ISearch Worksheet

What is an I-search?

An Isearch is a research paper that asks a question. It does not simply gather information for its own sake. It asks a question, and then you hunt for information that answers the question.

It is a question whose answer matters to your life in some way. It is a question you really do not know the answer to, but you would like to. It is a question which you can realistically pursue in the course of a single semester. It is a question with more legs, depth, angles, and nuance than a simple yes/no answer.

It is a research paper that puts "I"--you--at the center of things.

What do you want to write about? Hit songs

What do you want to find out about your topic? How do you make a hit song, what goes into writing the music and lyrics, and what makes it a hit song, is it the music or the lyrics?

What are your questions about the topic?

1. How long does it take to write a hit song?

2. What makes a hit song (what does it have to be about)?

3. Does the music or lyrics make the song a hit?

How does it connect to your life?

I love music, it’s my soul, but I find that what songs or artists I love other people can’t stand, and vice versa. So I want to know what makes a hit song to different people.

Give three reasons you like the topic

1. I am constantly listening to music.

2. I am learning to play violin, piano, and guitar.

3. I want to write my own music.

Give three ways your life might change if you answer your questions

1. I might get over my stage fright and be able to sing and talk in front of people.

2. I might decide to change my career goals.

3. I might get famous (very large might there but it could happen, maybe).

Do you already know the answer to your question?  If the answer is sitting in a single book somewhere or if all you need do to find the answer is make some simple decision or ask one person one question, it isn't going to work out for a research paper becuase there isn't much you can research. Is it that kind of question and answer?  If it is, please redo the worksheet.

Things: Graf #5

I have beat up beanie baby that I bought with my own money from Mr. Paperback in Dover-Foxcroft when I was four or five. I couldn’t pronounce the name on tag so I called him Ruffles instead of Rufus, which was the name on the tag. He was fluffy and chocolate brown and cream colored when I first bought him. Now his fur is short and scratchy and his colors have faded to brown and dirty grayish cream. I used to carry him around with me everywhere, from home to school and on field trips. I lost him at school once when I was in elementary school. My mom would drop my sister off act school then drive across the street to the back entrance of my school and drop me off. When I got out of the car he must have fallen out of my bag because when I went to get him out later that day he wasn’t in there. I slept with him every night and then would bring him downstairs with me when I woke up, so I figured that I left him on the counter or in my bed. When I got home that night I looked all over the house for him and couldn’t find him anywhere. My mom had bought another beanie baby, the same one, shortly after I bought Ruffles when she saw how attached I was to him. She gave the new one to me and I immediately hated it, it didn’t look anything like Ruffles. I was devastated and cried every night for almost a week. The following Monday after my Mom had dropped me off at school she found Ruffles half buried in snow on the side of the road. She took him home, washed and dried him, and had him sitting out for me when I got home.

Another time when I was looking for him in the morning before school I found him underneath the futon in our living room. He had been attacked by mice in the night when I had accidentally left him downstairs over night. I screamed out like someone had attacked me and picked up as much of him as I could. I ran into the bathroom where my Mom was taking a shower and started crying. My mom put him up on the counter and sprayed disinfecting spray on him, then sewed him back together when she got him from work that night.

He’s battered and matted, his colors have faded and he’s deformed, but he’s my most prized possession. He’s the one thing that I would have to save if my house was on fire. I’ve always known right where he is, and I have to take him with me whenever I go on long trips away from home. He’s my ‘safety blanket’ and I always have to have him with me whenever I’m really upset.