Ms. Crupi's ENG 4C0
Culminating Assignment
The Wrongfully Convicted
Part A - Selection of the Wrongfully Convicted
Part B - Format Research Report
Write a formal research report that presents a clear and balanced account of the life your chosen criminal/wrongfully convicted.
Your Report must have a minimum of three subheadings (not including the introduction and conclusion).
You should be sure to include information on some or all of the following:
Childhood
Detailed account of their crime(s) or alleged crimes/stories of wrongful imprisonment
Trigger factors in committing the crime(s)or why they were targeted
Contributing factors to their capture
Other interesting facts that are relevant
You must include a minimum of two quotations from your research in each sub-topic of your report.
Your report must be properly documented. Any report that is not documented (using MLA parenthetical referencing and an accompanying works cited list) will be considered plagiarism and will receive a mark of zero.
Step 1:
Using the Research Collection Sheets attached, make notes on a minimum of four sources that provide information about the criminal or wrongfully convicted individual. Once you have found your information, begin to organize the information into headings.
Step 2:
Select the headings that you will focus on and complete a Formal Report Outline to be submitted for approval. A report that has not been approved during the outline stage will NOT be assessed. You must include the quotations being used in the report on this outline sheet.
Step 3:
Write the rough draft of the report. Use proper formal report structure and MLA parenthetical documentation. Include a works cited list.
Step 4:
Have the rough draft edited by a minimum of two editors.
Step 5:
Review the comments from your editors and complete a revised draft. Proofread this draft and have one other person proofread the draft for you before you submit the final copy for assessment.
Potential Websites
Netflix and Other Documentaries
1. When They See Us - This 4 part docuseries covers the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five.
2. The Innocent Man - This documentary adaptation of John Grisham's only nonfiction book raises troubling questions about two murder cases in Ada, Oklahoma, in the 1980s.
3. Time: The Kalief Browder Story- Although never convicted of a crime, Kalief Browder was just 16 when he was accused of stealing a backpack and sent to Riker's Island for many years as his family could not afford the bail
Documentaries
Research - The Library Catalogue
- Go to the applications page and click on the "Library Catalogue - Louise Arbour"
- Go to www.peelschools.org. Click on the pink BYOD link. Click on the teal library circular icon. The green library catalogue icon will be at the top of the page.
Once you are at the main page, enter the subject/keywords of the topic that you are searching for. Keep in mind that spelling is really important! If you spell the word that you are looking for incorrectly, the system will assume we do not have it. We do have a number of books about wrongfully convicted people so be sure to look at those first when starting your research!
Finding the Databases
- Go to the applications page and click on "Library Catalogue - Louise Arbour". Then click on Library eResources. Click on eResources. Click on Intermediate/Secondary. Then you will find all of our databases.
- Go to www.peelschools.org. Click on the pink BYOD link. Click on the teal library circular icon. The intermediate/secondary library databases will be listed below.
Boolean Search Operators
The Research - Databases
Once you have found the databases you will need to start searching for your topic. When conducting your search, you will need to narrow down your topic. Since you are looking for biographical information for your research, there are a number of databases that will be very helpful when trying to find the information that you need. The following are a list of potential databases that may be helpful with conducting your research for this culminating assignment.
- Britannica Online School Edition
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Canadian Reference Centre
- Canadian Points of View
- Ontario Newspapers
- Canada in Context
- Popular Culture Collection
- Maclean's
All of the databases are great sources of information. Although these have been recommended as places to start, you can try other databases if you are not finding the information you need. They are better than a random search on a website because you can find a lot of information here that has been written by experts in the field. Many of the databases are specific to certain topics! Below are some examples of what the database icons look like. You cannot access the databases from here! But you can access the databases from the Secondary eResources link just below!
Note Taking and the Databases
When To Cite: A Checklist
I now know when to cite my work....but how do I do it?
Depending on the course that you are in, how you cite your work may vary. For example, MLA is generally used for literary research (i.e. English, History, Geography, etc) as well as academic papers in the humanities field. APA is used for scientific papers, laboratory reports, psychology, education and other social sciences. There are significant differences between MLA and APA citations so we are going to explore how to cite our work in MLA format.
MLA 8 - The New Way to Cite in MLA Format
Embedded Citations - MLA Format
Creating a Works Cited Page in MLA 8 Format
MLA 8 was designed to simplify the process, helping writers accurately and intuitively cite sources more easily, requiring that every source type follow the same format. This means that books, websites, periodicals, videos, photographs, and all other types of sources now use this same standard format.
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate the same “core elements” from their sources and place them in a standard order in order to create their citations.
The “Core Elements” of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):
- Authors.
- Title of the source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Numbers,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.
Example of an MLA Eighth Edition Works Cited Page:
MLA 8th Edition - Formatting Help
Part C - The Formal Presentation
Once you have completed your research report, you will prepare a formal presentation for the class that:
provides a detailed history of the wrongfully accused and their crime(s) or stories
includes visuals aides – pictures, short video clips (20-30 seconds), etc.
Your formal presentation should be approximately five minutes in length.
The following link will give you ideas and information about how to present your work in a visually appealing way. There are a lot of newer options out there so don't rely on just Prezi and Power Point! If you have any questions about how to use these tech tools, as the teacher librarian!