Overview
The final portfolio that students will submit to the judges will consist of the following items:
Students will receive their cover letters and Mentor Requirements/Verification Forms back in time for their presentation. Students will also receive a portfolio folder in which to place items 1-5 from above. All items should be placed in the portfolio and given to the lead judge on the day of the studentīs presentation.
The entire process begins with the essential question.
The essential question is the foundation of the entire graduation project. The paper, product, and presentation all live and die with the essential question.
The research topic should be one in which the student is interested but not one about which the student is already an expert. Students should explore "new ground" as much as possible. The topic should be broad enough to allow students access to enough information yet focused enough to make the research scope reasonable. Students should consider personal goals, abilities, and interests in the selection of the topic.
Suggestions for Essential Question Development
1) Link the question in some way to the more encompassing nature of the topic. Most good essential questions feature key words such as significance, impact, effect/affect, influence, importance, emergence, necessary, evolve/evolution, and change.
2) The questions should be clear, direct, and precise. The essential question is the thesis of the research paper in interrogative form. In other words, the essential question is in question form; the thesis is in statement form. The essential question/thesis requires careful revision and thought.
3) The answer to the essential question should be open-ended. If the answer is obvious, throw out the question. Itīs already been answered.
4) This research paper is not a report. This paper requires students to investigate an idea, present its angles, form opinions, make interpretations, and ultimately draw a conclusion.
After choosing the essential question, the student must pick a mentor. A mentor is a person who has, if not expertise, at least vast experience concerning the student's topic.
The Mentor form is available on this website as downloadable file for your convenience.
