.

The Best Draft You Can Write on Your Own (BDYCWOYO) is due October 27th. The paper must follow all formatting guidelines set forth by the MLA and meet all of my minimum requirements for the paper. This includes the following: At least 6 pages in length, size 12 Times New Roman font, & in-text citations. Notes and Works Cited page are not mandatory, but you may turn them in if you choose. 

If you have questions about the paper (at any point) please post them here.

MLA Formatting Handout (from the College of the Redwoods)

Topic Selection Handout (here is the link to the issues at CNN.com)

Citation Machine

Thesis Selection Worksheet

Thesis Creator (not perfect, but it will help!)

Hempfield Area High School Library

OWL @ Purdue: Avoiding Plagiarism

Mr. Cullen's Outline Handout