Completion of Paper - Due Dates

Your paper should have been turned in by Friday, June 10th.  If you were a late admit, you may finish your paper on the last two days of class.

As I have said numerous times before, I will not accept papers the majority of which were not done in class.  Students cannot expect to pass this class if they have not written the majority of their paper in class during class time.  I must have seen the paper in progress throughout the cycle.

I MUST HAVE SEEN AT LEAST TWO AND A HALF PAGES BY FRIDAY, JUNE 10th in order for you to be allowed to work on it over the weekend.  You may work to complete the paper in class on Monday, June 13th and Tuesday, June 14th, if you have given me sufficient work by Friday, June 10th. 

Students may be eligible for credit recovery depending on Cycle 6 class participation, and sufficient ongoing meetings with me regarding your work on this paper.

Where You Should be By Today, June 7th, 2011

You should have at least three pages completed of your paper.  Without having a majority of your paper completed, you will not be able to finish it in a timely fashion, meeting the criteria of the assignment.  See me if there are extenuating circumstances, and you need some extra help.  The paper is due by week's end, and corrections will be finalized next week. 

If I do not see the paper in progress, and/or if you have not written the bulk of the paper in class, you will not pass this class.  I will not accept a paper the majority of which has not been written in my class and with my supervision.  Also, in order to get credit you must have ALL the articles you are citing in your paper printed out and in your folder. 

Thank you for the hard work you are doing to complete this assignment.

Where You Should be By Today, May 31st, 2011

By now, you should have completed the following, as we proceed with our research paper:

1) You must have your introductory paragraph.  The main part of your introduction must be your Thesis Statement.  In order to do this, you must have turned your Research Question into a Thesis Statement.  This Thesis Statement is based on the research that you have conducted and the articles you have read, and must answer your research question.

2) You should already have written three to five paragraphs giving examples from your research articles that support your thesis statement.  [NOTE: All together, by Friday, you will need to have four to five points from each of your three articles in your paper]. 

3) You must correctly cite all sources, based on my handout (also available as a post on this blog).

NOTE: Your first draft is due Friday of this week.  I DO NOT expect you to have completed the "works cited"/bibliography this week.  We will work on that next week.

How to Create an MLA Citation for Your Paper

1) When you cite your source within the text of the paper, make sure you include the author, title of the article and the publication.  When you site the same source again, only use the author's last name.

Example:
In her New York Times article, “Harsh Lights on Two Men, But Glare Falls on Women,” Kate Zernike explains how women are often targeted by the media when they are involved with high-profile men. “…[T]here is less hesitation to try to reveal every detail of the lives of the women involved, as if those details could somehow explain the headlines about the powerful figures.” Zernike also explains that these women do not seek the spotlight.

[Note: If there's no author, cite the name of the agency or organization that produced the article.  If the agency or organization is an acronym (initials, like "FBI," or "CDC,") you must state the full name of the agency or organization in the first citation, and then follow it with the acronym.]

Example: The Center for Disease Control (CDC), in a paper entitled, "How to Combat Diabetes," describes three ways to deal with the potentially life-threatening disease.  The CDC also explains ways to prevent diabetes from developing.

At the end of your paper, you will cite the full information about the article in your Works Cited list, It will be a sixth piece of paper, and will be on a separate and final sheet.

2) For your Works Cited list at the end of your paper, here are some examples of correct citations in MLA format:

If it is from a government source and there is no author:
"Basic Information about HIV and AIDS | Topics | CDC HIV/AIDS." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 18 May 2011. 19 May 2011 < http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm >

If it is from an online newspaper:
Zernike, Kate. "Harsh Light on Two Men, but Glare Falls on Women." New York Times. 18 May 2011. Web. 19 May 2011.
< http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/us/19schwarzenegger.html?hp >

How to Cite Your Sources:

You must have the following, following the exact format indicated below. That means when there’s a period, you must have a period. When something is italicized, you must have it in italics. Please follow the format exactly.

Type of Information How It’s Done:
1.  Author of article:
LastName, Firstname.
2.  Title of the article: 
“Title.”
3.  Who published it: 
Name of Publication.
4.  Type of publication: 
Web.
5.  Date when it was published:
Day Month Year.
6.  Date when you accessed it:
Day Month Year.
7.  Exact, full web address:
< http://exactwebaddress >.

Organizing Your Paper

Now it's time to organize your thoughts in planning your paper.

1) You need to outline at least five points from each article you've chosen. That means you need to find the main idea and supporting evidence for the important points of each article that you will be using.

2) You need to develop the structure of your paper. The paper will, of course, need to have a beginning, middle and end. We commonly refer to these as the introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Your paper will be five double-spaced pages, in Times New Roman or Arial, with no bigger than a v12 point font. Likewise, don't begin your paper a third of a way down the page. The paper starts at the top of the page. You will have a title page for the title. The paper will include in addition, a bibliography or "works cited" list at the end. You will learn how to cite works in the bibliography AND within the paper using the MLA format. This is a format that most colleges and universities want students to use, as they begin writing their college-level papers.

3) You need to change your research question into a thesis statement. See the form here and on the side under handouts to make a record of that change. Your thesis statement will form the basis for your essay, and will be the key sentence in your introduction.

Outline Organizer for your Research Paper

Here is the link to your Outline Organizer.

Each of you should have three, vetted, reputable articles with Cornell Notes sheets attached.

The next step is to take each one of your three articles and outline the main points and supportive evidence in each one.

For each article there should be at least five main points and supportive evidence.

Completing Your Work for This Cycle

In order to get credit in this class you must have the following in your folder:

3 vetted, reputable articles

3 Cornell Notes sheets, completely filled out, including:
- no less than 5 points for each article
- thoughts, interpretations or questions for each point (written opposite each point)
- a summary of your understanding of the article
- an explanation of how the article relates to your topic

The completed final, which will be given Thursday and Friday in class.

Taking Notes for Each Article You Use in Your Research

You must take notes for each article you use. Our "default" for note-taking is the Cornell Notes template. However, you may use another graphic organizer or note-taking format, as long as you include the following:

1.Your name, the class period and the date
2. The article properly “vetted.” It is from a reputable source.
3. The main points of article are listed.
4. Article points are matched with your own questions, thoughts or reactions.
5. There is a summary or overview of the point of meaning of the article.
6. There is some “higher order thinking,” analysis or discussion of the significance or meaning of the article as it relates to your Research Question.

Initial Research Steps

In your folder, you should have:
1) Your completed and signed "Research Paper Proposal Worksheet." You cannot proceed with your research unless and until this worksheet has been signed by me.

2) Your Key Word Brainstorm and URL sheet. This sheet provides a record of the key word searches you have tried, and the websites you have found. Please only write down the URLs of web sites that you have figured out are good. You check their veracity by going to "About Us" or "Contact Us." You must see if the authors have the credentials to have expertise in that subject.

4) You must have copies of the articles that you have selected.

5) You must have a Cornell notes sheet for each of the articles, and you must take notes on that sheet for each article. Your notes are your evidence that you have read and understood what you are reading. If you are continuing your research at home, you may print out a Cornell Notes template here.

"Holiday Homework": You may continue your research, providing a Cornell notes sheet for each article, translating the meaning of the article into your own words. You may also complete this Cornell notes sheet along with this article.

Refining and Deciding on Your Research Question

Is it researchable?

Is it factual?

Is it narrowed down enough?

Is it specific enough (time, place, specific aspect of the topic)?

Is it an opened-ended question (NOT a "yes - no" question)?

Is it worded as a question?

Do you already know where you might be able to get some research (NOT a search engine, actual agencies, organizations or institutions)?

Is it something in which you are interested?

Research Paper Proposal

1. Check my notes on your BRAINSTORM paper. Make sure that your BRAINSTORM has at least five to ten questions that you want to find out about your topic.

2. Use your BRAINSTORM to help you fill out the Research Paper Proposal Worksheet. This is the next step in the process of preparing for your research paper.

3. Q: "What if my Research Question is not designed to solve a problem or provide an explanation for a problem?
Q: What if it is not researchable?
A: If either of these things are the case, your Research Question cannot be used, and it will not be accepted as something you can research. Please re-think your topic, do another BRAINSTORM, and fill out a new sheet.

4. I am here to help. Ask me in class, read my written responses to your work, and come at lunch for extra help, if you need it!

List of Research Topics - from Classmembers

Here are the topics that we generated in class yesterday. In their brainstorms, many people came up with excellent questions. Now we have to narrow down our questions so that we can actually begin our research.

Topics from Pds 5 and 7

Research Topics from Periods 5 and 7 – April 7, 2011
Teen Pregnancy
Abortion
Drop Out Rate
Graduation Rates
Immigration
Drunk driving
Obama
Drug abuse
Alcohol
Drug trafficking
HIV/AIDS
Protective sex
Domestic violence – male to female (boyfriends to girlfriends).
Child abuse
Euthenasia
Albinoism
Celebrity drug problems
Theft
Sex trafficking
Pimps and hustlers in the 70’s
Crime rate between the cities in the Southern states
Addiction to alcohol
Addiction to drugs
Domestic violence
Child abuse
Foster care
Sweatshops
Food addiction
Fashion addiction
Racism
Teen pregnancy
Abortion
High school dropouts
Graduation rates between private and public and charter schools

Chosing Your Research Topic

Deciding on your Research Paper Topic:

Your research paper is going to make up a substantial part of your work for this cycle in this class. A research topic has to be a question that you want to answer. It has to be a problem or situation that research will help you understand. Your research may indicate solutions to that problem, and based on your research, you may suggest solutions.

First of all, you need to decide on a topic. Then develop a Research Question, and then begin to find sources for your research.

In order to decide on a topic, consider the following:

Good topics are:

Interesting
Manageable
Available
Worthwhile
Original

Poor topics are:
Too broad
Too narrow
too technical
Too trivial
Too subjective

Here is an example of a research topic: Teen Pregnancy

Here is an example of good and bad research questions about Teen Pregnancy:
Unsuitable: Why are kids having so many babies? (too broad, too subjective)
Unsuitable: What are the statistics on Teen Pregnancy for 1984 (too broad AND too narrow)
Suitable (Good) Topic: What factors are contributing to teen pregnancy rates in the United States during this decade?

Here's what you'd have to do:
1) Look up the statistics.
Q: Where's a good place to look up statistics? Where can we find reliable statistics?
A:

2) Find expert researchers who've written about the causes of teen pregnancy.
Q: How do we know they're experts?
A:

3) Choose articles from good, reliable and reputable sources.
Q: How do we know the sources are reliable and reputable?
A:

4) Find good sources on the internet (or in books, if you can easily get them). Print out the articles that you find. Be sure to have the URL and website name of each article on the printout.
Q: How can you make sure you know where the article came from?
A:

5) Read the articles. Highlight the key points. Take notes (Using Cornell Notes or another graphic organizer) about your thoughts and reactions as you read.
Q: What other ways of taking notes do you know about?
A:

6) Begin the process of writing your paper. This step will be gone into in greater detail as we go along.

In order to think of a topic, you can do a BRAINSTORM.
Choose a topic to think about. Write down the general topic. Then ask yourself as many questions as you can think about, regarding that topic. On a separate piece of lined, notebook paper, write down your proposed topic and 5 to 7 questions about that topic.

General Topic: Tatoos

Questions:

Who gets tattooed? What ages are they?
What cultures besides the US get tattooed?
What do certain tattoos symbolize?
Where did tattooing come from?
What’s the difference between tribal tattoos and modern tattoos from tattoo shops?
How many people get tattoos removed?
Why do people get tattooed?
What are some causes for the current popularity of getting tattooed?

If your research question can be answered in one sentence or from one website, it is not a suitable topic.

If your topic is not specific enough, it is not a suitable topic.

If your topic is just a matter of opinion, it is not a suitable topic. An example might be something like: "Why is Mr. X the best tattoo artist?" Mr. X is only the best artist in your opinion. There is no research you can find to prove that he is the best tattoo artist in the world.

Q: Are any of these research questions researchable?
Q: Which one is researchable, and how can you write it as a good research question?

How Do You Record Information Gathered From Research?

Use the Cornell Notes sheet to record the key points of your article on the Ozone Layer. The three Articles we used are:
1.Ozone Depletion Over Arctic 'Unprecedented' This Winter
By the CNN Wire Staff

2. http://www.oar.noaa.gov/climate/t_ozonelayer.html
Ozone Depletion

3.http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/ozone-depletion-overview.html Ozone Depletion - Losing Earth's Protective Layer

In groups of three, determine what information you have in common, and what information is unique to each article. Then record all of your information the group sheet.

Here's some of what students said they learned by doing this kind of an exercise:

If you cite facts, you need to be sure of them. You need to know where exactly in the text your facts come from.

Understand the vocabulary, and look up words you don't know.

Avoid plagiarism. Writing down the words from the article is plagiarism.

It's good to have more than one source for information, because then you'll know more about your topic.

Put the information you learn into your own words.

Why did we do this exercise? Students said:
1) To get more information on the topic by looking at multiple sources
2) To learn how to figure out what's important in the articles
3) To interpret and analyze the information for yourself (come to your own conclusions, based on the facts)

Instructions for Using Three Types of Graphic Organizers to Chart “Dazed and Confused”

Assignment, Due Monday, April 4th:

1.Use the “Cluster/Word Web 2” sheet to put down details about your character. The character’s name goes into the “Topic” box. You must fill at least four boxes with details about the character. For the highest grade, you should fill them all, and please make sure your work is legible.

2, Use the “Time-Order Chart” to talk about the things that happen to the character during the story. The character’s name goes in the “Topic” box. Each event is another thing that happens to the character during the course of the movie. You should be able to find 4 events for your character.

3. Use the “Story Map 2” sheet to describe the things that happen in the entire movie. List the setting, the time period in which the movie takes place, the major characters and the minor characters. You may use the internet to look up the characters in the movie. If you take text off of the internet, I will know it. Don’t do it. Everything must be in your own words.

Graphic Organizers, And What Notes Need to Look Like

Everybody has their own style of note-taking. That is true, but note-taking has to be effective. It was to WORK. The problem with some note-taking is that it is not organized or thorough enough: Notes are minimal, details are absent and the notes are confusing when looked at the next day or the next week. That defeats the purpose of note-taking.

Here are some steps to keep your notes organized:

1) Use a graphic organizer like Cornell Notes, or design your own.
2) Make lists and leave room to fill in blanks
3) Use charts that help you understand things.

Today we will look at different types of note-taking strategies, and apply them to the notes you have on your character. Use a graphic organizer or demonstrate on paper a systematic approach to note-taking. You should be able to use your notes to write an essay or paper. The notes have to "work."

Here are some organizers that could work with Dazed and Confused:
Clusterweb Graphic Organizer
Sequence of Events Graphic Organizer
Five W's Graphic Organizer
Story Map Graphic Organizer
Time Order Chart
Venn Diagram

For more graphic organizers, go to "Education Place," a web site created by publishers Houghton Mifflin.

"Dazed and Confused" Character Analysis

Today's Question: How do you observe and draw conclusions about a character?

1) Pick up your own folder from the bin and check it for notes and comments.

2) Get character names (link available on previous post).

3) Take notes during the conclusion of the film, as needed.

At the conclusion of the film, write for ten minutes about the personal journey the person has taken throughout the film. How did they start off, and what have they learned? what is the journey of this particular character? What happens to them during the course of the film?

To complete this writing assignment, you should have:
1) The name of the character
2) A physical description of the character
3) A psychological description of the character: what is his or her personality?
4) A description of the action and development of the character throughout the film.

Character Profiles

Here are some basic profiles of the characters in "Dazed and Confused." Character Profiles. Once you pick your MAIN character, describe in detail this person's personality, describe their looks, and describe what happens to them in the story.

"Dazed and Confused" and Historical Research

We're looking at the movie "Dazed and Confused" to find historical accuracy. The director and actors in this movie had to know what the 70's was really like in order to make it authentic.

Monday's In-Class Assignment:
As you watch the movie, write down at least ten things you see that are different than they are today. Describe each thing. How is it different?

Tuesday:
Pick a specific character. Observe that character as you continue to watch the film. What can you say about that character?
How do they look?
How are they dressed?
What is their personality?

We will watch the movie. Write notes as you watch. Then you will have five minutes to describe them in detail on paper.

Then: pair up with someone else who has picked that character. Share your write-ups. Combine the best of both. Then we will share out.

Careers that Need Historical Research

What Aspects of Life Have Changed, Historically?
Assignment: Watching the movie, identify 10 things that have changed, and describe what they were like back then.

different immigrant groups
transportation
technology (no cell phones)
other kinds of cars
different kinds of busses
tokens for trains (copper/bronze discs)
fashion: 70’s afros, very colorful clothing,
music: jazz, blues, punk, country, pop, record players,
(walk mans, 8-tracks, boom boxes, juke boxes)
dance: electric slide, break dancing,
different laws
food changed
food prices changed

Historical Research Can be Used By…

Taxi drivers - to understand when someone uses an old name of a street or place
Tour guides - to talk about what happened in a particular neighborhood or place
Archeologists - to understand remains
Government officials – to understand political history
Writers - to be historically accurate in their stories
Journalists – accurate information
News reporters – historical context of current events
Social studies teachers - to know what happened in history so that they can explain it to students
Doctors – to know previous cures, treatments, and patient histories
Scientists - to know how experiments have gone in the past
Politicians – to be informed, to be accurate
Entrepreneurs – to learn from other entrepreneurs’ mistakes
Fashion – to be inspired by past trends
Lawyers – to know different cases in the past
Actors – when they have to act out scenes from the past, to know what it was like then and act accordingly
Directors – to be historically accurate, so their movies are believable

Steps to Making Your Essay The Best It Can Be

The class came up with the following steps to help improve essays:

Plan your information before you write it.
Make sure your introduction has enough information.
Make a valid conclusion.
Don’t be repetitive.
People have different styles.
Finish the assignment.
Re-read.
Proof-read.
If you make a mistake in your essay, you should not make the paper look messy.
Watch out for run-on sentences.
Write longer paragraphs.
Put in more details.
Use a lot of examples from the story (or text).
Have at least one other person look at your paper before you turn it in.
You write your essay and you think it’s good, but when you see the rubric, you see what the real criteria (qualifications) are for a good paper.
Make sure your conclusion is wrapped up tightly.
Keep your essay well organized.
Watch your penmanship.
Be understandable.
Be clear.
Be specific.
Make sure your sentences make sense.
Check for spelling.

Evaluating Using The Rubric

How do we equally apply the rubric, really understanding the way it functions?

As we looked at the rubric we identified words that were new to us. Here is a list of the class's new vocabulary words:

Valid = legitimate; legally acceptable; not expired; logical; well-founded

Sparse = far and few between

Minimal = very little

Sophisticated = classy, smart, well-read, intelligent, experienced in the world, well-educated, complex

Analysis = The separation of a whole into its component parts in order to study the parts and their relation to the whole

Thesis = an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument

Viable = clear, something that can be verified

Then we began to identify vocabulary in the first student essay:
Infrastructure =
1) An underlying base or foundation, especially for an organization or system
2) The basic facilities, services and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society

and we verified the spelling of the word
definitely

We identified criteria for evaluating the essays, and began to apply it to student-created essays that we examined as a group. Students corrected grammar, punctuation and spelling errors in the first essay.

Informed Peer Review: Evaluating Your Writing Using the Rubric and Your Grammar Handouts

Steps to Analyzing, Correcting and Evaluating Your Essay:

1.) Your partner must be someone you do not know.

2.) You should sit across from your partner at the tables in the classroom.

3.) Read the essay, aloud or silently, with pencil in hand. Make corrections as needed, using the Grammar handouts on Commas, Apostrophes and Spelling as references.

4.) Attach a copy of the rubric to the essay. What score would you give the overall paper? In the "Comments" area, make notes describing three or four steps the author of the essay should take to improve their work in the future.

Welcome to Cycle 5, Spring 2011

Our last unit in Cycle 4 had to do with reading, understanding what you're reading and then drawing conclusions based on what you'd learned. The assignment required you to think about what the implications are for us, as we consider the disaster in Japan.

In writing, meaning is key, but form is also a necessary element. Form ensures that our writing communicates what we mean effectively.

What tools do we have at our disposal that help us to write well? We have our Rules of Comma Use, Rules of Apostrophe Use, and Spelling and Grammar Tips. Those are all available to the right of this post, under "Handouts." Let's use these tools to make sure our writing meets a minimum standard of good writing. Along with "development", these tools will ensure that we communicate effectively.

Instructions for Final Writing Assignment for Cycle 4

Assignment: Written Response to Tsunami Article

1. Using either the Cornell Notes sheet or the handout for this assignment, list the most important points in the article.

2. Write an essay of approximately a page and a half on lined 8.5x11 paper, responding to the questions below. USE YOUR NOTES to create your first paragraph.
In your first paragraph, paraphrase: What have you learned about the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan by reading the article?
In your second and third paragraphs, explain your ideas about what the American people, the American government, and we, as individuals should do if this kind of thing ever happened here in New York. What would you suggest the government do, and what would you do for yourself and your family?
DO NOT respond to this assignment in question and answer format. This assignment must be done in essay format. In order to get credit for this assignment you must also turn in your notes.

Reading, Identifying Key Points, Drawing Conclusions

Write an essay in response to The New York Times' Article on the Tsunami in Japan.

First, on the handout in the classroom, read the article with a highlighter, and note the salient (most important) points. Then take your notes.
1. What are the most important points in the article (write them in note form) on the handout:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Next, in essay format, paraphrase: What have you learned about the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan?
a) What should we (the American people, the American government, and we, as individuals) do if this kind of thing should ever happen here in New York?

b)What would you suggest the government do, and what would you do for yourself and your family?

Write the responses to these questions in an essay of approximately a page and a half on lined 8.5x11 notebook paper.

How to know if a web site is legitimate?

• The site has to have good information from a reliable source. Is the source reliable? Does the person writing the document/web site have the education necessary to speak about this topic?
• What are the credentials?
• Who’s behind the web site? What other organizations does that person refer to? Who do they say is behind it? Is there a group of people? Who are they?
• What is the URL? What is the root directory?
• References – follow the links. Are they legitimate?
• Check “About Us” and “Contact Us”.
• Google the names and organizations
• How current Is the website? – Check the date, if there is one.

Determining Validity: Identifying Bias

We looked at establishing the legitimacy and reputability of a web site. We also must look at language on websites to determine the bias of the web site. Let's look at the websites we examined yesterday. What is bias, and what words indicate bias in the language of the websites?

The class will discuss their findings of yesterday, and we will examine some of the websites to determine their bias.

What other agencies or organizations or institutions or media outlets do you know of who clearly have a bias? What does "bias" really mean? We can be biased in favor of something, just as we can be biased against it. What biases do we find in our own thinking?

How Do You Assess a Web Site?

Look up these websites:
Global Warming Solutions http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.org
Global Warming http://www.globalwarming.org/
Big Bang Theory http://www.big-bang-theory.com/
The Big Bang http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/bigbang.htm

What organizations or agencies or people are behind these sites? Are they legitimate sources for Global Warming and The Big Bang Theory? Why? Why not? Complete this Web Site Assessment Form with your responses.

How to you Verify a Source?

You found a lot of information on the internet. Now, how do you know it's good information? When you meet someone in the street do you immediately believe their story? How do you figure out if they're legit? You need the same "street smarts" when you evaluate internet web sites. Read today's handout (see below) to learn ways to evaluate web sites.

What Does Good Research Look Like?

In order to do good research, there are some skills and techniques you have to practice. In today's class we began to identify those methods. As a class, we came up with the following strategies that are essential for good Internet research:

CHOOSE A GOOD SEARCH ENGINE:

I recommend Google. There are other many other search engines, but if you want to use another one, ask me, and we'll look at it together to decide if it's a good one to use for the type of research that you're conducting.

BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW YOU PHRASE YOUR SEARCH.
When you type your search terms into the search engine (for instance, Google):
• Use correct grammar and spelling
• Be as specific as possible
• Be thorough
• Narrow your search, so you get exactly what you want

Vary your search terms. For example, when researching early rap: “KRS1” or “KRS One” or “Chris Parker” or “Kris Parker,” or other things associated with him, like
the term “Edutainment” could work to get you the results you’re looking for.
Use quotation marks around your search term, if the words have to go together. For example, Chris Parker becomes “Chris Parker,” so that you don’t get everyone named Chris, and all the Parkers in the world.
When you type words in, your search engine is going to search for all those words in addition to those words in combination. So, for example,

prom dresses Spanish Harlem

will result in Google searching for everything that has the word "prom," the word "dresses," the word "Spanish" and the word "Harlem," in addition to looking for "prom dresses" and "Spanish Harlem."

In order to get ONLY prom dresses in Spanish Harlem, you would need to put each phrase in quotes. That tells the search engine to only look for those words in those exact combinations. So you can search Google by typing in

"prom dresses" "Spanish Harlem"

However, there may be stores in Spanish Harlem that are not listed because they do not use the phrase "Spanish Harlem" in their own pages. Perhaps they use "Upper East Side," or "East Harlem" or simply list the street on which they are located, like "3rd Avenue," or "Third Avenue," or "116th Street" or "116 St". All of these are different search terms. If you really want to find a place in Spanish Harlem, you may have to try all these things. ALSO, A LOT OF STORES, INSTITUTIONS, and BOOKS DO NOT HAVE WEBSITES. Everything that exists is not online. A person might have a store and not make a website for it.
We found out that a lot of stores in Spanish Harlem that sell prom dresses do not have websites. That does not mean they do not exist. Lots of places that exist are not online.

WHEN TRYING TO FIND DETAILED INFORMATION OR READ A BOOK, REMEMBER:
Sometimes you actually have to go to a library to read a document or book on the topic. Usually, entire books are not online, especially new ones. The only entire books that are online are public domain books (like Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc). You can find many public domain books online at Project Gutenberg. You can also check out authorama.com.

WHO CREATED THE WEBSITE?
Find out who wrote the information on the website, and write down those details.

ASK YOURSELF: Who are they? Who is the author of the website? What organization or group is behind it?

ARE THEY REPUTABLE?
• Have you already heard about the authors or institutions behind the website and do you know that they're reputable already? (for instance, students suggested that one might go to merriam-webster.com, because we already know that they are a good company that publishes dictionaries.)
• Always verify your information by looking at more than one reputable source.
• Read the information on the website carefully. Is it sound? Does it make sense? Does it seem credible?
• Determine who wrote the website by looking at “Contact Us,” or “About Us,” or the citations and bibliography at the bottom, or
• Verify your source by making sure you look at more than one source.

ARE THEY RELIABLE?
• Is there a second website that confirms the information on that website?
• When did they update their page last?
• Google the owner and/or author.

WHAT DOES THE URL TELL YOU?
• Go back to the root directory of the website to see who hosted it. For example, in the url: http://www.columbia.edu/texts/religion/philosophy.html, the root directory is www.columbia.edu. When looking at the root directory, look for the type of website it is. You can find that out by looking at the letters that come after the first dot. For example:

o .org = organization (non-profit)
o .edu = college or university (- usually. Sometimes it’s a school system.)
o .net = is a commercial designation. (In other words, anyone can get it.)
o .com = company or commercial. Anyone can have one.
o .gov = U.S. Government web site.
o .info = information about some agency or group.
Two letter codes, are country codes, but they are commercial.
o .uk = United Kingdom (also called Great Britain).
o .ca = Canada
o .tv = Tuvalu
o de = Germany
o fr = France