Former Teacher Writes Research Paper Guide Using
Proven Techniques
Smyrna, DE, 20 January 2009 –This
month, Delaware-based publishing company, Prestwick House, Inc. presented a
new, comprehensive handbook on the research paper written by former English language
arts teacher, Douglas Grudzina.
Grudzina has over 25 years of classroom experience
in Delaware and co-chaired the Delaware English Language Arts Curriculum
Framework Commission that set the content and performance standards for English
Language Arts in the state. During his teaching career, he was heavily involved with the Delaware Department of Education, helping to write and
oversee the creation of the Delaware Interim Assessment and the Delaware
Student Testing Program. Grudzina continues to sit on the review committee to
assess items written for the DSTP.
Having taught at least one section on the research
paper in class every year, Grudzina decided to take his experiences both in and
out of the classroom to create this guide. This book is different from many
others on the market because of the extra practice students get by actively helping
two fictional peers: Ella, whose work provides the models; and Rob, whose work
students will analyze, critique, and help develop.
“When I
was teaching students the research process,” says Grudzina, “all of the books
available were short on samples of student work. By adding such examples
(especially the flawed work that students get to fix), I’ve added the chance
for students to practice the necessary skills before throwing them to the
wolves and telling them to write their own paper. We claim to be teaching a
skill (research and writing), but we never allow kids to practice before they
have to do it for real. In what other arena is a practitioner judged with such
minimal instruction and no practice?”
Other
additions to the book include more detailed instructions on skills such as
paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as extensive sections on plagiarism and
techniques on how to avoid it.
“Unfortunately,
kids get slammed all the time for plagiarizing,” says Grudzina, “but a lot of
them have no idea they’ve done anything wrong!”
Like the dangers of plagiarism, the sequence of a typical research
project has not changed, but the way students perform research has. Due to
evolving media and access to the Internet, students — and teachers for that
matter — do not always know the rules for finding a reliable source, proper
citation, and avoiding plagiarism.
“The
Internet — and word processing— have changed everything. There are countless
avenues to information. Our job is really no longer to introduce kids to these
avenues, but to teach them how to evaluate what’s worth paying attention to and
what’s not.”
Writing an A+ Research Paper is now available both online at
PrestwickHouse.com or by calling (800)-932-4593.
About Prestwick House - Founded in 1983 by a former Dover High
School administrator, Prestwick House is a leader
in educational publishing. With a focus on helping English teachers in grades
9-12, Prestwick House publishes the largest selection of literature teaching
guides in the country, a line of classic novels, and hundreds of other
educational products. Find out more at www.prestwickhouse.com.
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If you’d
like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please call
Keith Bergstrom at 302/659-2070 ext 131 or E-mail Keith at
keith@prestwickhouse.com
