Final Exam

The final exam for Research Projects will be in the form of an assignment. Students are required to comment on the blog posts of their classmates. Each student should comment on 6 different blog posts. Students should comment on blog posts from other groups, not their own group. Each post should be copied and pasted into a Microsoft Word Document that will be handed in on the day of the final exam.
Students who do not post comments during the week will be required to write the comments in class on Friday during the exam hour. Needless to say, it will be much easier to write quality comments during the week than it will be to write them all under pressure during the exam time. Also, if there are a lot of people sharing the hard copies of the class blogs, there could be problems with time during the exam.

I will not accept comments that are submitted after the exam time is over. No excuses, you should have this done before the exam. If you have problems posting comments, just write them out in Microsoft Word (this should not happen).

Blog comments should be written in coherent English. I am giving you all week to write them, so I expect that you will take care and do your best.

Here is a link that will help you write useful blog comments:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4850490_write-insightful-blog-comments.html


Word Document Format:
Your blog comment document should include the following:
Your name

1st comment:
Blog post title, blog post author.
Your response.

2nd comment:
Blog post title, blog post author.
Your response

3rd comment......

Directions For Posting on Individual Group Blogs

In order to post on the blogs that have been created for your groups, you will need to accept the invitation that you should have received in your email. Once you accept that invitation, you will be authorized as an author on the blog for your group.

Please follow the directions and make a post on your group's blog.

1. Go to your Gmail account.

2. Find the invitation

3. Follow the link

4. Sign in

5. Create a post

6. Paste your outline and publish it to the blog.

Group Pages

Individual pages for each group are up. Here are links to the pages of each group:

Agricultural Hormone Project
http://uvmresearchhormones.blogspot.com/

Bigorexia Project
http://uvmresearchbigorexia.blogspot.com/

Birth Control Project
http://uvmresearchbirthcontrol.blogspot.com/
NOTE: Your page is currently pink. If you dont like it we can change the way it looks. I dont want you to think that I am being sexist with that color.

Obesity Project
http://uvmresearchobesity.blogspot.com/

Bullie Project
http://uvmresearchbullies.blogspot.com/

Church Project
http://uvmresearchchurch.blogspot.com/

Water Project
http://uvmresearchwater.blogspot.com/

Outline Assignment: Due Tuesday March 2

For Tuesday, each student is expected to complete a research project outline.

This outline will include the following:

-A thesis statement(see the link below). Your thesis should address your topic as a whole.

-At least three projected arguments (which should include topic sentences). Projected arguments are referred to as "points" in the outline maker I have linked below.

-Supporting evidence. I want you to reference your research work here. Instead of explaining exactly what supporting evidence you have, simply enter a link to an article or a page number from a book. Do this so that you have an idea about which of your topics will be the most easily supported by outside sources. It will also make sure that you have your research organized before you begin writing.

-Discussion of the feasibility of the topic you have outlined. Is the topic you have outlined workable? Is there plenty of information available? It may turn out that your idea for a research project is more difficult to execute than you originally expected. If that is the case, you may conclude that it would be better to choose a different topic from within your group. Whatever the case may be, I would like you to explain to me what you currently think of the topic. Be realistic. If the topic is a dead end, that is ok.

It is ok for group members to share information on these outlines. It is NOT ok for group members to hand in identical outlines with identical theses and topic sentences. Also, I expect that each group will hand in outlines of multiple topics. That means that you cant all outline the same topic within your group. I want you to have options. If you have multiple topics outlined, you will be able to compare the outlines to and conclude which topic is best.

Be sure to bring your outline on Monday. I will not accept any late outlines from absent students without a written excuse from a doctor.

Thesis Statement

Here is a page that might help you create a thesis statement for your project:

http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/13_Thesis_Statement.asp

Outline

Here is a link for a tool that you can use to help you outline your research topics:

http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/NewOutlineMaker/NewOutlineMakerInput.aspx

Make Gmail Accounts

In order to participate in this blog, you will need to create Gmail accounts. Go to www.gmail.com

Individual blogs will be created for each group. These blogs can be used to help you organize your projects.

The main class blog that you are viewing now will be used to post directions and questions from students.