Transcript Internal Assessment Advice - Saint Paul Public Schools

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT ADVICE
Or…how to get a 7 on your Internal Assessment
Cover Page
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You must include your name
Your candidate number (if you don’t know this, let
me know)
Research Question or Title of paper
Word Count-for the entire paper (which does not
include the bibliography)
Testing session which is May 2015
Other Formatting Advice
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Your second page must be an index with page
numbers of the 5 sections.
Page numbers-you must have them on each page
starting AFTER the index. Put your last name,
candidate number and page number in the upper
right hand corner. Not a candidate? Just your last
name and page number will be fine.
Research Question
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Even if it’s on your cover page, it must go on page 1
(the first official page of writing)
The question should be at the very top of your
page and centered. The question should NOT be
part of section A, but above it.
Rohweller, 000745 854, page 1
To what extent did Fidel Castro play a significant role in the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A. Plan of Investigation
The investigation will assess the significance of Fidel Castro in the
Missile Crisis of 1962. In order to evaluate….
Paragraph 1: Scope (what you will cover)
Paragraph 2: Method (how you will go about answering the question with
specific sources)
A: Plan of Investigation
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3 Marks
This investigation will assess…..
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in my essay, I will, etc.
 Never use “I” in any part of your essay!
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Introduction/explanation of topic
Methodology of research
 Specific
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sources used
Limitations of research if needed for clarification
(what will not be covered)
What Not to Do….
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No giant paragraphs…if one paragraph is an
entire page, that is WAY too long!! Break up your
information!
One paragraph for the scope and one paragraph
for the method.
Spell check and grammar—you still need to look
this over. Have someone also look for these issues. I
am not the editor of your paper.
Proper capitalization—this is NOT a text message,
it’s a formal paper!
Don’t have a separate page for each sectioncontinue with Part B on the same page as Part A
B: Summary of Evidence
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6 Marks
These are just the FACTS. The story, the background of the
topic.
Be sure the background is specific to your question!!!!
You must reference and cite multiple sources here.
No analysis, just the facts.
These facts should relate to your question, not everything ever
written about your topic in general.
Keep this section around 500 words-you want to keep this as
close to equal with your analysis section.
Any time you say something is good or bad (helpful, didn’t
work, etc)-that is analysis, save it for Part D.
C: Evaluation of Sources
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5 Marks
Two sources, no more-no less
O,P,V,L for each source, but in paragraph format
Also consider historical value-as a historian studying your
topic (which you actually are).
Value and Limitations: to you in writing and trying to
answer the question.
Be sure to state the overall usefulness of the sources to
your investigation-either to the positive or negative in the
3rd paragraph.
Like a science lab report: How were the sources used?
What was gained? What was missing?
D: Analysis
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6 Marks
This is the interpretation section of the paper.
You should be analyzing the facts from section B.
You did the research, what does it mean? How does it relate to
the question you asked?
Are there other points of view being offered? Different
interpretations? Other historical perspectives?
So what? What is the importance/significance of your
investigation in a historical context?
Who are the major historians who have written about your
topic?
All the information here should mirror what was written in Part
B.
Be sure to address the specific aspects of the question you are
asking. If your question is about the role of women, that should
be your focus. This isn’t just a continuation of facts from Part B!
E: Conclusion
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2 Marks
This is a shorter section
You should bring the conclusion back to your original
question-what did you find? Be sure to address the
question one last time in this section. Be sure to use
the actual language of your question. The extent to
which….
Did you actually answer your question?
This must be clearly stated and consistent with the
evidence presented.
No new information should be added or included
Footnotes
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Needed-and in Chicago style formatting
The first time you footnote a source-it is the entire
citation, then you can abbreviate author and page
number.
You can’t use ibid on the start of a new page of
footnotes.
Your writing should still be yours—entire
paragraphs of work should not be copied and
pasted and show up that way on turnitin.com
Cutting and pasting is NOT writing a paper!
F: List of Sources
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3 Marks
Clean/separate page for this “part”
Be sure that your word count is between 1500-2000
words. Under or over and you lose marks!
Your list should include books and Internet sources-no
wikipedia!!!
Sources should be in alphabetical order!!!
Use Chicago style formatting for both the sources and
footnotes.
General lack of footnotes and sources-4 sources is not
enough!!!
AT LEAST 7-10 sources for a paper of this significance!!
Exhaustive and quality list of sources is necessary and
required!!!! I’m seeing some lazy researching!
The Final Paper
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The final draft of your internal assessment is due Tuesday,
March 10th.
As you work, write your question on a post-it note and
hang it on your computer. Everything you write about
should ultimately relate to that question.
You must turn in two copies-typed. I will not print these
for you, so plan for your printing.
Remember that this paper will be worth 200 points and
25 marks!!!
The rubric given at the beginning of the assignment will
be the one used to grade the final paper.
These scores are then submitted to IB, which will then ask
for sample papers.
Questions???