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Fall, Junior Year

The third component of the Scholars IRP is the "Notes on Sources".  This page specifies:

1. what is expected of students in “Notes on Sources”;
2. how mentors evaluate Notes;
3. how and to whom students submit Notes; and
4. how and to whom mentors submit their evaluations of Notes.

Follow these links to learn:

• the deadline for student submissions of the IRP Notes;
• the date when mentors are requested to submit their evaluations of these Notes; and
• why these evaluations matter; what consequences they have for students.

1. Expectations

Through this IRP component, students show some of what they have learned from the study of their sources. They show this in a very concrete way: by submitting copies of their notes to their mentors. 

IRP Notes may take various forms.  Most preferable are type-written notes recording pertinent information (e.g., facts, data, definitions, opinions, claims, interpretations, arguments, etc.) that the student has garnered from her sources.  Some students may prefer to submit copies of articles that they have highlighted or otherwise annotated. 

Whatever form a student’s notes take, her notes on each individual source must:

• label clearly their source (e.g., provide bibliographical information for the relevant book or article);
• indicate clearly the location within the source for particular information (i.e., the page number(s) where some fact, definition, etc. is found);
• be at least one page in length.

The list of sources for a student’s project may well change; a student may have added some sources that were not on his Initial Bibliography and dropped some that were on it.  Whatever sources may appear on a student’s current bibliography, he is required to provide notes for at least 10 of them.  Of these, at least 5 must be from each of the two disciplines that his study involves.

Notes should be arranged carefully.  In most cases, it will be advisable to insert them in a 3-ring binder or folder.  Needless to say, disorganized piles of papers are not acceptable.  However a student arranges them, she must provide a separate copy for each mentor. 

Work that students devote to preparing this component of the project pays rich dividends when the student writes the first draft of her IRP in the Spring of the Junior year.

2. Evaluation
Mentors assign “IRP Notes” a grade of “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” to the IRP Notes of their students.

In order to earn a grade of Satisfactory, a student’s Notes must:

• record information or ideas garnered from at least 10 sources; and
• make use of the "tools" of two distinct academic disciplines—concretely, at least five of the ten required sources must be from the primary discipline underlying the student’s project, and at least five from the secondary discipline.

In addition, a student who submits satisfactory notes has, for each of her sources:

• labelled clearly their source (e.g., provided bibliographical information for the relevant book or article);
• indicated clearly the location within the source for particular information (i.e., the page number(s) where some fact, definition, etc. is found); and
• prepared notes for each source that are at least one page in length.

Students are expected to confer with their mentors regularly while preparing their Notes.  They are also expected to consult them after the Notes have been evaluated. At a minimum, students should confer with each mentor at least once prior to submitting the Notes and at least once after they have been evaluated.

If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for his work on IRP Notes, he is entitled to rework it and submit for a second evaluation, according to a defined procedure. If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for resubmitted work on IRP Notes, he faces dismissal from the Scholars Program.

Click here for information about the procedures governing IRP submissions and resubmissions.

 
3. Student Submission Procedure

Students are required to place paper copies of their IRP Notes in the office mailboxes of two people:

• their Primary Mentors; and
• their Secondary Mentors.

They are also required to send an e-mail to four people confirming that their Notes have been submitted:

• her Primary Mentor
• her Secondary Mentor
• the Scholars Assistant
• the Scholars Director

Students must state their full names in the e-mail accompanying your submission as well as the names of their mentors (“Today I placed paper copies of my IRP Notes in the office mailboxes of my mentors. My mentors are Prof. Ostrow and Prof. Flynn. —John Smith”).

Both the paper copies and e-mail are due by noon on the due date. Click here for the due date. Failure to submit IRP Notes by the deadline is grounds for dismissal from the Program; click here for further information.

As noted above, IRP Notes should not be disorganized piles of paper, but carefully arranged records of study and reading. In most cases, it will be preferable to submit IRP Notes in a three-ring binder.

Students with questions or concerns about the Submission Procedure are asked to contact the Scholars Assistant.

4. Grade Submission Procedure for Mentors

Mentors are asked to submit a grade of “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” for work on the IRP Notes.

The criteria governing evaluation are specified above (see § 2 above).

We request that grades be submitted via e-mail to the Scholars Assistant and copied to the Scholars Director. Once grades from both mentors have been received, the Scholars Assistant will forward them to individual students and their mentors.

Grades for IRP Notes are due from Mentors within two weeks of their submission by students,
Click here for the exact date that grades for IRP Notes are due.

If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for his work on IRP Notes, he is entitled to rework it and submit for a second evaluation, according to a defined procedure.

Click here for information for the procedures governing Unsatisfactory first submissions.

If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for resubmitted work on IRP Notes, or fails to submit work as required, he may be dismissed from the Scholars Program.