|
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson often drew different conclusions from the same clues, the same pieces of information. They then looked for additional evidence to prove that something was true. The process of solving a mystery and the process of writing a research paper have several things in common. Both require gathering and studying clues, evidence, and information; weeding out "red herrings" or irrelevant information; organizing thoughts; and presenting accurate conclusions. For this assessment, you are a self-employed research writer. You have been hired by the Unsolved Mysteries Society to conduct background research for an upcoming documentary. It is very important for you to provide accurate information, because the people at the Unsolved Mysteries Society pride themselves on presenting nothing but facts. Your professional reputation (and your future paychecks!) will be affected by the quality of the report you produce for them. |
 |
 |
Task
•Pd. 1 - The Unsolved Mysteries Society has commissioned a research paper of at least 1000 words analyzing the information about a specific unsolved mystery.
•Pd. 9 - The Unsolved Mysteries Society has commissioned a research paper of at least 750 words analyzing the information about a specific unsolved mystery.
•Your paper will explain what facts are known, what theories have been presented to explain the facts, which theory has the most support, and what aspects of the mystery remain unexplained. The producers will use this information as they prepare the script of the documentary.
|
|
Process
The process of conducting and presenting research has several steps:
•Choose an unsolved mystery.
•Find facts and theories about the mystery.
•Take notes from books, magazine articles, and the Internet. Keep track of your sources, especially the page numbers of print materials and the URL (Web address) of any online materials. Ask your teacher for a format for your notes.
•Think about what you have learned.
•Do you have any unanswered questions? If you do, you may need to continue your research.
•Organize the material you have gathered into a useful form.
•Some people like graphic organizers; some like outlines; some like lists. The important thing is to plan.
•Draft your paper.
•Get your facts and ideas into written form. Be sure to indicate the source of facts, ideas, and phrases you found during your research so that you avoid plagiarism.
•Think some more and revise your paper.
•There is more to revising than checking spelling and punctuation, although those are also important. You might want to reorganize, or you might see that you need one or two more facts.
•Publish your work.
•Ask your teacher about the form of your final draft.
•Celebrate a challenging job well done!
•Hey, writing is hard work!
|
|
 |
Conclusion
•Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were always able to solve the crime. No situation remained a mystery to them for very long. But they are characters in fiction.
•You, in contrast, have investigated a real mystery. You have seen that not all sources of information are equally reliable. You have seen that some explanations are based more on opinion than on fact. You have seen that nothing replaces your own informed judgment.
•You have learned how to find the most accurate information available, how to give credit where credit is due, and how to present your findings to others.
•Congratulations! Even Holmes and Watson would be proud.
|
