You are DONE with the research paper!
I'm proud of all of you for completing this task under the most unusual of circumstances. This says a lot about you and your commitment to learning.
At the bottom of this post, I'm going to include my thoughts on what I hope you've learned from the process. You don't have to read it, but it's there if you are curious about why we did what we did.
For right now, your main task is to finish reading the Great Gatsby. I'm sure the district will be providing us more guidance in the upcoming days now that our out of school time has been extended. But give yourself a little break after finishing your paper, and then finish up with your Gatsby reading.
The AP people are exploring a testing from home option, so as of now, we are assuming you will be doing your AP tests. Stay tuned.
Research Paper Goals:
I hope you've learned the importance of breaking down a large job into smaller less horrible pieces.
I hope you've learned how to polish take home writing and the process of how to tear apart a sentence a rebuild a stronger one.
I hope you've learned how literature analysis looks at smaller claims (observations) and their larger significance (importance.)
I hope you've learned that academic articles exist in all disciplines, that they may be challenging to read, but that they present important ideas.
I hope you've learned that MLA formatting is just one of many style schools that you will have to follow at the college level.
I hope you've learned how to collaborate with your instructor and peers to help create the strongest possible end product.
I hope you've learned how to synthesize information from various texts into a cohesive and well reasoned argument.
I hope you've learned how to stick with an assignment that probably drove you crazy at times and to find the motivation and persistence to get it done anyway.
Finally, I hope you feel proud that the essay you turned in is better than an essay you would have written at the beginning of the year and that you've grown as a writer and thinker!
