Grade 10 Asia and the World

A compelling question is a question that is thought-provoking, open-ended, and engages students in critical thinking and inquiry. It is designed to spark curiosity, promote exploration of multiple perspectives, and encourage deeper understanding of a topic. 

Here are examples of compelling questions across different subjects:

Social Studies:

• How did the Civil Rights Movement impact social change in the United States?
• What factors contributed to the rise and fall of ancient civilizations?
• How have globalization and technology influenced the global economy?

Science:

• What are the ethical implications of genetic engineering in agriculture?
• How does climate change impact biodiversity in different ecosystems?
• What are the potential long-term effects of antibiotic resistance on public health?

Non-examples of compelling questions would be questions that have a simple, factual answer or do not require critical thinking or analysis. For example:

• What year did World War II end?
• How many planets are in the solar system?
• Who was the first president of the United States?

These questions can be easily answered with a quick search or basic knowledge, and do not prompt deeper exploration or critical thinking.

To make a compelling question, follow these guidelines:

1. Open-ended: Make sure the question does not have a simple "yes" or "no" answer. It should prompt critical thinking and encourage discussion.

2. Relevant: The question should be related to the topic being studied and should be of interest to students.

3. Thought-provoking: Choose a question that challenges students to think critically, analyze information, and consider multiple perspectives.

4. Multifaceted: The question should allow for exploration of different aspects or viewpoints on the topic.

5. Real-world connection: Consider how the question relates to real-world issues or experiences to make it more engaging and relevant to students.

By following these guidelines, you can create compelling questions that will engage students in deeper learning and inquiry.

Source: Lekanides, Kosta. IB Extended Essay Course Book. Oxford IB Diploma Programme, 2016.

This video is geared toward PhD students, but it gives good advice for how to use AI to refine your ideas.

What is notetaking important?

• Good notes identify questions, summarize key points, and connect your ideas to your thesis and to other sources.
• Taking notes helps you remember and understand information better.
• Taking notes helps you read analytically and critically.
• Writing things down helps you identify areas that you need to explore further.
• Notetaking provides distance from sources, making it a useful strategy to avoid plagiarism.

What should I write in my notes?

Information about the source:

• Before you start taking notes on the content, write down the details about where the information comes from. For books, note the author, title, publisher, where it was published, and the date it was published. For journal articles, write down the journal name, volume and issue numbers, year, and page numbers.

Summary and Paraphrase:

• Most of your notes will be summaries of the author's ideas, arguments, or findings, along with some rephrased versions of specific ideas. It's important to be accurate and not mix up what you want the research to say with what it actually says. Don't take things out of context.

Facts and Figures:

• Be careful and precise when writing down facts or numbers.

Quotations:

• If you want to quote something directly, do it thoughtfully and make sure to include the context so you stay true to the author's original meaning. Use quotation marks around the exact words in your notes.

Key Terms:

• Write down important terms or words that you need to understand better. Being able to use these words correctly and explain their meanings clearly will affect how well you argue and analyze.

Response and Analysis:

• Write down your own thoughts and questions as you read. Your notes will help you keep a good balance between your own ideas and the material you're studying.
• Think about how the text's interpretation relates to your topic and thesis.
• Compare and contrast different arguments from scholars.
• Evaluate how the author supports their claims with evidence or logical reasoning.
• Ask questions like "how," "why," and "so what?"
• Consider how your research supports or contradicts your thesis, and how you will address it in your essay.

Tips for Effective Note-Taking

1. Stay focused: Keep your work's purpose in mind and adjust your thesis and outline as you read and research.
2. Stay organized: Create a designated folder for your research, save digital files regularly, and clearly label them.
3. Use bullet points and your own words: Take notes in a concise, point-form style using your own language. Include your thoughts and analysis. Remember to include references and page numbers for all sources.
4. Summarize after breaks: Pause at logical breaks in the reading, like paragraphs, sub-sections, or chapters, to summarize the author's ideas. Then, go back and note specific details you want to include.
5. Review and summarize: Once you've finished reading the entire text, go back and review your notes. Summarize the key points and explain how they relate to your own work

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Taking Notes

1. Taking too many notes: If you don't have a clear research direction, it's easy to take way more notes than you need. Focus on recording only the ideas that are relevant to your topic, thesis, and fit into your outline.
2. Using sticky notes or highlighting instead of writing in your own words: When you put ideas into your own words, it makes you think more carefully about the material. It also helps you avoid accidentally copying someone else's work.
3. Copying and pasting from electronic sources: This can make it hard to remember if the ideas are yours or the author's. It can also lead to relying too much on direct quotes in your paper without analyzing them properly.
4. Not referencing properly: If you wait until the end to record references, you might miss important information or struggle to find the original sources again.
5. Focusing only on the content without adding your own analysis: Ignoring your own thoughts and insights can result in a paper that has too much summary and not enough critical analysis.

Adapted from “Useful Research Notes.” Academic Skills - Trent University, www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-use-sources/research-process/useful-research-notes.

S - Stop

Before you read or share an article or video, STOP!​

Be aware of your emotional response to the headline or information in the article. Headlines are often meant to get clicks, and will do so by causing the reader to have a strong emotional response.

Before sharing, consider:

What you already know about the topic. ​

What you know about the source. Do you know it's reputation?

Before moving forward or sharing, use the other three moves: Investigate the Source, Find Better Coverage, and Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media back to the Original Context.

I - Investigate the Source

The next step before sharing is to Investigate the Source.

Take a moment to look up the author and source publishing the information.

What can you find about the author/website creators? ​

What is their mission? Do they have vested interests? ​Would their assessment be biased?

Do they have authority in the area?​

Use lateral reading. Go beyond the 'About Us' section on the organization's website and see what other, trusted sources say about the source.​ You can use Google or Wikipedia to investigate the source.

Hovering is another technique to learn more about who is sharing information, especially on social media platforms such as Twitter.

The Standford Experiment

F - Find Better Coverage

The next step is to Find Better Coverage or other sources that may or may not support the original claim.

Again, use lateral reading to see if you can find other sources corroborating the same information or disputing it.​

What coverage is available on the topic? 

Keep track of trusted news sources.

Many times, fact checkers have already looked into the claims. These fact-checkers are often nonpartisan, nonprofit websites that try to increase public knowledge and understanding by fact checking claims to see if they are based on fact or if they are biased/not supported by evidence.

FactCheck.org​

Snopes.com​

Washington Post Fact Checker​

 PolitiFact

T - Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media to their Original Context

The final step is to Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media to their Original Context.

When an article references a quote from an expert, or results of a research study, it is good practice to attempt to locate the original source of the information.​ Click through the links to follow the claims to the original source of information. Open up the original reporting sources listed in a bibliography if present

Was the claim, quote, or media fairly represented?

Does the extracted information support the original claims in the research? ​

Is information being cherry-picked to support an agenda or a bias?​

Is information being taken out of context?​

Remember, headlines, blog posts, or tweets may sensationalize facts to get more attention or clicks. ​Re-reporting may omit, misinterpret, or select certain facts to support biased claims. If the claim is taken from a source who took it from another source, important facts and contextual information can be left out. Make sure to read the claims in the original context in which they were presented.

When in doubt, contact an expert – like a librarian!​

The SIFT method is an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether online content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from the University of Chicago's adaptation of Caulfield's materials with a CC BY 4.0 license.

The playlist above is a bit old, but the information is still relevant and very very useful.

A research paper has three parts:

Introduction: introduce the topic, provide any background information your reader might need, and state the thesis

Body: this section might be divided into 3 or 4 parts which each say more about your thesis and build to prove your argument.

Conclusion: restates the thesis and summarizes the key points that answer the thesis; mentions limitations or questions that still remain.

Pro Tips:

• Decide on the thesis and main points first
• You do not need to start writing your paper with the introduction
• Try writing the thesis and body first; then go back and figure out how to best introduce the body and conclude the paper
• Use transitions between main points and between examples within the main points
• Always keep your thesis in the forefront of your mind while writing; everything in your paper must point back to the thesis

A Jane Schaffer paragraph is a structured writing method. It consists of a topic sentence, concrete details, commentary, and a concluding sentence:

The topic sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph

The concrete details provide specific examples or evidence to support the main idea

The commentary explains or analyzes the concrete details

The concluding sentence summarizes the main point of the paragraph

This format helps students learn how to organize their thoughts and write cohesive paragraphs.

CLICK the link to watch the video on YouTube

Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism:

1. Cite your source

1. Cite sources for all non-original ideas or words.
2. Include full name of source and publication date.
3. Follow style guide for additional citation elements. At ISB we use the MLA style.

2. Include quotations

• Use quotation marks when inserting a source's words verbatim.
• Cite the source for direct quotes.

3. Paraphrase

• Reword and format the writing in an original way when paraphrasing.
• Avoid using too many similar words or phrases from the source.
• Include a citation to the source when using another's idea.

4. Use your own idea

• Explore and express your unique perspective on the source's ideas.
• Avoid parroting the source's ideas or words by adding your own insights and perspective.

5. Use a plagiarism checker

• Use an online plagiarism checking tool to catch any unintentional plagiarism in your writing.
• Utilize tools like Grammarly's plagiarism checker to scan your text for borrowed content.
• Practice daily to become more aware of what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it in your work.