Addison Trail Student Information Center - The Library

College Reading & Vocabulary - Mr. Kowalski

Introduction:  Interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, and communicating information is key to academic success. 
You will have an opportunity to expand and strengthen your skills in these areas with the following assignment.  

Essential Understanding:
Interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, and communicating information is key to academic success and to life-long learning.

How to:

1. To identify and explore a topic of interest
2. To reflect on the process and choices one makes during the research process
3. To learn to identify and evaluate sources appropriate for college-prep research
4. To deepen and expand personal knowledge of the research process
5. To effectively communicate new knowledge

Process:           

1. Choose Your Topic.
• Choose a topic that interests you.
• Choose a topic you have questions about.
• Choose a topic you know about.
• Choose a topic you want to learn more about.
• Choose a topic that is discussed or written about in professional sources and a college atmosphere.
2. Frame Your Topic before Researching (record in Pre-Research Essay)
   • Explain why your topic is interesting you.
   • Summarize what you currently know and believe about your topic.
   • Explain the process by which you came to these beliefs and understandings of your topic.
3. Develop and Execute Plans for Expanding your Topic Frame through Research (record in Research Process Journal)
   • Develop some essential research questions that you want to find the answer to through research.
   • Narrow the focus of your topic to your final essential research question(s).
   • Work to develop a preliminary thesis statement that reflects your expanded frame of your topic, which includes your opinion about your topic or your answer to your research question(s).
   • Gather, develop keywords to search, review your search strategies, and evaluate the sources that support your thesis and expand the frame of your topic.  Give credit to your sources with your citations.
4. Organize and Present the Final Expanded Frame (record in Post-Research Essay and Annotated Bibliography)
• Present via PowerPoint or with other visual aides, OR
• Publish via formal written research paper