Compass Prep

What is the best coffee? Which shoe is the most popular this year? What college has the best biology major? We all research regularly, but do we know how to find trustworthy sources of information? The course is designed to introduce students to reliable online research sources of information and ways to conduct research using original documents, interviews, and surveys. Additionally, students will learn what constitutes plagiarism, the difference between summarizing, paraphrasing, and annotating, as well as methods of incorporating quotes into papers and correctly citing reference materials (APA, MLA, and Chicago style). A variety of projects will be assigned throughout the year, including a travel brochure, a presentation, a biographical essay about a historical figure, an invention report or science project trifold board, an infographic poster, and a medium-length research paper. This course fulfills one of the elective requirements for graduation or may be used to fill the composition portion of the student’s English course requirement for the year.

Coursestorm Online Enrollment is Free—Course Fee: $390 and a $30 copy fee for teacher-created materials and a student account on *Noodle Tools". A $50 non-refundable course enrollment deposit will be billed immediately upon registration and applies toward your overall tuition.  The balance must be paid by July 1, or select a payment plan of $200 (including the copy fee) payable by July 1 and $170 by November 1.

*Noodle Tools is an online program that helps students organize their research process by compiling resources, taking online notes instead of notecards, creating outlines, and drafting papers. This program allows the teacher to directly comment on the student’s paper in the various stages of drafting, as well as allows for peer editing.

Recommended credit: 1.0 credit

Required Materials: No textbook is required, but students will need to utilize the Internet and a computer(Microsoft Word or similar word processing program, Google Slides, PowerPoint, etc.) to complete homework assignments. A three-ring binder or notebook for handouts is also required.

Course Meets: Tuesdays 10:30 - 11;25

Accepted forms of payment: Zelle, Venmo, Cash or Check

All payments are non-refundable