A. Carter - 2013

Researching The Count of Monte Cristo English 2 Honors

Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo is an impressive story with lots of interesting detail – so much detail that it is a bit overwhelming to try to understand every facet of the story. In an effort to help each other delve more deeply into some of the ideas and concepts in the book, you and a partner will work together to research a topic related to the novel and present that research to the class. Ultimately, you will produce an annotated bibliography of your sources (independently) and a presentation of the material you researched (with your partner). You have the freedom to choose your topic, but you must get final approval before you begin. Take a look at some of the suggestions below. (For some of the topics, keep in mind the setting of the book is France, 1815-1839.)

famous prisons/prison breaks (Focus on a particular prison.)

dueling

shipping industry of the period

titles of nobility (counts, barons, etc.) poison

famous/scandalous love affairs with political effects (Be careful with this one! Keep it high school appropriate.)

bandits

executions transportation of the day

technology of the day

weapons

buried treasure

legal system and punishment of the day torture

psychology

Napoleon, King Louis XVI, French Revolution

the Reign of Terror disguises

Project Specifications: 1. Decide on a partner. (We may need one group of three.) 2. Establish a topic. (Understand that your topic may naturally broaden or narrow in focus as you find and study

sources. Be open to the possibility that your final product may be a refined version of your proposed topic.) 3. Get approval for your topic. 4. Begin researching. You and your partner will need to find AT LEAST FIVE SOURCES that teach you about your

topic. You will have TWO class days in the media lab to work on your annotated bibliographies and your research.

5. Create an annotated bibliography. Individually, you and your partner should each read the sources you’ve agreed on for your topic and create an annotated bibliography. See details in the “Annotated Bibliography Requirements” section.

6. Present your research to the class. After you and your partner have read your sources and produced your own (separate) annotated bibliographies, you will synthesize your research into a multimedia presentation. You have the freedom to choose how you will present (i.e. PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, MovieMaker, iMovie, etc.), but there are a few general requirements to follow. Refer to the “Presentation Requirements” section on this handout.

Annotated Bibliography Requirements (Due by the beginning of class 3/8/13.) Though you and your partner will find the same five sources, you will read them and produce the annotated bibliography independent of one another. An annotated bibliography is basically the works cited page of a paper with paragraphs beneath each citation in which you summarize and evaluate each source. It is important that you do both: summarize and evaluate. Steps in the process:

1. View an example: You can see a full sample annotated bibliography here: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/writersref6e/lmcontent/ch07/PDF/Hacker-Orlov-MLA-Biblio.pdf . I will post a link to this example on my website (Carter Home Page -> English 2 HN & ALA -> Honors – The link should be at the bottom of the page.)

a. DISCLAIMER: I am going to require that you write a brief introduction for your annotated bibliography. If you look at the previous link as an example, just understand that you will be adding a paragraph introduction beneath the title that synthesizes everything you learned from reading the five sources.

A. Carter - 2013

2. Create a citation for five sources. You may want to use www.easybib.com . 3. Write an annotation for each source, and place each annotation under its appropriate citation. There is an

option in EasyBib to add citations. Consider formatting it there and then cutting and pasting into a document. a. An annotation is usually 5-8 sentences. The first 5-7 sentences summarize the article. The last 1-2

sentences evaluate how helpful the source was to you as a learner/researcher. 4. After writing five annotations, write an introduction that summarizes what you learned in total. Its purpose is

to introduce your reader to the body of research you cover in the annotated bibliography. You should write this LAST so that you are able to synthesize what you have learned.

5. Format your annotated bibliography according to MLA guidelines. a. Use the right header, pagination, spacing, and font. Entries should be arranged alphabetically. b. Craft a title that indicates both your topic and that the assignment is an annotated bibliography. For

example: An Investigation of the Bastille Prison Break: An Annotated Bibliography. c. Type your annotated bibliography. d. Save it as a Word (or Pages for Mac users) file, as well as a pdf. To save as pdf, go to “Save as” and

choose “pdf” from the “file type” field. Make sure to give your file a meaningful name. Example: CMCAnnBib_Prisons

6. Submit your annotated bibliography. a. Email a pdf file to Mrs. Carter (acarter@lexrich5.org ). In your email use the following as your subject

line: 6BLastNameFirstInitial_AnnBib (Example: 6BRossA_AnnBib) b. Submit another pdf copy to www.turnitin.com . c. Annotated bibliographies are due by the beginning of class on Friday, March 8, 2013.

Presentation Requirements (Due by the beginning of class 3/12/13.) You and your partner should synthesize what you have learned about your topic into a multimedia presentation. Steps in this process:

1. Read each other’s annotations. 2. Discuss what you have learned on the topic. 3. Decide on a structure for your presentation. What facts will you present? In what order will you present them?

Above all, make your presentation INTERESTING! Tell the story of your research or topic. 4. Create a presentation using a multimedia tool like PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, MovieMaker, iMovie, etc.

a. Create a title slide that indicates your topic, the date, and each partner’s name. b. Create 8-10 slides that present your information. Adhere to methods of good presentation. Use color

appropriately and professionally. This is an academic presentation, not something that we are making for our BFFs. Fonts should be readable (about 18pt). Text should be limited. Be ready to supplement what you have on your slides with verbal information. In other words, don’t crowd the slides with too much text. Use the same part of speech to begin bulleted or numbered lists. (For example, look at each number on this handout. The first word is a VERB in every case except one.) Be sure to proof your information for both accuracy in content and mechanics. Cite information appropriately.

c. Create a “References” slide that lists the five sources you used. d. Accompany your text with RELEVANT images. Try to include one image per slide that effectively

supplements the text on that page.

Remember that good presentations blend sights and sounds so that they work

together to enhance an audience’s understanding of a topic.

After all, that’s why they are called MULTImedia presentations.

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Scoring Both the annotated bibliography and the presentation will count as major grades.

The annotated bibliography scored on the following criteria: 10 points for using the appropriate formatting

15 points for the introductory synthesis paragraph

5 points for EACH citation (25 points total)

10 points for EACH annotation (50 points total) (Make sure that each contains summary and evaluation of source.)

The presentation will be scored on the following criteria:

10 points for effective structure – (giving an interesting and engaging presentation)

10 points for a title slide and a references slide

10 points for incorporating effective and appropriate images

10 points for using “good presentation” guidelines to craft slides (font size, amount of information, etc.)

50 points for a thorough and quality presentation of your content

10 points for professional presentation demeanor

Sample Annotated Bibliography

A. Carter - 2013