Tahlia Scherer, Features Editor
What Is It?
The Junior Research Paper, more commonly referred to as the JRP, is a graduation requirement that has been in place for over 20 years. AP Language and Composition teacher, Robert Darken, explains that all juniors are expected to partake in the JRP at some point during their junior year. “The JRP is what we call an assured experience. All juniors are assured of having this experience twice,” he said. “In the first semester, they do a JRP in their English class, and in their second semester, they do a JRP again in their social studies class. This helps the English and Social Studies Department to be more aligned in their instruction.”
Social Studies Department Chair Michael Forcucci states that while both essays are research-based, their focuses are largely different. “The English JRP takes place in the first semester with a focus on the process – structure, writing style and organization,” Mr. Forcucci said. “The hope is that in the second semester Juniors can then apply all those skills to the history JRP, such that history teachers can emphasize the content more – finding substantive sources, putting forth rational arguments, and communicating them clearly.”
According to Librarian Michelle Luthala, it is required that Juniors pass at least one JRP. “The graduation standard is that Juniors have to pass one of two research papers or they are assigned another research paper in health. The goal is to demonstrate that students have mastery over the research process.”
Process
Ms. Luthala and fellow librarian, Monica Sheehan, have developed an extensive research process which lays the groundwork for the JRP. “We have built a plethora of materials around the WISER research process and worked with both the history teachers and the English teachers to calibrate grading and the approach,” Ms. Luthala said.
English teachers like Mr. Darken rely on the JRP to assess students on their ability to follow this research process. “I need to know, with some degree of confidence, that students understand how to move through the research steps. They have to show their thinking,” he said.
Junior AP Language and Composition student, Emilia Martinez, approached the JRP with the first step of the research process, wondering. “I looked at current events and news sources, to learn about topics that are happening in the world right now,” she said. “Once I found a concept, l looked at specific research that answered the question I found myself asking about my specific topic. Once I found the materials that I thought worked with my topic, my writing to really began to flow.”
Ms. Luthala introduced a point about the role of Artificial Intelligence in relation to student research. “We had a conversation about Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the district level, and they gave us a bunch of scenarios about the effects of AI, both positive and negative,” she said. “One of the scenarios was the research process for a research paper. I bristled and stuck my hand up and said, ‘there is a cognitive piece to creating this assignment which is an essential learning tool for life skills.’ I think that’s really the reason behind the research paper,” she said. “The JRP isn’t necessarily for juniors to talk about renewable energy and cars or social media’s impact on teens, but we invite them to choose a topic that is of interest to them so that they enjoy the cognitive experience.”
Significance
The JRP is not simply another dreadful essay that teachers assign to students to torture them. The essay holds important implications for the futures of students. “The hope is that it will show that students can do what’s expected of a citizen in a democracy – students need to be able to draw their own conclusions and communicate those conclusions,” said Mr. Forcucci. “Those are historical thinking skills, but they’re also what’s required of a democratic citizen – which might be a quaint idea, but us history teachers hold onto that pretty tightly,” Mr. Forcucci said.
The JRP lays a fundamental foundation for a future of informed decision-making in our American democracy. “Juniors are on the verge of being citizens. It can be seen in the news that a lot of citizens are not very well educated and make choices that are not based on facts or that go against their own self interest. School should be able to teach you to find evidence, assess evidence and use that evidence to make decisions that are good decisions for yourself and for your community,” Mr. Darken said.
In fact, the lasting effect of the JRP may be even more short term than that. “Former students are just blown away with how their work on the JRP has then helped them with some of their first college writing pieces. No matter where you end up, college, or somewhere else, or in any kind of job, you’re going to have to take information, and you’re going to have to be able to synthesize it, and to come up with an argument, in lots of different areas of life,” junior English teacher Megan Magilnick said.
“The JRP teaches cognitive processing skills. It teaches a process that can be applied to everything from buying a car, to going on a trip, planning a Thanksgiving meal, to choosing the right time to start a family,” said Ms. Luthala. “The goal is that somehow that research model goes into your brain and becomes applied to things all over your life,” Ms. Luthala said.
(Bad?) Reputation
Hold back your tears, the JRP is not as bad as it seems (underclassmen, stop letting those upperclassmen scare you!).
“The JRP is usually seen as this big, daunting task that a lot of upperclassmen scare you with, so I thought it was going to be impossible to do. But it really wasn’t,” said Emilia. “My teacher did a great job at breaking down each of the steps in the research and writing process to make the whole experience easy and enjoyable.”
“When I first started here, all I knew about the JRP was that it was very scary. However, the more I’ve done it, the more I think that if you approach it with an open mind, it’s not as daunting as its reputation,” said Mrs. Magilnick.
Junior AP Language and Composition student Seb Seiradakis demystifies the JRP’s bad reputation. “Going into the JRP, I expected to be very overwhelmed and have a lot of tedious work. However, contrary to its preconceived notions, the JRP wasn’t stressful or overwhelming whatsoever because we were provided plenty of time and all the necessary resources to do well on it. Similarly, although there was a solid amount of preparation, it was for the best as it helped me stay on top of my work and succeed in writing the JRP.
Although maybe it isn’t just those upperclassmen spreading false information. “I hope it doesn’t sound scary and horrible, although I probably bear some responsibility for that,” Ms. Luthala said. “The goal is not necessarily to get scared about the research paper, but to start to take research more seriously than students did in middle school, so that students are more critical about the sources they choose and how they consume the information in those sources.”
The reputation that precedes the JRP is understandable, but not quite founded in truth. “It’s a sustained project over a period of weeks. So, in that sense, I get why it seems daunting. On the other hand, for many students, once they’ve done all that work, it practically writes itself – and I think a lot of students have that experience,” Mr. Darken said.
“The JRP process is a really tough recipe to follow. But, those skills teach your brain to do things that you will employ across the board throughout your life. And that’s really, that’s the fundamental objective,” Mrs. Luthala said.
Topics
Generally, most JRP topics are related to relevant parts of the junior curriculum, such as the American Dream and The Great Gatsby. More generally, students are asked to write about either modern American society or aspects of American history.
Interesting Topics:
- Transgender Athletes
- Mass Incarceration of Minorities
- Roberto Clemente and the Civil Rights Movement
- Social Media and Teens
- Mistreatment of Skateboarding as Recreational Activity
- Cyberattacks
- 3-D Printing and Medicine
- AI
- Renewable Energy Sources
Some Tips From the Professionals
Some tips from JRP professionals:
Mr. Forcucci: Do what your teacher asks. We have really dedicated and hardworking teachers here who put a lot of thought into laying things out such that it’s manageable and not stressful, but the trap is to not make use of the free time you’re given to work on it and complete an entire research project on the last night – which is not feasible.
Mr. Darken: Choose a topic that you really care about, and ask a good, provocative question that is going to guide you to find resources that are interesting.
Make sure you read sources that come from different points of view because the purpose of the JRP is not for you to have a gut-level take on a topic and then simply go and find the sources that reinforce your point of view. Too many Americans do that already. You have to take the different points of view seriously. You can’t go into it thinking, well I’m gonna read these sources but I already think these people are idiots.
Seb: Stay organized and on top of your work. Falling behind may hinder your success in writing your JRP. As long as you submit your work on time and put in all your effort, you’ll do well!
Emilia: Choose a topic that you’re really interested in. If you choose something that fascinates you, you’re going to want to research and write about your topic. It makes the whole process a lot more fun.
