CAREER EXPLORATION PROJECT (CEP)

Final Project (due before 11:00 pm on Monday, November 21, 2011) What follows is a step-by-step guide to ensuring youve turned in exactly what needs to be turned in the precise format. The first step is getting all of components of the project into ONE ELECTRONIC FILE. Those components include: Introduction Research Report Works Cited Page

Before we worry about formatting, lets look at what work is left to do with each step: 1-2 page Introduction o Consider and address Costellos comments regarding your introduction. o Revise content to better introduce the topic (attention-getter) o Revise content to better fit the information you found and used in the other sections. o Revise content to better connect to the following component of the project o Revise mechanics to reflect a carefully edited and proofread work that addresses all mechanical and formatting guidelines for this assignment and formal writing in general. 4-6 page Research Report o Consider and address the comments of your peer responders (and Costello) regarding your research. o Revise 1st paragraph to better transition between the introduction and report, attract the attention of the reader, and introduce the structure of your analysis through a clear thesis statement. o Revise content to better fit the recommended depth of argument and ratio of source information-to-your thoughts and ideas 2 pieces of source info per 8-10 sentence paragraph o Revise content to better explain the source infos place in your argument Through lead-in sentences before and explanations of relevance after (the safe bet structure!) o Revise content to more clearly show structure, organization, etc. Thesis statement, topic sentences, transitional sentences. o Revise mechanics to reflect a carefully edited and proofread work that addresses all mechanical and formatting guidelines for a research assignment and formal writing in general.

CAREER EXPLORATION PROJECT (CEP)

Works Cited Page o Make sure this begins on a fresh page (page break) The previous sections may starts in the middle of a page o Be sure youve properly and thoroughly used easybib.com to ensure correct information and proper placement. All print sources must have page numbers, both on the works cited page and in the parenthetical references. Many sources continue to be incorrectly/inadequately accounted for on the works cited page. Missing publication dates, incorrect author names, lack of required interview information Many works cited pages continue to be incorrectly formatted. Use easybib.com and select print as Word document Then click click here to download your bibliography for MS Word Then once its in the Word document, save the file to your computer or flash drive, so that you can copy and paste it to the rest of your project.

After fine-tuning each component, put them all into ONE ELECTRONIC FILE using the following formatting guidelines: All sections are to be 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1 inch margins on top, bottom, left, and right. The file should include a header that consists of your last name, and the page number, in the top right corner. Only the first page should include a title that consists of this phrase: Career Exploration Final Project [insert your career here] o Please center it, without using bold, italics, all caps, or anything fancy. Each of the 3 components of the final project should have titles that are centered o Use the titles as stated on the first page of this handout. Please make them bold. o Do not all-caps, italicize, underline, enlarge the font, etc. o Remember that the Works Cited Page should begin on a new page To use a page-break, follow these steps: Place the cursor at the title of the component you want to start on a fresh page, go to the Insert tab, and click on the icon Page Break Or, just hit enter until you reach the next page of the electronic file. o To see an example of how the final project should look, go to my website and open the SAMPLE CAREER EXPLORATION FINAL PROJECT document.

CAREER EXPLORATION PROJECT (CEP)

Turning in the final project: There is only one place for turning in your final project. You will not submit a hard copy to Mr. Costello unless you are using a program other than Microsoft Word. If thats the case, please speak with Mr. Costello. You will need to also bring a hard copy to class on Tuesday, November 22nd. o You will submit the ONE ELECTRONIC FILE to www.turnitin.com

Submission Guidelines: 1. 2. 3. 4. Log in at turnitin.com Click on your class period Click on the submit icon for the assignment CEP Final Project Choose the paper submission method single file upload a) If not using Microsoft Word, choose the copy & paste method to submit, and bring in a hard copy of essay from the program you used to create it Make sure your first and last name are correct Enter [career choice] Final Project in the submission title space Click Submit (you should then see a copy of your essay. The format may look different, but thats fine) Click Submit again. Youll then see a digital of our essay, showing the correct format. There is no need to print this receipt.

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CAREER EXPLORATION PROJECT (CEP)

Now, a final step that will inevitably help your grade will be to look through your final project considering the same aspects that will be when its graded. Knowing the severity of mistakes will help you focus your editing on whats most important. So, here is general (incomplete) rubric (based on a 100-point scale) that will be used to guide the grading: Content Development of your ideas (critical thinking/depth) Source use (scaled) o requires, but lacks sufficient source use (-2 per) o requires, but relies too much on sources (-2 per) o Source use is not explained (-2 per) o Source use does not help point (-2 per) Other (scaled) o paper as a whole lacks depth o paper as a whole lacks clarity Progression of your ideas Organization Does not follow stated or implied structure (-5) Changes within the paper (-3) Does not follow logic (-3) Mechanics Language and vocabulary (scaled) o Word repeated frequently o to be used more than once per paragraph o vocab is overly general o vocab is overly vague o word choice creates confusion Variety in sentence structure (scaled) o sentence structure repeated frequently o in topic sentences o in transition sentences o in general Usage and mechanics o format o incorrect header, section titles (-1 per) o incorrect works cited page format (-2 per) o incorrect parenthetical citation (-1 per) o incorrect font size/style (-2) o incorrect margins (-2) o sources o source listed, not used (-5 per) o source used, not listed (-5 per) o lacks at least 5 sources (-4 per) o does not use interview as source (-8) o questionable/unacceptable source used(-3 per) Other o use of 2nd person (just once) (-15) o run-on, fragment, incomplete sentence (just once) (-15) o unnecessary use of 1st person (-5) o one-time error (probable typo) (-1/2) o occasional error (-1) o frequent error (-2) o habitual error (-4)