The iSearch Paper

Background

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, is the story of a man - Victor Frankenstein - on a quest for knowledge. Ultimately, he seeks too much in his quest and suffers terrible consequences. As part of our unit, we will be undertaking our own quest for information by researching and writing an iSearch paper. The essay you will research and ultimately write is the story of your hunt for information. You will select a topic, identify what it is you already know and then develop questions to help you complete the necessary research for the essay. Be warned that an iSearch paper is different from other research papers you may be familiar with because it involves telling a compelling story about the process of your research. Your content must be good, but so must the way you tell the story of your research. And yes, you can use "I."

Your task

Write an iSearch paper explaining your inquiry into a social, environmental, local, controversial topic of your choice. The topic should be current and interesting for others to hear about. Completing this essay will involve researching and interviewing an expert on the topic. Unlike traditional research papers, this essay will contain personal information and include a discussion of how you went about the process of asking questions and researching. Another requirement of the paper is to interview someone who has important knowledge of your topic.

Grading

Since this project focused on the process more than the product, you will be assessed (and graded) at several stages along the way. This includes meeting deadlines and completing the different stages of research and preparation. You should become familiar with the process outlined below and the calendar of due dates.

Step by Step 

• Find a topic: The first step is to select a topic that you want to explore. Ideally, it should be a relevant, contemporary issue that lends itself to research and examination. If you have trouble figuring out a topic on your own, you can have a topic assigned to you.
• Create a wiki page: You will use this wiki (and the page you create) to record your information and sources. Use the iSearch paper resource template to set up your page.
• What you already know: Once you have a topic, write up what you already know about the topic and questions you have.
• Questions: Generate a list of at least 10 questions that you want answered as part of your research.
• Research: Use at least six (6) different reliable sources. At least two need to come by using the school's Academic OneFile database of periodicals, news, and resources. It's free if used at public libraries or the school or if you have a Connecticut library card. To access the database click here on the BHS library page here: https://sites.google.com/a/branfordschools.org/bhslibrary/homepage/6th-grade-resources. It is the top resource on the page.
• The interview: Conduct a direct interview (that means face to face or over the phone, not e-mail or chat) with an expert in your topic. You will identify and find an expert during the course of your research.
• Writing it: Follow the guidelines for the iSearch that you've been provided - this includes the introduction, body of essay, reflections, and interview transcript.

Paper Requirements

Download the essay assignment in full here in Microsoft Word format: The iSearch Paper.doc

Resources and notes

Mr. Miller completed an iSearch paper along with the students. To see his resource page, click this link.

Mrs. Doonan completed an iSearch paper along with the students. To see her resource page, click this link.

Here is a copy of a sample works cited page: Works Cited page for iSearch.doc

Citing Your Sources Paragraph Assignment

Some interesting links

Here is an article from The New York Times from Sunday, April 26 about a father's experiences with his son's baseball injury. In many ways, the article follows an abbreviated format of an iSearch paper with a personal narrative leading into the topic and a discussion of several sources encountered. It's also an interesting article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/sports/baseball/26score.html

Below are some links to news articles to use in class discussion:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/728666.html

Article writes about how it's not "playing God" to try and advance scientific research.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272438,00.html

The controversy about using genetically altered livestock to research scientific advances.

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?as_q=frankenstein&num=50&hl=en&btnG=Search+Archives&as_epq=&as_oq=science+caution+concern&as_eq=igor+brooks&ned=us&as_user_ldate=2007&as_user_hdate=2008&lr=lang_en&as_src=&as_price=p0&as_scoring=

Google search on Frankenstein articles involving science; articles in which the term Frankenstein is mentioned.