“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” -Thomas Edison

 

 

“Growth, character, and enjoyment of life come from our mistakes. A child that is not permitted to fall will never learn to walk for walking is succession of falls.”

 

 

“To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. I am not a teacher, only a fellow student.”

 Below you will find essay writing tips, MLA Format information and a variety of rubrics.

 

*Remember: when using books to conduct research, you will never read all of the books... look in the index and table of conetents to cut down your search. 

 

Dr. De Fina's Writing Tips.pdf  

 

PEEL Paragraph Method.pdf  

 

Peer Editing Highlighting Sheet.doc   

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/: APA, MLA, Chicago, and other writing tips
 

 https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/jpeg/MLAPoster09.jpg 

 

 

 - Rutgers Beginner's Guide to Research Activity

 

http://www.fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/research_paper.htm - Research Writing Tips

 

Avoiding Plagiarism.pdf 

Elements of a Proficient Essay Graphic Organizer.doc    

Embedding Quotations Example.pdf  

Essay Writing Tips Handout.doc  

MLA Style of Documenting Sources.pdf  

Sample MLA Format Essay.pdf  

MLA Format, In-Text Citation, and Works Cited Information.doc  

 

 

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   Research Brainstorm Sheet.doc  

Research Brainstorm Sheet

 

 I.            Topic:

 

 

 II.            Clearly state your goal:

 

 III.            Thesis statement

 

 IV.            I already know:

 

 

 V.            I need to know:

 

 VI.            Possible form of Presentation:

 

 VII.            What resources (books, magazines, people, teachers, movies, websites,…) will help me learn about the problem? Where can I find them? BE SPECIFIC

 

 

VIII.            Before I conduct my research what predictions can I make about possible causes, effects, and/or solutions?

 

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P.E.G.S.

 

Throughout the course of the school year you will be asked to examine history from a variety of perspectives. In addition, at some points you will be asked to work on a variety of document based questions and essay topics. Each of these tasks will require you to analyze, think critically and use primary and secondary sources to validate your answer. P.E.G.S. should be used as the basis to analyze the topics of study. These four perspectives will help you focus or guide you through a history course and should be used when writing an essay.

 

 

Political	Economic	Geographic	Social
government structure changes in government rights of citizens conflicts/wars treaties/alliances acquisitions of territory elections participation in government, i.e. voting, protesting, lobbying court decisions	monetary system banking system trade imports/exports industry agriculture standard of living employment taxes inventions material needs	human interaction with physical environment land natural resources barriers time and space travel	family life gender roles laws regarding behavior arts literature traditions and customs religious practices leisure time and recreation education
Your example:	Your example:	Your example:	Your example:

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  Formula for Short Answer Questions.doc    

 

Formula for Short Answer Questions (can be applied to essay questions and topics too):

 

A.C.E.

 

 

Answer: Choose a position, introduce the topic, provide some insight, and discuss your answer. Then lead into your support (in-text citation).

 

 

Cite: Provide the reader with a piece of support that justifies your position. Cite it properly by placing quotations around the statement followed by parentheses with the author’s last name and page number inside followed by a period. Examples, “Statement/support” (last name 100).

 

 

Explain: Never end an answer or paragraph with a piece of support, always make sure to provide an adequate explanation for each piece of support.  Now that you have answered the question and you have provided support, explain the quoted piece and how it relates to your answer.

 

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