I-SEARCH OUTLINE

A Plan for your Paper

ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES

Use color highlighters to identify “ideas” that go together.

It is okay not to highlight something You need at least 3 main subtopics for

your paper

THE SECTIONS FOR YOUR FINAL PROJECT….I. Section 1—Introduction

II. Section 2—Describe the Search Process

III. Section 3—Tell What You Learned

IV. Section 4—Wrap it all up (Conclusion)

THE GOOD NEWS…. Sections 1,2, and 4 are the easiest to

write. They will be informal and conversational, using first person pronouns and reflecting on the process you have gone through.

SECTION 1I. Introduction

a. Attention Grabber

b. Research Question(s)

c. Thesis Statement

SECTION 2II. Describe the Search Process

a. write in first person (I, me, etc.)

b. Share how you conducted your research. Where did you look first? what kinds of twists and turns did your research take? what failures did you have in researching a question? and most importantly WHY did these things happen?

c. REFLECT—use the reflection section of your yellow sheet to remind you about each source.

SECTION 4IV. Conclusion

a. Restate your thesis sentence in different words.

b. Present your questions and highlight your

research.

c. Return to your attention grabber.

d. End it all with a clincher sentence.

THE RAD NEWS…. Section 3 is the most challenging to

write. It is the formal section of your research paper (similar to ROL). In this section, you must avoid first person pronouns and present your findings in a logical and organized fashion.

SECTION 3III. Tell What You Learned

a. build necessary background on your topic

b. subtopic #1

c. subtopic #2

d. subtopic #3

SEE THE ACCOMPANYING HANDOUT WITH TIPS FOR HOW TO WRITE THIS SECTION OF THE PAPER

HOW TO COMPLETE YOUR OUTLINE Go to Mrs. Ridgway’s Web Backpack page Click on “DOCUMENTS” Click on “I-Search Outline” Open and save the document to YOUR “H”

drive Open Microsoft Word and access the document

from your “H” drive Type directly into the document, labeling each

fact you take from your yellow sheets with the source # it came from.

Save before you close!!! ONLY SECTION III OF THE OUTLINE IS DUE FOR

NOW!!!