Objective

The Sophomore Symposium is a multifaceted project which affords students the opportunity to learn how to do academic research, to stretch themselves to make connections across disciplines, and, finally, to share their findings in two forms: by writing individual research papers in the disciplines of history, science & theology and by creating and presenting a PowerPoint presentation to underscore the underlying themes unifying their work over the course of the year.   The year culminates with a Sophomore Symposium day, usually in late April, where each student will present her PowerPoint presentation and share the fruits of her year of research and synthesis.

Assistance

All three Sophomore Symposium lead teachers are available to assist students throughout the process of brainstorming, researching, writing and revising their papers and preparing their PowerPoint presentations.   In addition, students are encouraged to take full advantage of the researching experience and expertise of Mrs. Velante in the Library.   Students are strongly encouraged to meet with a lead teacher--or another CSH faculty member with whom they feel particularly comfortable--at least once during the process of researching, writing and refining each cycle's paper.   This meeting must be a minimum of two days prior to a project deadline (for example, no later than September 15 for a draft due September 17) so that there is adequate time to incorporate new ideas or make changes before the due date.   Students who do not do this will not be penalized; however students who do take advantage of this additional assistance will earn additional points toward their final project point total. .

Guidelines

Producing a research paper that demonstrates solid research and a capacity for synthesis, is well-constructed and clearly articulated demands both careful attention to the process of doing research and to the task of crafting the paper itself.   Both aspects, therefore, are included in the overall grading rubric for each cycle's research paper.

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The following guidelines are offered to help you succeed at all facets of this project:

Process

1. Due dates for each stage of the process--thesis and outline, draft, final paper--will be made available to you at the beginning of the year for all three papers.   Late submission of the these and outline and/or draft will lose two points per day up to a maximum of 5 points.   These points will be deducted from the overall project point total.
2. Your Notebook of Resources (explained below) must be turned in at each stage of the process.
3. Drafts and final papers are to be submitted to turnitin.com and included in the Notebook of Resources in hard-copy form.
4. When the final paper is submitted, the draft and draft rubric worksheet must be included in the Notebook of Resources.

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Notebook of Resources

1. Each student is expected to develop a Notebook of Resources as part of the research process.   In this Notebook (a 1 ½ inch 3-ring binder), each student will keep hard copies of all source materials, both those consulted for general information and those used for citations in the research paper.   This includes copies of sections from books, journal articles, articles found through databases, and any other resources used to explore the topic selected for each cycle's paper.
2. For each paper, students are expected to consult a minimum of six academic sources , at least three of which must be cited in the paper.   These sources may include sections from books, textbooks or encyclopedias, journal articles, and materials accessed through online databases.   Variations on the types of sources allowed and/or required will vary by discipline.   These variations will be discussed at the beginning of each cycle.  
3. Popular websites (such as Time, Newsweek or a .com ) may be consulted, but only in addition to the six required sources.
4. If a student wishes to make a further variation regarding the types of sources she will be consulting (for example, substituting personal interviews for a written source), permission must be sought from that cycle's lead teacher and included, in writing and signed by the teacher, in the Notebook of Resources.
5. Notebooks should be well-organized.   Source materials should be kept in alphabetical order and in the binder itself, not in the side pockets or loose in the binder.   (Once the paper is written, the order of the sources should match that of the Works Cited/Works Consulted listing.)
6. Materials in the notebook should show evidence of having been carefully read, either by notes in the margins or highlighting.
7. All non-common knowledge information used in the paper must be cited.   Direct quotes must be approved by each cycle's lead teacher before you may include them in your paper.
8. Each source should have two post-its on the first page, one with the correct Works Cited reference and the other with the correct in-text citation form.   Models for both of these are available in A Pocket Style Manual by Diana Hacker (beginning on page 127 for in-text citations and on page 135 for Works Cited).

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Paper

1. Each paper should be 3-4 pages in length. Papers that do not fill at least three full pages will be returned and will be considered late upon re-submission.   Final papers which are turned in after the due date will lose 10 points per day from the overall project total.
2. Each paper must have a cover page, a creative title and a separate Works Cited/Works Consulted page (these pages are in addition to paper itself).   Although both may be included on a single page, please list your Works Cited and your Works Consulted in two separate lists.
3. For the rough draft, the Works Cited/Works Consulted list should be annotated.   This annotation should indicate (in 2-3 sentences) why this source was a good resource for the topic being researched.
4. Pages must be formatted according to MLA specifications.   A model is available in A Pocket Style Manual , beginning on page 148.   In addition, students should use the default margins and 12-point type in Helvetica, Times or Times Roman.
5. Papers should employ the objective voice.   Use of I, you, your, we , or our are not allowed.
6. The structure of each paper should include the following: an introduction that leads to a strong thesis statement; a paragraph of background information to contextualize the thesis; at least three well-constructed body paragraphs, each of which includes at least two specific examples with analysis in support of the thesis; a conclusion that restates the thesis in different words, recaps the arguments made and brings the paper to a solid conclusion.   The Jane Shafer format is highly recommended as a guide for solid paragraph construction.
7. All quotations and non-common knowledge information cited in your paper must conform to MLA guidelines.   Models for these, as well as for introducing quotes and paraphrasing (in order to avoid unintentional plagiarism) are available in the A Pocket Style Manual (beginning on page 127 for citations and on 115 for the introduction of quotes and paraphrasing).

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