University of Missouri–St. Louis



“Bloom where you’re planted.”

-Old lady I met when I was ten selling Girl Scouts cookies

“Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it.”

-William Haley

[pic]

Biography:

I was born in Oklahoma City and lived there with an older and younger brother until I was eight, when we moved to Dalhart, Texas. Dalhart is a town of 7,000 in North Texas, and I lived there for over seven years with my mom, a physical therapist, and my stepdad, a now recently retired Episcopal priest. My freshman year of high school, we moved south to Canyon Lake, Texas, right between San Antonio and Austin. This was a huge improvement to Dalhart, but I still longed for more. I took as many AP and honors classes as my high school offered. In my English class my junior year of high school, we read a non-fiction story about a woman collecting folk stories for anthropology. Until that time, I had thought that anthropology was the study of bugs. I was fascinated by the thought that a person could collect folk stories for a living, and I went on to study anthropology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California (near Los Angeles) in the Fall of 2005. I took a media studies class on a whim, and I made my first short documentary in February 2006 about our church’s mission in Honduras. A year later, I was studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador, and made a film about the questionable rights of tourism, which premiered that summer in a small Portland film festival. The next semester, I studied abroad at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. The summer before my senior year of college, I volunteered teaching abroad in the village of Hoe in Eastern Ghana. During this trip, I had the opportunity to visit most countries of coastal West Africa. The journey changed how I thought about education, and it inspired me to apply for teaching jobs during my senior year. This led me to join Teach For America, and now I teach abroad everyday at Roosevelt High School in inner-city St. Louis. I have the privilege of being my students’ junior year English teacher, who was my favorite teacher in my high school.

ISearch Binder Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………… 2

Sample Paper ………………………………………………………………………………………….3-7

Final paper rubric……………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Student Calendar w/ action steps ………………………………………………………………..9

Brainstorm Paper ……………………………………………………………………………………..10

KW Chart …………………………………………………………………………………………………11

Topic/Question/Thesis …………………………………………………………………………….12

How to document a source …………………………………………………………………..13-14

Identify Your Purpose, Audience, and Tone ……………………………………………….15

Search Journal ………………………………………………………………………………………….16

Credibility and Reliability Worksheet ………………………………………………….17-18

April 26/29- DUE DATE ONE …………………………………………………………………….19

How to do interview …………………………………………………………………………………20

How to organize isearch paper ……………………………………………………………21-25

May 3/4- DUE DATE TWO ………………………………………………………………………...26

May 5/6- DUE DATE THREE …………………………………………………………………….27

Analyze Credibility and Reliability of Sources…………………...………………………..28

Imbedding quotes……………………………………………………………………………………..29

May 12/13- DUE DATE FOUR ……………………………………………………………………30

May 17/18- FINAL DUE DATE…………………………………………………………………. 31

Essay ranking sheet……………………………………………………………………………. 31-32

Writing an I-Search

WHAT’S AHEAD?

During this paper, you will write an I-Search paper. You will also learn how to form an isearch question, write in a search journal, evaluate Web sources, and cite information from sources and quotes. In this paper you will question a social issue that affects our community in St. Louis. You will form one question you have to answer in your paper.

Why Write? The purpose of your I-Search paper is to demonstrate to your readers that your search has had or will have an impact on your life.

Who Will Read It? Your audience consists of your classmates, your teacher, and possibly, the rest of Roosevelt High School and the public. Each class will vote on and rank the best papers. The students with the top 10 ranking papers from Ms. Wells’ and Ms. Pierce’s classes will present their isearch at a presentation open to the public at the Carpenter Branch Library.

What Will It Look Like?

Each student will write a 4-8 page Isearch paper with a minimum of researched 6 sources, 3 of which must be cited in the paper. The Isearch paper will be organized in three main sections. The first and last sections are both reflections and will be written in the first-person. The middle section is pure isearch and will be written more formally. The first section will introduce the question they seek to answer and explain what they know and do not know about it. The middle section will describe the isearch they conducted and what they learned about their topic. The last section will reflect on the isearch process, their triumphs, challenges, and new questions.

Prewriting

Even though an I-Search paper is usually less formal and more personal than a traditional isearch paper, its purpose is the same—to find information. The difference is that the topic for an I-Search comes from a personal need to know something—that is what the “I” in ISearch represents. It is very important, then, for you to choose a topic that you truly want to investigate.

Possible Topics: St. Louis Public Schools, AIDS, STDs, job opportunities, unemployment, college funding, gang violence, urban violence, juvenile delinquents, teen pregnancy, unhealthy food, obesity, welfare, drugs, gun violence, disparity between private and public schools, racism, sexism, homophobia, police brutality, pollution and/or toxic waste, peer pressure, “gangbanging,”project housing

The best way to achieve a tight focus is to form an isearch question—a question that asks exactly what you want to find out from your isearch. Keep in mind that you should not be able to answer your isearch question with a single word. Ideally, it should be a question that gives rise to several more detailed questions (a thick question).

SAMPLE PAPER

Caitlin Pierce

Ms. Wells

American Literature

May 17, 2010

“We’re sick people, trying to get well”:

The experiences of youth in Alcoholics Anonymous

He was drunk again. Tripping on the stairs, stumbling down the hall, running into the door. Is this behavior normal for other boys his age? How do we know when it’s gone too far? Is he just being a kid, or is this a serious problem? These are questions my family faced when my older brother entered a substance abuse recovery program at the age of nineteen. I was only fifteen at the time, and it was a very difficult experience to have. I felt completely out of control. I soon found that I should have really started to feel in control, because my brother was finally taking control of his life and able to live it as he really wanted to for the first time since he became involved in his alcohol addiction. My brother went through a nine month recovery program with Alcoholics Anonymous, and he will be celebrating his ninth year of sobriety this summer.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. My freshman year of college, only two years after my older brother began his treatment, my family decided that my little brother (who was then fifteen years old) was making poor choices and would also need to enter a substance abuse treatment center. Years later, my little brother is still struggling to take control of his sobriety.

Because I do not identify as an alcoholic and did not directly experience any substance abuse recovery, a strong question in my mind and the one that will guide my isearch is what is it like to be a youth in Alcoholics Anonymous? Alcoholics Anonymous is a group of people who identify as alcoholics but desire to stop drinking and support each other during the process. For both my brothers, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been a significant player in their journey to sobriety. I chose this question to gain insight into the world of AA as well as increase understanding about this group among youth who do not identify as alcoholics.

To answer this question, I looked for a number of online sources to learn more about Alcoholics Anonymous. I found books and articles about the causes of alcoholism and different ideas on why certain kinds of recovery methods work for some people and not for others. In addition, the most important part of my isearch was attending an Alcoholics Anonymous youth meeting, where I was able to get an interview with some of the young people who attended. I found that the experiences of youth in Alcoholics Anonymous were most strongly affected by the relationship with their families, spirituality, and the extent of their identification with the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The Family’s Multi-Faceted Role

Family is a theme that could be considered more important and relevant for youth in recovery rather than adults. Most members of the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that I studied seemed to have had the first drink before they were ten years old. Substance abuse developed in the early teens, and this would progress until they recovered, which was usually anywhere from late teens to early twenties. Even after this point, however, staying sober is a daily, step-by-step process, so family is important even after recovery.

I became interested in the duality of the family role. It was interesting to me that youth seemed to talk about family as being a big reason why they started abusing, whether through genetics or environment, but the family was also a huge source of support during the individuals’ later recovery as well. The family might not only be active support but also a reason for a person to get sober.

Taking a different perspective, Marshall’s book Parents Need to Know: Teenage Addicts Can Recover, she writes, “Insinuating that a family has an underlying systemic problem gives the impression that alcoholism is not actually a disease and that if the family problem is treated, the alcoholism/addiction will go away” (1992). She says that blaming the family for passing on the disease of alcoholism, whether biologically or environmentally, only gives the adolescent an excuse. Regardless, however, whether or not the teenager has an “excuse” for his alcoholism, the bottom line is, the problem still exists, and it is something the teen will have to deal with. Considering these things, the family’s significance, whether the cause of alcoholism or recovery, cannot be denied.

Spirituality and Higher Power

In an article entitled “Is Spirituality Important to Young People in Recovery?”, Dadich found that spirituality was very beneficial for youth when it was a part of self-help support groups (SHSG). Spirituality in these groups is recognized as being “multifaceted” and useful not only in a religious, external level but also with self-exploration, forgiveness, and self-acceptance (Dadich, 2007).

Spirituality and the connection with a higher power are also paths to recovery that should not be underestimated. In Dadich’s article, she writes,

Nevertheless, the findings offer pertinent insights to those who work with young people. They suggest that SHSGs... may help attend to the spiritual needs of young people with mental health and substance use issues, and thus contribute to long-term recovery. This constitutes an important find given that conventional approaches to youth mental healthcare do not always attend to spiritual needs... (2007)

Although spirituality is something that many young AA members said that they struggled with initially, my isearch suggests that an experience of spirituality or a higher power is worth the wait and is conducive to long-term recovery. Further isearch specifically comparing young people in recovery who reject and accept spirituality could be interesting.

The importance of spirituality could be explained because youth in AA believe that alcoholism is a deadly disease and, by recovering, they have escaped death. Their using was a near-death experience. Even if they did not feel that they missed being killed or dying before they came to AA, they see that people die from alcoholism and they feel that this is the end that would await them if they could not stay sober.

The Role of Alcoholics Anonymous

Now that we know what these young people are up against, how could we ever believe that change is possible? Young, Sober, and Free states, “Recovery can be viewed as a triangle of physical abstinence and mental freedom (ability to choose) built upon a solid spiritual foundation of service to others.” In an interview with Rick Sullivan, he said when he first came to AA he “found people with a solution. They were living life and they didn’t have to drink” (2007). AA is a source of support, community, and guidance for young alcoholics. “[Jonathon] said that AA was ‘not a cult, not a self help group,’ but a ‘way of life” (2007). When youth began the process to sobriety, they are asked to change their friends, their way of thinking, and their habits. AA provides support for this to happen.

Reflections

This project is incredibly special and personal to me, and I am so thankful for AA and the role it has played in my life. Even with my personal experience with alcoholism, I still had wrong preconceptions coming into AA meetings about whom I would find there. I expected the focus to be centered on cravings. I thought members would be strung out and preoccupied. Instead, I found that members were people like anyone else, but they were dealing with something huge and complex that I would come to understand throughout this process.

In AA, I found a group of fulfilled individuals who are closely in touch with themselves and the people around them. I found people who live lives full of meaning and purpose. I found people who know that they aren’t perfect but are doing their best to do what they can to live positively. I found people who have a long road to go down but are willing to do the work and keep moving forward.

I found myself quoting things I had heard from AA and trying to enact principles within my own life. I found myself thankful for my own sobriety, which I feel many non-alcoholics take for granted. I went home for Easter in the middle of my study, and I felt like I understood my brothers better. As they would say in AA- what a gift, what a blessing, and what a miracle. This study has been a huge part of my life, and I am sincerely grateful to all of the young AA members who taught me about their disease, and, more importantly, their sobriety.

Turn in your Isearch Paper!

• All papers must be typed double-spaced in Times New Roman, 12 point font. No exceptions!

• The following items must attached (stapled or paper-clipped) to your final paper for maximum points: interview questions and response, complete search journal, analyze reliability and credibility worksheet, rough drafts of each section,

Isearch Paper Rubric

_____ Interview Questions and Response. If you did not receive a response, write down the name and contact information of the person(s) you emailed or called. (10 points)

_____ 6 Search Journal Entries (12 points)

_____ Analyze Reliability and Credibility Graphic Organizer with 6 sources (indicate which 4 you will use in your paper) (12 points)

_____ Rough Draft of each section (23 points total)

“Story of the Search” (introduction) (5 points)

Thesis Statement (5 points)

4 main body paragraphs (one source used in each paragraph) (8 points)

Reflection of Isearch/Conclusion (5 points)

_____ Quality of Final Paper (79 points)

Correct Length: 4-8 pages typed (10 points) (1 page=2 points, 2 pages=3 points,3 pages=5 points)

Correct font, size, and spacing: (Times New Roman, 12 font, double spaced) (9 points)

Organization (10 points)

Word Choice (10 points)

Sentence Fluency (10 points)

Voice (10 points)

Conventions (10 points)

Ideas and Content (10 points)

______ TOTAL out of 136 points

____________Percent/Grade

Brainstorm Isearch Topic:

To get started, ask yourself the following questions. One writer’s responses are shown as an example.

—What is my topic? My topic is asthma.

—Why am I interested in this topic? I have asthma, but I want to live an active, full life.

—What do I hope to learn from my isearch? Basically, I want to learn whether I can keep my asthma from interfering with my life. If I can, I need to know how.

—Isearch Question: Can I manage my asthma so that I can be a productive member of my community?

List three topics you are interested in isearching and explain why you are personally interested in them.

1.________________(topic) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(why interested)

2.________________(topic) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(why interested)

3. ________________(topic) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(why interested)

Choose two of your three possible topics (cut one topic), and explain what you hope to learn from isearching it.

1.________________(topic) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(what you hope to learn)

2.________________(topic) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(what you hope to learn)

Choose one of your two remaining topics and form a isearch question (this will be the question you answer in your paper)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Copy this into your notebook. You do not have to rewrite the questions, just number them:

Isearch Plan

|K |W |

|What I already Know about this topic |What I Want to Know about this topic |

| | |

1. Now, look back through your “K” column above. You already have some knowledge about this topic. Where did it come from? How did you gain all of this knowledge?

2. Finally, look at your “W” column. You will want to learn the answers to all of these questions as you complete your isearch. Where do you think you will look for the answers to these questions?

Source Citations

|Source Citation |Definition: |

| | |

|MLA |Definition: |

| | |

| |Why it is Important: |

| | |

| | |

An effective source citation needs to give the reader all of the information he or she would need to find the book, article, or website where you found the information. Here are a few example citations for your reference:

Citation for a Book:

Format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher, Publication year.

Example: McNulty, Anna. A+: How Teaching Made Me Rich and Famous. St. Louis: McMiller Publishing, 2007.

Citation for a Magazine Article:

Format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of Article.” Magazine name Date of publication: page numbers.

Example: Miller, Rudolph. “Jazz isn’t Just for Dirty Hippies.” Newsweek May 3, 1975: 4-18.

Citation for a Website:

Format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of page.” Name of website. Online. Date accessed. Web address.

Example: Claus, Santa. “List of Good Boys and Girls.” Santa’s Electronic Workshop. Online. November 22, 2003. .

Guided Practice

Instructions: The parts of the following source citations are mixed up, out of order, and have been put together incorrectly. Rewrite them correctly.

Book: Haunted. Doubleday Publishers. 2006. Chuck Palahniuk. New York.

Magazine: 26-29. “How to Go to College – Free!” October 6, 2002. Hannah Arendt. US News and World Report.

Website: . April 29, 2006. Author Unknown. “Calico Cats.” Online.

Independent Practice

Instructions: Below, a messy student who wasn’t very well organized took down information from a bunch of sources she wants to use in her paper. Your mission is to make sense of the information and to put together a properly formatted MLA source citation for each of these sources.

1.

Source Citation:

2.

Source Citation:

3.

Source Citation:

Identify Your Purpose, Audience, and Tone

Why Write? The purpose of your I-Search paper is to demonstrate to your readers that your search has had or will have an impact on your life.

Who Will Read It? Your audience consists of your classmates, your teacher, and possibly, the rest of Roosevelt High School and the public. Each class will vote on and rank the best papers. The students with the top 10 ranking papers from Ms. Wells’ and Ms. Pierce’s classes will present their isearch at a presentation open to the public at the Carpenter Branch Library on May 27th from 5:00-8:00pm. Ms. Pierce and Ms. Wells will invite public media like the newspaper, teachers from other SLPS schools, and Roosevelt High School.

Because you want your readers to understand and appreciate your experience, you should ask yourself these questions:

1. Will I need to provide my readers with more information than I knew when I started my search?

2. How can I make my dead-end searches interesting for my readers?

3. How can I be sure that I give my readers complete answers to all aspects of my isearch question?

4. How can I let my readers know how exciting my search was without sounding insincere?

What Tone of Voice? For an I-Search paper, you adopt a more informal tone than you would in some other types of isearch papers. However, you should not be so informal that you use slang and nonstandard English.

Start a Search Journal

Keeping the Record Straight It is important to keep a daily record of your isearch process so that you will have this information when you write the story of your search. To record your daily progress, start a search

journal in a notebook. On the first page, list the following items:

_ your isearch question

_ things you already know about your isearch topic and things you want to learn

_ Write in your search journal every day, starting today. Include the day’s date, a brief listing of that day’s isearch results and findings (include both successes and setbacks), and a short daily reflection on your progress, and quotes from your sources.

Search Journal Example

*This is an example citing the book Holes by Louis Sachar.

Source Information: you will not fill in every blank. Some sources have different information.

(title of book or website)_Holes_______________

Authors’ first and last names _Louis Sachar______________________________________________

(place of publication)___London______ (year of publication)_2007__

(name of publishing company)___Bloomsbury __________________________

If magazine or newspaper: (date of publication)__________ (issue/volume/edition)______

If website: (website address) _____________________ (date assessed) ______ title of page _____________

Isearch Results and Findings Thoughts on My Progress

__Yellow-spotted lizards are usually poisonous, but

If you consume a lot of onion juice they will not bite

you.

Possible Quotes to Use: (page number)_91____

“He’s not going to die,” the Warden said, “Unfortunately for you.”

How to Set-Up Search Journal

Search Journal Entry #_____ Date: _______

Source Information: you will not fill in every blank. Some sources have different information.

(title of book or website)_______________________________

Authors’ first and last names _________________________________________________________

(place of publication)______________ (year of publication)_______

(name of publishing company)__________________________________

If magazine or newspaper: (date of publication)__________ (issue/volume/edition)______

If website: (website address) _____________________ (date assessed) ______ title of page

Isearch Results and Findings Thoughts on My Progress

______________________________________________ ________________________________

______________________________________________ ________________________________

______________________________________________ ________________________________

Possible Quotes to Use: (page number)_____

_____________________________________________________________________

Reliability of Sources

|Reliability |Definition: |

| | |

Practice

Instructions: Your job is to determine whether the following sources are reliable. Remember: reliability is all about whether you can believe the evidence and the claims the source is making. Does the information they’re presenting to you make sense?

Example: The guy down on the street corner tells you that aliens are everywhere.

Is this claim reliable? Explain your answer. ___________________________________

1. Your doctor tells you that eating fatty junk food like Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes can cause heart disease and other health problems when you are an adult.

Is this claim reliable? Explain your answer. _________________________________________

2. Your mother tells you that there are 55 states in the United States.

Is this claim reliable? Explain your answer. _________________________________________

3. James tells you a touchdown is worth 6 points in football.

Is this claim reliable? Explain your answer. _________________________________________

4. Mr. Loc tells you that there are 210 degrees in every triangle.

Is this claim reliable? Explain your answer. _________________________________________

Instructions: Now, we’re going to make things a little more difficult. This is your chance to show that you understand what reliability is and how it works. Make up one claim that is reliable and one claim that is not reliable in the space below.

Reliable: _______________________________________________________________________

Not Reliable: ____________________________________________________________________

Credibility of Sources

|Credibility |Definition: |

| | |

Practice

Credibility is all about the person giving you the information. Do they know what they’re talking about? Can you trust them? Would it benefit or hurt them for you to think one thing or the other? Now, your job is to determine whether the information you’re reading is coming from someone you could believe to give you true information about the subject.

Example: A doctor is giving you advice about healthy foods. Is she credible? Explain your answer.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

1. A bus driver is giving you advice on the busses you can take to get from from Sumner to the Galleria in 10 minutes. Is he credible? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The guy selling you a new cell phone is trying to get you to buy the fanciest one they sell. He says it is a better value than the others. Is he credible? Explain your answer.

3. A lawyer tells you that you’ve been unfairly fired and that, if you filed a lawsuit, you could get your old job back. Is he credible? Explain your answer.

4. The used car saleswoman tells you that the Escalade you’re looking at is totally safe and is a great value. It certainly hasn’t been in any car crashes and you’d better buy it fast because someone else was looking at it pretty hard about an hour ago. Is she credible? Explain your answer.

Interviewing

Choosing your subject: Think about your isearch question. Who would be the best person to answer the question? Would it be a professional or a friend? Is it someone you already know, or is it someone you could meet? Does the person live in St. Louis or somewhere else?

Your subject may be someone you can interview in person, over the phone, or by e-mail.

My interview subject is _________________________________. I chose this person because __________________________________________. I will interview them in person/over the phone/by e-mail. Their contact information is _________________________.

Writing interview questions:

• You should write at least eight and no more than fifteen questions for your interview.

• Your questions should be something that you cannot find in other sources, such as in books or on the Internet. Interviews are great ways to find information that you cannot figure out through your other isearch.

• Your questions should have more than a single word response as an answer. Do not ask questions that can be answered by “yes” or “no”.

After you write your interview questions, you can either conduct the interview in person or over the phone or e-mail the interview. If you e-mail the interview, it will not count against you if you do not receive a reply. However, you must make an attempt to contact that person.

During the interview- in person or on the phone:

• Listen to what your interviewee is saying and write down main words that will later help you remember what was said.

• If you want to quote the person directly, use quotation marks (“”) around your quotes

• Write down new questions as they come to you while the person is talking.

• If the person answers two questions you have written down while answering the first question, do not ask the other question. Just skip it.

• Be comfortable with silence. Sometimes your interviewee will need a few seconds to collect their thoughts. Just let them think without asking another question.

• Be quiet. Never interrupt your interviewee (unless with a clarifying question) or try to impress them with what you know about the subject.

Your interview must go in your works cited at the end of your page. The interview may count as one of your four sources. Below is how to cite an interview.

Citation for an interview:

Format: Interviewee’s last name, interviewee’s first name. Personal interview. Date of interview.

Example: Porter, Toriano. Personal interview. 26 April 2010.

HOW TO ORGANIZE PAPER: The next pages explain how to organize your Isearch and provide an example paper.

SECTION ONE: The story of your search: This section tells readers what you knew about your subject before you began your isearch, what you wanted to know, and the isearch steps you went through to find out what you wanted to know.

What to do in Section One:

_ Hook readers immediately.

_ Explain what you already knew

about your topic.

_ Tell what you wanted to know

about your topic.

_ Include a thesis statement.

Framework

Grab Your Readers’ Attention Begin with an attention-getting statement about your topic, and

explain why it was important for you to find out more about it.

Tell What You Knew Briefly mention the most important information and ideas you already knew

about your topic.

Tell What You Wanted To Learn and Why Let readers know what you wanted to find out about your topic

and the reasons motivating your search.

State Your Thesis Turn your isearch question into a statement and add the factors that complete the

statement.

EXAMPLE OF SECTION ONE:

Student Name

Teacher’s Name

Name of Class

Date Due

Living with Asthma

The Story of My Search

“Well, Matt, it looks like you have asthma,” the doctor told me. What a shock it was to hear those words. I thought I just had a stubborn cold. As I listened to the doctor explain my condition, questions started going through my head: Wasn’t I too old to get asthma now? How could I stay on the basketball team? What about my camping trips? Could I continue to volunteer at the Salvation Army?

I already knew that asthma is a chronic, or long-lasting, disease which affects the lungs and that certain medications help control the number and severity of asthma episodes (that’s when the coughing and wheezing start). I did not know much more than that, though.

Since I am on the volunteer at the Salvation Army, play on the basketball team, and also go on weekend camping trips with my Boy Scout troop, I wanted to find out more about the kinds of things that might trigger an asthma episode. Were there trees and plants I should avoid? Would I be able to keep up with my teammates on the basketball court? Could I help clean away dust at the Salvation Army? Also, would I still be able to get the dog my parents had finally agreed to let me have?

I made a list of all of the things I wanted to learn. From that list, I was able to form my isearch question: Can I manage my asthma so that I can be a productive member of my community? Later, I was able to form an answer: I can manage my asthma and live a full, active life by following my doctor’s instructions about medications, by avoiding pets, by sticking to an exercise program, and by minimizing the effects of environmental factors that can trigger asthma episodes.

By the end my first week of isearch, my head was swimming with a huge amount of information. My original search question remained the same: Can I manage my asthma so that I can be a productive member of my community? However, I was able to define exactly what it was that I wanted to manage. I ended up narrowing my topic to four areas I had to deal with in order to manage my asthma: medications, pets, sports/exercise, and environmental factors.

SECTION TWO

What you learned In this section, you give readers the results of your search. Write a paragraph for each source you use describing what you learned. You must use 4 or more sources, so this section will be 4 or more paragraphs.

What To Do in Section Two

_ Describe important results of

your isearch.

_ Support your findings.

Framework

Discuss Your Results and Give Support Devote at least a paragraph to each important isearch result.

Support your findings with direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries of information from your

sources.

EXAMPLE OF SECTION TWO:

The Results of My Search

The first thing I found out was that certain substances can trigger an asthma attack of “coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath” (Abramowicz). Allergens constitute the largest category of triggers. According to Susan Berg, “Allergens are substances that produce an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to them.” Common allergens are pollens from plants, animal dander, dust mites, and mold and mildew (23).

My doctor said she would test me for allergies right away. If I am allergic to certain things, allergy shots help by desensitizing me to them and make them less likely to trigger an episode (Anders).

If I find that I am allergic to certain pollens, I can reduce the chances of an asthma episode by staying indoors when hose pollens are in the air. Indoors, I can reduce the risk of an episode by using the air conditioner to circulate air while keeping windows and doors closed to keep pollens out. Cleaning the air with an air cleaning device can reduce dust mites, mold spores, and other indoor allergens (“85% of Americans”).

Several medications and devices help people with asthma. One device is called a peak flow meter. This is a tube about six inches long; its purpose is to measure your ability to push air out of your lungs. When you blow into it, you can find out if your lungs are working at their capacity. If they are not, you know it is time to take some medication (“Peak Flow Meters”). My doctor explained how the different medications work: an inhaler sends medication right into the lungs without a lot of side effects (Anders). She showed me another type of inhaler to use when my peak flow number is low, or if I get short of breath while I am exercising. This inhaler helps me get my breath back right away.

Physical exercise makes an asthmatic’s condition worse, or so doctors believed twenty or thirty years ago. At that time doctors believed a quiet, restful life was best. Now new isearch is showing that “people with breathing disorders who can maintain a regular program of exercise and activity are able to experience maximum cardiovascular fitness along with greater symptom control, or an increased ability to exercise and do the activities of daily living. Exercise trains the respiratory muscles to work more efficiently” (Smolley and Bruce 127–128). I had been worried that I would have to drop off the basketball team and miss the next Boy Scout campout we had planned. These facts, however, make me confident that I can continue to play basketball and go on camping trips.

After doing the isearch, I concluded that if I developed a plan for myself, I would be able to manage my asthma. This is my working plan:

1. Medical Treatment: Take allergy shots if it turns out I have allergies. Take my medications and monitor peak flow levels every day. Call the doctor as necessary. Go in for checkups every three months.

2. Environment: Give up going on hikes if the pollen count is very high. Avoid other allergens whenever possible.

3. Pets: Postpone a decision on pets until I find out whether I am allergic to them.

4. Sports/Exercise: Continue with all sports and activities. Use the peak flow meter before and after basketball games. Do warm-up breathing exercises. Keep an inhalator handy for emergency use.

SECTION THREE:

Your reflections on the search You use this final section to tell readers what the experience has taught you about conducting and documenting a search.

Retrace Your Steps Describe the sources you began with and the ones you found later. Discuss successes

and setbacks and any changes to your original isearch question.

What To Do in Section Three:

_Describe Isearch Process

_ Describe the significance of your

isearch experience.

_ Restate your thesis.

Framework:

Describe what you learned from your isearch experience. Discuss how your experience and your new knowledge might affect your future. Remind readers of your thesis statement.

EXAMPLE OF SECTION THREE:

Reflections on My Search

My search took about three weeks, and it was a new experience for me. I started by doing an online search using the keywords asthma and managing. I was surprised at the amount of information I found. There were Web sites maintained by doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and support groups. I ordered some free print materials from one of the pharmaceutical companies; unfortunately, I had my first draft finished before they arrived. However, because it turned out to be good information, I went back and reworked part of the draft.

The next thing I did was to call my allergy/asthma specialist, Dr. Anders. I forgot to take her busy schedule into account, and I did not know that she had planned a short vacation during the time I was doing my isearch. She graciously agreed to meet with me after her office hours one day. I am glad she did, because she gave me some very good advice. She also let me borrow a few videos about asthma. During that same week I went to my school library. The librarian showed me the reference books and regular books. I went through the latest volumes of the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature and found several magazine articles.

Doing the isearch took a lot more time than I thought it would. I have learned how to plan my time more efficiently and how to organize my thoughts better. I am getting better at organizing my paperwork, too. Since I am rather shy, it was good for me to be forced to ask the doctor and librarian for assistance. My writing skills also improved. Now I am able to write a paragraph and stick to one topic. I also learned how to evaluate sources of information I find on the World Wide Web. In addition to these academic benefits, I got a lot of information that will help me lead a full and active life—in spite of my asthma.

Evaluate Reliability and Credibility of Sources

Instructions: Today, your job is to go back, review, and evaluate the reliability and credibility of the evidence you found for your isearch paper. You will be asked to rate the reliability and credibility of the sources you want to use. Do these ratings on a scale of 1-5, with 1 meaning “I don’t trust this person or evidence at all” and 5 meaning “If I had to bet my life on this being true, I would.”

| |Reliability |Explanation |Credibility |Explanation |

| |Rating (1-5)| |Rating (1-5)| |

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Look back through the sources you just analyzed. Put stars by the four most trustworthy sources you found. These will be the four sources you use in your iSearch paper. Spend the rest of your time today going back through these sources and underlining or writing down the passages that you’d like to use in your paper.

How to Use Quotes

Direct Quotation If the author of a source has a particularly effective or memorable way of saying something, you may want to quote him or her. Be sure to copy the passage you intend to quote exactly as it is in your

source. To avoid accidental plagiarism, put clearly visible quotation marks at the beginning and end of quoted passages.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Be sure to cite the sources of words and ideas you obtain from any outside sources. Always use quotation marks if you repeat someone’s exact words.

How to use a direct quote: Put quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote. In the sentence, identify who said the quote. You may also say when/where/why they said the quote.

Cite your source at the end of the sentence by putting in the page number of title of the article.

Examples:

According to Susan Berg, “Allergens are substances that produce an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to them (32).”

As Coach Clark explained, "We lost the game because we were overconfident and failed to take the other team's defense seriously enough" (32).

Ms. Wells smartly noted at the PTA meeting, “Our school needs to have lunch detention.”

Isearch paper ranking

Instructions: You’re going to get to spend about five minutes with the Isearch papers from your class. Give comments about what you think is good about the paper, and what could make the paper better. Use constructive criticism! This means be supportive and polite as you write suggestions.

Then, rank all of the papers. Your number 1 is the lowest ranking.

|Title of Isearch Paper:_____________ ____Author (if on paper)___________________ |My Ranking: |

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|Title of Isearch Paper:_____________ ____Author (if on paper)___________________ |My Ranking: |

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|Title of Isearch Paper:_____________ ____Author (if on paper)___________________ |My Ranking: |

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|Title of Isearch Paper:_____________ ____Author (if on paper)___________________ |My Ranking: |

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|Title of Isearch Paper:_____________ ____Author (if on paper)___________________ |My Ranking: |

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I found this really great website with tons of information on the subject of my isearch paper, Michael Jordan. The site was called “His Airness” and I really liked the “Michael Jordan: A Biography” page. The author was Phil Jackson… he said something about being Jordan’s coach…? Anyway. I found it yesterday – March 15th, 2007 – and if I want to go back that page was at .

My teacher handed me this book that’ll really help with my isearch project. The book was titled, The Human Condition and it was written by Hannah Arendt. The book was published by Schocken Books in 1999… that publishing company is located in New York City.

I was reading Newsweek magazine at the gym the other day and there was this really interesting article about Barak Obama called “America’s New Hope?” I think it was on pages 20-23. It was written by Anna Quindlen and it was in the March 5th edition of the magazine.

I am not sure yellow-spotted lizards are actually real, since Holes is a fictional book. I should double-check this source on an encyclopedia.

Attention Grabbing Statement

Background on known important facts.

Overview of what the writer wants to learn

Thesis Statement

Direct Quotation

Summary

First major finding

Second major finding

Answer to isearch question

Describes isearch process

Describes why isearch was important

Restatement of thesis

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