The first rule of the I-Search paper is to select a topic that genuinely interests you and that you need to know more about. In this case, you will be researching a career/job that you are interested in pursuing (other topics are possible if you talk to me about it ahead of time).

The I-Search paper will be written in four integrated sections:

• Introduction
• What I know, Assume, or Imagine
• The Search
• What I Discovered
    

Introduction: The introduction of your essay should give your reader some indication of why you have chosen to write about this particular topic. Keep in mind that your essay needs to have some point. What message do you want to communicate to your reader. The message needs to be something more than "I want to be a ----- when I grow up." The purpose of this essay will be to inform your reader of your (1)original assumptions, (2)the information you found on your search, and (3)your discoveries.

What I Know, Assume, or Imagine: Before conducting any formal research, write a section in which you explain to the reader what you think you know, what you assume, or what you imagine about your topic. There are no wrong answers here. You are basically establishing your hypothesis.

The Search: Test your knowledge, assumptions, or conjectures by researching your paper topic thoroughly. One requirement of this assignment will be to conduct a face-to-face interview with someone who is working in the career you are researching or with a school counselor or advisor. A second requirement will be to visit the Online Resources Page and investigate the abundant Internet resources available. Other first-hand activities that may provide valuable information include writing letters, making telephone calls, visiting the Career Center, visiting the Transfer Center, investigating the internship program, and going on field trips. Also, consult useful second-hand sources such as books, magazines, newspapers, films, tapes, the Internet, etc. Be sure to record all the information you gather.

Write up your search in a narrative form, relating the steps of the discovery process (this means that you are going to tell the story of what you did to research this topic and what you learned in the process). Do not feel obligated to tell everything (you don't have to tell us the boring stuff), but highlight the happenings and facts you uncovered that were crucial to your hunt and contributed to your understanding of the information.

What I Discovered: After concluding your search, compare what you thought you knew, assumed, or imagined with what you actually discovered, assess your overall learning experience, and offer some personal commentary about the value of your discoveries and/or draw some conclusions. Some questions that you might consider at this stage:

• How accurate were your original assumptions?
• What new information did you acquire?
• What did you learn that surprised you?
• Overall, what value did you derive from the process of searching and discovery?

Don’t just do a question/answer conclusion. Go back to the main point you want to make with this essay. What final message do you want to leave with your readers?

You will be required to attach a formal bibliography, following the MLA format, listing the sources you consulted to write your I-Search paper. You will need to use a minimum of eight different sources: 1 - interview, 1-book, 1-magazine, journal, or newspaper article, and 5- Internet sources. (This means that you will have at least 8 sources in your bibliography, and I would expect to see these sources cited in the body of your paper.) There are also Internet resources that can assist you with MLA Documentation and other aspects of writing a research paper.

Keeping your audience firmly in mind will be an important key to success with this assignment. You don’t want to write this up as if it is simply a long journal entry. Think of your audience as high school seniors or freshmen in college who might also be interested in the information you have collected. Remember, writing is a form of communication, and you need to be clear in your own mind who you are trying to communicate with and what you want to communicate to those people.

Your I-Search will need to be a MINIMUM of FIVE FULL pages. When you turn in your final draft you will need to include the following items (in this order):

1. The final draft of the essay (I will grade whatever is on the top of the pile). Your essay must following the format outlined. Essays that are not typed in the prescribed format and do not follow MLA standards when citing sources will lose 10 points (one full letter grade) off of the essay grade.
2. A LETTER to me in which you discuss what interested you about this topic. Describe any difficulties you had with the assignment and how you attempted to overcome those difficulties. Discuss the responses you received from your peers. Did you find their feedback useful? If yes, what information did you find particularly helpful? If no, what information do you wish you had received and what could you have done differently to get the feedback you needed? Finally, what do you think the strengths of your essay are, and what would you still like to work on? Keep in mind that this last question is not simply an opportunity for you to "sell" your work. I want your honest assessment. Your letter should be one page hand-written. Don’t try to write the letter in the five minutes before class
3. Interview Questions
4. Peer Review
5. All rough drafts and prewriting

When you come to class the day your I-Search is due, your packet should be ready to go. I will not have a stapler or paper clips with me. You need to take care of all of this before you come to class. Be sure that everything has your name on it.

Helpful Hint
* When you interview someone, you are attempting to elicit as much information from that person as you possibly can. In order to accomplish this goal it is important to keep the person talking. Be sure to ask questions that will require more than a "yes" or "no" response. Here are a few suggested questions:

• Tell me how you first became interested in. . .?
• Tell me about the path you followed to get you to this position?
• What suggestions would you give to someone who is pursuing this career?

These are only a few basic questions to consider. I expect that since this is a career you are interested in that you will have a number of things that you are curious about. Don’t feel shy about asking questions. You will find that most people enjoy talking about their work with people who are interested in learning about it.

Another Helpful Hint
* There are a couple of sample I-Search papers on reserve in the library. I would strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to read them. The format for the I-Search paper is different than the format for a standard research paper, and if you don’t do the assignment correctly, it will hurt your grade.