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MOMENT RESUME BD '154 415 CS X04 151 . .., . AbTHOR Kraus, V. Keith . 0 TITLE 'Murder, Mischief, ant Mayhem: A Process for Creative --A . , Research Papers. INSTITUTXON National Council of TeacherS of.:English, Urbana, In.% A PUB DATE 78 .; NOTE . 148p. AVAILABLE .FROM National Council of Teachers'of English, 1111'Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 4Stock No. 32200, $5,95 non-member, $4.70 member) EDRS PRICE MF-i0.83 HC -$7.35 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS' College Freshmen;'*Composition°(Liteary); English Instruction; *Expository Vritim; Higher Education;' Information Seeking; Inforatien UtilizatiOn;. *Learning Activ'iti'es; Library Research; *Libpry Skills; *Research Projects; *Research:Skills; Writing 1 Skills IDENTIFIERS *Research Papers .9' ABSTRACT . Assuming thatNfreshman research papers can ble r-r-- interesting as well as educational, this book presents tensample student, papers selected from classes in which research methods were taught through the use of newspapers and periodicals. The paper topics, based on real people and actual events, range from bizaare, murder cases and treasure expeditions to famous Indians, explorers, and obscure biographies. In addition to the student papers, the book offers the foiloWing guidelines for researching and writing aboit a newpaper case: library research exercises, methods' for'research, a -procedure for writing a paper, and a ten-point research.paper check 'list, for students. The book includes a list of 100 annotated research. topics that have resulted in superlot-studenipaperi over a five year teaching period. (MAI) , 4 1 ,) t - , . , . , . ***********************************************************************-0' * 'Reproductions supplied by:EDRS are the best that can, be made 0 , * . from the original document. Alt, 4c#44,11*#211****4444404421144#44214#######*2011444421421120001441214#2114420000444401421444 v ti U S. DE PARTMENT CIF HEALTH, EDUCATION &WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION. THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM MURDER, THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS.. STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- - SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF .0 MISCHIEF, EDUCATION POSITION SR POLICY AND MAYHEM fie A PROCESS FOR ' CREATIVE RESEARCH' PAPERS W KEITH KRAUS Sh i ppens b u rg: Staten College , . rF 0 National Council'of Teachers of English 1,111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 4 O "PEFkISSION TOVIEPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN dR ANT ED;BY National Council of Teachdrs of En lish TOTHE EDUCATIOAL RESOURCES INF MATION CENER (ERIC/ AND 'USER F THE ERIC STEM " 2', 9 A i , . Acknowledgments: I am indebted to Janie Lytle,Margie Finkey, and SherrySmith,who typed the manuscript, as well as Professor Mark Givler, whoproofread the final pages. And it does without saying that without the enthusiastic response of students in my classest Shippensburg State College this book could not have been published. Their eagerness forthisrokct was only exceeded by their thor'oughness, and I only hope the many.hours they spentreaditrg microfilm copies of old 'newspapers will make them better asJare of -theintricacies of research, 4, NCTE Editorial Board: E4 n M. Cope)and, Rudine Sims,Donald C. Stewar , Ann Terry, Frank Zidonis, Robert F. 11 gan, ex officio, Paul O'Dea, exofficio Staff Editor: Carol Schanche Book Design' Tom Kovacs NCTE Stock Number3220J 4 @)1978 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. -It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and otherpublications to provide a fort rii for the open discussion orideas concerningthe content ,and the tyaching of English and language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular pointof view 4bes not' imply endorsemt by the Eitecutive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the meinbersh,kp at large, except n Announcements of policy, where suchendorsement is clearly ,Pecified. 1 ,---,, .1 I Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data .Main entry under title: Murder, mischief, And mayhem. Incluae; bibliographies. , 1. MurderUnited Statesrase studie 2.Research. 3.Report writing. I.Kraus, W. Keitl HV6524.M87 808'.023. ; 78-9495 ISBN '0-8141-3220,0 r k ) 3 . Si CONTENTS . 4 t Introduction 1 . ) , THE PAPERS , , . Dr. Jacob' RosenzweigAbortionist .- 7 Vicki Bennett, ' . v The CrimiP Career of Laura Fair . .., 19 Mark S. Daniel The Bannock Indian War 31 .1.4Kevin Hensel . The Execution of WilliamKemmler: Thyirst Man to Die in_the Eltctric Chair, 42 Brbara Hornbaker z The Last Bare Knuckle Prize Fight in America L 51 William Calaman Reverend Hans Schmidt: Physician, 'Priest, Murderer 64 Linda Trznadel Grace Humiton, The First Woman Detective 75 TimMcC.arl The Murder of Red Cassidy. 92 Vicki. Kant The Cocos Island Treasure Expeditions 103 . Grant Mahon p The Axe and Fire Murder of Major Everett S. Cofran S. 115 0 Ralph Hultin . 4 e: THE PROCESS , ea"t Guidelines for Researching-and Writing about a Newsger Case' *-4-- Library Research Exercises le Preparation and Research . Writing the Paper Mischief and Ma-yhem An',Annotated List Of Topics Tr tl im r. s. INIRODUCTg)N...OR RESEARCH PAPERS DON'T BITE® V . P k This book i,s not meant to be simply another style o high schools teach the research paper as part of manual for writing college research papers. There he college survival kit, and colldges- seeit as a'''''" ,. c are plenty of those around and I don't really believe survivalkitfor graduate school, and graduate er, this text works under schools hold that it is preparation for'the time when another one rs needed. Ra .-s the assumption that freshm ti research and research a person undertakes original reseaireh. Thus, the' papers can be interesting, an idea so heretical I'm high school research papellois really designed as almost afraid to advance it. Histprically,the fresh- training for laboratory research, although no one man research paper was never designel to be worth- seeins ,to see it that wa,y. The stand taken in this while or interesting in itself, itas and alas still is .boOk is that research .can be interesting in its own - s in many cases, a trial balloon, a steppingstone, an .right, that real research is indeed possible for fresh- exercise, a preparation for graduate school and men. and that skills learned in doing a research beyond. At its zenith it is a means for scholars and paper can have immediate applicalion. , ,scientists to communicate akotit original insestiga: Actually, the method presented lere was devel- tions, but at any lower revel it is a .dry run. In oped out Of the-frustration Li& after readingstack graduate school the research paper is written to of badly clone freshman- research papers on Mob)), prose that one can in estigate and organize material Dick. My papers were of the classic scissors-and- just like a full-fledged member of the profession, in 'paste type with quotations lamely, held together college it is to prose one is rea,cly for graduate school with weal, transitional sentences interrupted by bad (or as "practice for youl-4th7\courses"), and on the attempts at paraphrase. Or worse, I (child 01 that high school lesel it is taught ecause "students will one book in the bibliography accounted for 90 have to write research papers college." (Perhaps percent of the paper, or still worse, the book wasn't for this reason 'English has come to be called a m the bibliography. Or much ;worse; it probably "service course.") It even results in a strange kind of came from the Mob Duk cheater sold by flay praise for the exercise, When high schools ask" friendly college bookstore. .. former students what. work in English has probed papers themselves were dulllacks asclear the most valuable, the research paper is insatiably . focus,""the transition is weak between sentence's," at the top of the list. Students without the high' "the stykeis too informal," "single space quotations . ' school experience are ofteri in the position described over file lines,"really dull. Of course I had a few ', by this bewildered freshman. r .good papers,ut even they tended to be dull. It took My first day of class,, I was told to hand in a 15-page me weeks to mark them, and Ihad to make up little analysis of two books at the end of the week. got an F correction games to force myself through the read- , of course, the professor said the writing was adequate ing: "Today I'll read only, papers in red plastic . a i d the content all right, but the form was all wrong. I folders." But then I Stumbled upon a clue. di n't krtvsv what he was talking about until a friend I devised a series of library exercises. to acquaint i tol. me how to do footnotes and bibliographies:1 students with general reference works such as the dine-Allen, "What College Students Wish They'dl-lad New York Times Index, The headers' Guide, Book in SewEnglish," ,English Journal. 53 (1964), 607 Reviezil Digest, etc. Not that I really planned/ to have 44. o , 2 _Murder, Miscliief, and Mayhem my class use these sources in writing their papers, mater -'to select from a mass of inforniation the but I found that most freshmen have rarely used any key 'elements, facts, details, and quotationsi needed _ . referenceother than The Readers: Guide and have a to construct a paper of.about two thousand words., G. .. deeply rooted fear of, a college library. My goal was Second, I- wanted Lases that evended over 'a Period to give, them practical eip,ostire'tu standard indexes of years in which new, 'developments kept appearing and reference materials, acquaint them with and confusing the issue: This paper v. as going to be library's rapidly expanding micro-resources, and Is' a legitimate test of a 'student's ability to researchancl suspect, sake my guilt in the course by.