To help you start your own author study, we will walk through one on Edgar Allan Poe together. First, let's become acquainted with the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Print "The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe" packet and follow the directions to travel to several stops on our quest for information about the man, the writer, the mystery.
Next, watch this Edgar Allan Poe Documentary to answer the questions in your packet about Poe's life.
Now, visit this site to discover even more about Poe's life, writing, beliefs, and death.
Now, visit this site to discover even more about Poe's life, writing, beliefs, and death.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Raven
Here are a few renditions of "The Raven" being read aloud. The more you read it, the more you will gain from it.
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The Masque of the Red Death
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Annabelle Lee
Bells, Bells, Bells
Other works by Poe
The Pit and the Pendulum
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The Cask of Amontillado
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Model Author Study
After reading the stories above (and completing my "Book Snapshots") and looking into some information about my author, I begin my author biography. I follow the steps for research in the following GAMS Research Guide.
INTRO Our first lesson is to learn a little bit about searching for and retrieving our own information for our research papers. Therefore, before beginning our paper, let's go over a few basics on searching the Internet for reliable sources. Then you can begin to work out your research paper.
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Here are the links to the year-round schooling sites we will evaluate:
- Wikipedia entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year-round_school_in_the_United_States
- PBS Video - http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily_videos/year-round-program-commits-kids-to-education/
- About.com - http://712educators.about.com/cs/reformtime/a/yearrounded.htm
- National Association of Year-Round Education - http://www.nayre.org/
- Stop Year-Round School - http://www.summermatters.com/research%20paper.htm
- NY Times article - http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/18/nyregion/how-schedule-has-worked-elsewhere.html
- Family Education 1 - http://school.familyeducation.com/experimental-education/educational-research/41266.html
- Family Education 2 - http://school.familyeducation.com/school/alternative-education/38452.html
- Scholastic - http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/choosing-schools-programs/pros-and-cons-year-round-school
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#1 I retrieve the sources I'd found about my author. I copied down the information on each source and then take notes. Here are some Note-Taking sheets that you can print off and some sample notes using direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.
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#2 After taking notes on all my sources, I decide what my information is teaching me about my author, and I write my thesis statement. Here's how I wrote mine, plus a space for you to write yours.
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#3 After writing my thesis statement, I usually need to go back into all of my sources to retrieve more information on the exact topics I plan to discuss in my paper. Just make sure that you write all of the information on the correct note-taking sheet so that you can give credit to the authors and avoid plagiarism.
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#4 After I feel like I have acquired enough information to write a quality paper, I write my outline. I begin first with a simple topic outline to get my ideas in a rational order.
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#5 Because I like to be sure that I have strong arguments, I take my topic outline to the next step and begin to fill in the topic sentences and clinchers. Since I'm writing about a prolific author, a master of words, I've chosen to use some of his words to prove my thesis point about him.
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In this detailed outline, I also add my attention-getter and final thoughts. Here are some ideas for writing these two parts of your paper:
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#6 Finally, it is time to draft your paper. I begin writing from my outline, one paragraph at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself. Just work on one paragraph each day. You already have the introduction and conclusion complete. You'll be done in three or four more days.
Remember: When you use information from your notes, you must properly document it within your paper. You must state the author and/or source from which you have taken the information.
For example:
According to Collier’s Encyclopedia, “Undeterred by the large rewards offered for her capture, she appeared to have something of a sixth sense in finding food and shelter during these hazardous missions and never lost any of her charges.”
As you insert information from your notes into each paragraph, simply state who gave you the information.
Remember: When you use information from your notes, you must properly document it within your paper. You must state the author and/or source from which you have taken the information.
For example:
According to Collier’s Encyclopedia, “Undeterred by the large rewards offered for her capture, she appeared to have something of a sixth sense in finding food and shelter during these hazardous missions and never lost any of her charges.”
As you insert information from your notes into each paragraph, simply state who gave you the information.
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#7 Next, I take a little time to reread and revise my paper. I usually have two or three other people read it too, just to gain some outside advice for improvement.
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#8 I type my paper in MLA format. Just follow the simple instructions below.
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#9 To add my Works Cited page is so much easier than when I was in school. Now there is a beautiful online site called Son of Citation Machine. I have included the link below. It allows you to input your information, and then it creates the perfect citation for you. You just have to remember to type it in MLA format, but the hard part is done for you.
USING CITATION MACHINE
An easy way to create your Works Cited page in the correct format is to go to an online resource, such as Citation Machine at http://citationmachine.net.
· Click on the button labeled MLA format.
· Decide which type of print or non-print source you are using.
· Then input all of the information that it asks of you from your source. (You will need to have your source—or your note-taking sheet with all of the source information--in your hand at this time).
· When the program generates your citation, simply copy and paste it into your word document for your Works Cited page, double space it, and indent properly.
USING CITATION MACHINE
An easy way to create your Works Cited page in the correct format is to go to an online resource, such as Citation Machine at http://citationmachine.net.
· Click on the button labeled MLA format.
· Decide which type of print or non-print source you are using.
· Then input all of the information that it asks of you from your source. (You will need to have your source—or your note-taking sheet with all of the source information--in your hand at this time).
· When the program generates your citation, simply copy and paste it into your word document for your Works Cited page, double space it, and indent properly.
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#10 Now, I edit and polish my final copy and make sure that I turn it in before the due date. That way, if my teacher sees any flagrant errors, I can make the corrections before the due date and earn the highest grade possible. Check to make sure that you have met all of the highest level criteria on the rubric above. Then relax! Hurray! Well-played!
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Author Biography Guide |
Click the button above for your very own personal Author Study Biography Guide. This will walk you through each of the steps we just discussed. It even includes my sample outline. Enjoy!
All About My Author Sheet |
Click the button above for the special form into which you can type information about your author. This form can then be printed and displayed on your Author Study Display. (Some students will be given this assignment as an alternate to the research paper above.)