Introduction
Senior English students in Atlanta public schools are required to complete a senior research paper. Booker T. Washington High School has assigned a "career paper," which ends up reading like a fifth grade career report. While very appropriate for a communication skills or business technology class, the career paper is out of place in British and World Literature, and its lack of literary focus does little to prepare students for English "101" in college. I have tried to find a way to make the assignment a real research paper by having students examine a controversy within their chosen career, but my students find it hard to make the connections needed for higher level thinking. When completing the career assignment the student never really utilizes all facets of Bloom's Taxonomy. I wish to make the research paper more interesting while still addressing Bloom's dimensions and, more importantly, to create a paper more appropriate for seniors preparing to enter college.
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