I-Search African-American Studies

I-Search reveals the thought processes involved in the search for answers. This allows other members of the learning community to follow the writers’ thought processes as their search leads them along the path of discovery. Throughout the I-Search process, students reflect on the information they encounter and make decisions about how to proceed based upon their reflections. This combination encourages the development of metacognitive skills because the students are required to reflect deeply as they analyze the information they uncover and make decisions about its validity. The reader is then able to share the learning process because of the emphasis on the search in writing the I-Search paper.

The I-Search Research paper enables you to learn about a topic you find personally interesting and significant.

Unlike most research papers, the I-Search reveals the thought processes involved in your search for answers. This allows your readers to follow your thought processes as your search leads them along the path of discovery.

For this paper, you will select one of the books or short stories we have read, identify one of the “claims” that the book makes about life in Africa, and engage in library and on-line research to investigate what you have been learning in our class.

•We read things fall apart by Achebe, so you can find a claim from that book it doesn’t matter …Maybe something about man hood or the bange- like dead babies coming back time and time after they are killed it . I don’t know, what ever you think is best.

Guidelines:

You should draw direct quotations from the text as well as from your research sources.
You don’t have to simply prove that the claim is “true” or “false.” Rich, complex answers are preferred. Indeed, the paper should not be in list form, but carefully explore and develop ideas.
You can use “I” and should discuss the process and journey of your research, and the development of your ideas.
You can trace what you found first, what it led to, what you noticed in the library research process, and so on. The I-Search paper is not asking you to write about why you chose the topic as much as how the journey of the research went.
Your paper should have at least 5 on-line sources — more welcome.
To do an adequate job with this assignment the paper should be at least 8 pages long. More welcome.
MLA format.