American Sign Language (ASL)

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Research Paper Instructions:

Instructions for how to write a paper that gets you an "F" for the course:

1. Browse the internet and cut and paste until you have 500 words worth of plagiarized information.
2. Change a word here and there. Rearrange the information a bit.
3. Format it really nice.
4. Put your name on it and send it in.

Instructions on how to write a "D" paper:

1. Pick an ASL topic that looks easy.
2. Get a few lame references from some blog off the net that can't be traced.
3. Write 500 words the night before it is due.

Instructions on how to write an "A" paper:

Checklist:

Is the topic an ASL topic? (Don't hand in a paper on "cochlear implants curing deafness.")
Is my report 500 words or more?
Did I do a research paper rather than a “book report?” (Book reports are fine if that is the assignment you are supposed to be doing. This checklist is for "research papers" --not book reports.)
Did I document where I got my information? Did I cite at least 3 enduring, traceable sources of information in my references?
Even if I have changed "every word" in the sentence-- if I've borrowed someone else's idea--did I provide a reference?
Did I use parenthetical expressions (citations) at the end of ideas that I've gotten from other people? Do these citations correspond to full references at the end of the paper? Citations in the body of my paper use an opening parenthesis, author's last name, comma, year of publication and a closing parenthesis. For example (Vicars, 2001).
At the end of my document I have provided a list of references that include the author's last name and first initial, the publication date, the name of the article, book, or journal, the publisher and the place of publication. [Dr. Bill recommends "APA style" references.]
I have avoided quoting directly out of books or articles, but when it was absolutely necessary to do so I have made sure to cite the exact page number in my reference entry at the end of my research paper.
Any time I used an author’s ideas word for word; did I put those words in quote marks?
Did I limit the number of direct quotes in my paper? Did I limit the length of the quotes? (No paragraph-long quotes.)
I have used online references only if I've been able to ascertain the actual author's name, date of publication, title of the document, and name of the publisher. Even so, I’ve still provided at least three other references that are more permanent in nature.
If I’ve needed to write less than 500 words I secured permission from the instructor.
I have grammar checked my document.
My paper contains fewer than three misspellings? (Preferably none.)
I know the deadline for when this paper is due.
I have submitted my report in electronic format prior to the due date.
I know that this paper might be published by Lifeprint and I give them permission.

Research Paper Guidelines:

Item:

Needs improvement

Okay/good

Excellent

500 words or more

Fewer than 500 words.

500 words that for the most part make sense and sort of flow well.

500 words that make sense and flow well.

3 or more citations in the body of the article.

No mention in your article of where you got your ideas from.

Less than 3 citations included or incorrect format.

3 citations, in correct format.

3 or more references at the bottom that go with the citations.

No reference list at the bottom of your article telling people how to find the material from which you got your ideas.

Less than 3 references included, incorrect format, or can't backtrack to the actual information.

3 complete and traceable references to credible sources.

Acceptable references at ASL University:

In the body of your document just use the last name of the author and the year, for example, (Vicars, 2001). Then at the end of your document you put the word "references" followed by a list of the books and articles which influenced your writing.

If reference is a book:
Author's last name, first initial. (year). Title of book-- underline it. Place of publication: Name of publisher.
Example:

Vicars, W. (1998). Sign Me Up! Salt Lake City, Utah: Lifeprint Institute.

If reference is a Journal:
Author's last name, first name. (year). Title of journal article only capitalize the first letter. Name of journal underline it. Volume number, starting page number-ending page number.
Example:

Smith, John. (1999). Teaching ASL online. Journal of ASL. 7, 139-156.

If you find an online source that specifies the actual author's name, date of publication, title of the document, and name of the publisher--(good luck)--I'll accept the reference. Note, this must be from an original source document on the web, do not quote someone else's research paper.

If reference is a web page:
Author's last name, first name. (Year, Mo. day). Title of the article or web page goes here, underline it and only capitalize the first letter and words that are always capitalized. Title of the journal, general website, or book goes here . Name of the publisher or the sponsoring organization goes here. Retrieved day Mo. Year: <full web address>.
Example:

Vicars, William. (2001, Jan. 4). Nonlinguistic communication. Lifeprint Library. ASL University. Retrieved 12, Feb. 2001: <http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/nonlinguisticcommunication.htm>.

Hawk, Lori. (2007, Aug. 22). Hearts and Hands: ASL Poetry. Lifeprint Library. ASL University. Retrieved 06, Sept. 2007: http://lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/poetry.htm.

Topics you might want to consider using:
ASL as a World Language (The worldwide spread of ASL)
National Center for Law and the Deaf
American Society for Deaf Children
Artistic Signing
Countries, States, and Cities
Deaf Smith
Drug usage and Deaf people
Telecommunication Relay Services
Video Phones and the Deaf
Facial Expression and Non-Manual Cues
Formal vs. Informal Signing
Furniture Vocabulary
Gender and ASL
Historical Change and ASL
Iconicity of Signs
Idioms
Incorporation of Intensity
Incorporation of Time
Indexing on the Non-Dominant Hand
Inflections: Regularity and Duration
Interpreters in the Educational Setting
Juncture Markers
Kinds of Sentences
Law and the Deaf
Laurent Clerc
Loan Signs
Mental Illness and the Deaf
Miss Deaf America Pageant
Name Signs
National Captioning Institute
National Fraternal Society of the Deaf
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
National Theater for the Deaf
Non-Manual Cues in Expressing Time
Non-manual Cues
Noun-Verb Pairs
Ordinal Numbers
Passive Voice in ASL
Person Marker
Role Taking
Samuel Heinicke
SimCom
Speechreading: "Why it isn't enough"
Numbering in ASL
Telecommunications for the Deaf
Temporal Adverbs
Time Line
Total Communication
Technology and the Deaf

Research Paper Guidelines:
Item:	Needs improvement	Okay/good	Excellent
500 words or more	Fewer than 500 words.	500 words that for the most part make sense and sort of flow well.	500 words that make sense and flow well.
3 or more citations in the body of the article.	No mention in your article of where you got your ideas from.	Less than 3 citations included or incorrect format.	3 citations, in correct format.
3 or more references at the bottom that go with the citations.	No reference list at the bottom of your article telling people how to find the material from which you got your ideas.	Less than 3 references included, incorrect format, or can't backtrack to the actual information.	3 complete and traceable references to credible sources.