Senior Exit Project

Lesson 1

From CMSPolicy Graduation Requirements

• E. Senior Project

• Students must complete a senior project in which they demonstrate competencies in research, oral, written, and technical communications skills. The project must be done as part of the curriculum of certain courses, which shall be specified by the Superintendent.

What are the key elements of a

research paper?

Definition A research paper will inform

your readers about an interesting, new, or important topic and persuade them to accept your point of view on the topic.

Your paper should present one main idea and support that idea by using facts, examples, statistics, quotations, and other evidence taken from reliable sources such as books, magazines, the Internet, movies, and interviews.

ARGUMENTA-R-E

Same as any essay, only longer—

IntroductionIntroduction

• Arouse interest with an attention-getter.

Attention-getter:

Make a good first impression. Hook your readers at the beginning. Use a thought-provoking quotation, an anecdote, or an interesting description.

They’ve been maligned, mocked, slandered, criticized, smeared, libeled, and joked about, but grits have refused to succumb to the pressures of their adversaries.

IntroductionIntroduction

• Arouse interest with an attention-getter.

• Include your thesis statement.

Thesis Statement:

Create a thesis to remember! It presents your main idea. It may be more than one sentence, but should be concise as possible. It must introduce an argument.

IntroductionIntroduction

• Arouse interest with an attention-getter.

• Include your thesis statement.

• Suggest the aspects of the topic your paper covers.

Guide Your Readers

Let them know what to expect from your paper. Indicate the main points that you will discuss in the paper.

They’ve been maligned, mocked, slandered, criticized, smeared, libeled, and joked about, but grits have refused to succumb to the pressures of their adversaries. Grits, a simple foodstuff and once considered a dish only for poor Southerners, has begun to make tremendous inroads into all parts of the country. The history, the simplicity, the regional interest, and the marketing of grits have allowed this “plain food” to achieve full folklore status.

BodyBody• Develop your first main point

with related supporting details.

•Develop each of your additional main points with related supporting details.

Develop Your Information

• Develop each main point.• Support with evidence• Give examples or draw

conclusions• Cite Your Sources!

Developing a point:

•“The history, “As early as 1607, according to Quaker Oats historians, grits were a part of our American heritage. When English colonists landed at what would become the Jamestown settlement, they “were met by friendly Native Americans offering steaming hot bowls of ‘rockahominie,’ which was softened maize seasoned with salt and animal fat” (Quaker/history).

Developing a point:

•“the simplicity, Corn seemed to grow extremely well in the South, so the primary resource for grit manufacturing was readily available. The Quaker Oats Company began manufacturing and marketing grits in 1845, the same year they began selling oat products (Quaker/history).

Developing a point:•“the regional interest,” Growing up in North Carolina in the 1950s, I do not recollect ever having to order grits in a restaurant. Whether it were in the Landis Café, Bill’s Truckstop in Lexington, the Blue Mist in Pittsboro, or Bell Tower in Raleigh, every breakfast was served with grits. It was not listed on the menu, but it was just understood that if eggs, toast, and pork were on plate, they would be accompanied by a nice serving of grits.

Developing a point:•“the marketing of grits Paralleling this popularity in the Cracker Barrel Stores, grits were finding their way into more upscale restaurants as well. Chic restaurants throughout the South began to feature grits in both common and fanciful recipes. Chef Peter Smith of Vidalia Restaurant in Washington, D.C. features squid stuffed with Tasso ham served on a bed of grits (Wertheimer).

ConclusionConclusion

•Restate your thesis

•Leave your readers with an insight.

Restate Your Thesis:•“. . . have allowed this “plain food” to achieve full folklore status.”

–Grits, a food for the old folks, has become a food for all the folks—a real folk food.

Final Impression

Sum up your main idea by restating your thesis and present a final thought about your research. You may even include an insight that did not fit into the body of your paper.

Last Impressions do last!• Nostalgia and tradition call upon us to remember the old ways. We do remember. We

remember a simple, nutritional food that has become a legacy in our time. Whether it be decorated with shrimp or Cajun spices, or whether it be served with a dollop of butter and a dash of salt, grits is grits.

Citing Sources?We’ll talk about that later!

Works Cited“National Grits Festival.” 1 Mar. 2003 http://www.gritsfest.com/Quaker Instant Grits. “Grits Festival.” 1 Mar. 2003

http://www.quakergrits.com/QG_Festival/festival2.htmQuaker Instant Grits. “History of Grits.” 1 Mar. 2003

http://www.quakergrits.com/QG_Heritage/history.htmQuaker Instant Grits. “What are Grits?” 1 Mar. 2003

http://quakergrits.com/QG_Grits/grits.htmWarren, Tim. “True Grits.” Smithsonian Magazine Oct. 1999. 6 Mar. 2003

http://www.simsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues99/oct/99/grits.htmlWertheimer, Linda. “Grist, Present at the Creation.” on National Public Radio,

22 Apr. 2002. 1 Mar. 2003 http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/grits/