Guidelines for Documentation Formats: Rationale

We in the School District of Springfield Township understand and value the concept of intellectual property.  Therefore, we strive to teach students the ethic of responsibly documenting the ideas of others in all formats.

Policy

All research-based projects/papers/presentations/posters must include documentation of sources in the forms of Works Consulted, Works Cited, and in- text documentation as required by the content.

Visual Work

Examples: triptych, poster, power point, videotape

Students must submit a Works Consulted page attached to the product (or submitted per teacher direction) as in triptych or poster, or as the last frame of the presentation (as in Power Point or videotape). Annotation of Works Consulted entries may or may not be required.

In all visual work that employs copyrighted visual material (such as clip art) students must also use in-project documentation with an accompanying Works Cited page.

Written Work

Examples: expository essay (including informative, persuasive modes), narrative (memoir, story), poem, play, formal research paper, biography, booklet, brochure

Students must submit a Works Consulted page (as in booklet, brochure, narrative, poem, play).  Annotation of Works Consulted entries may or may not be required.

In all written work that employs summary, paraphrase, or quotation, students must also use in-text documentation with an accompanying Works Cited page.

In all written work that employs copyrighted visual material (such as clip art) students must also use in-text documentation in conjunction with the Works Cited page.

Oral Work

            Examples: speech, debate, group or individual presentation, role play, simulation

Students must submit a Works Consulted page.  Annotation of Works Consulted entries may or may not be required.

  Note: Teachers may also wish to require an Acknowledgements page.  The purpose is to document the help that students received in the development of the product during the process.  Help may range from peer input and parent editing to librarian location of resources and mentor input.  Students learn intellectual integrity not only by citing sources in the Works Consulted/Works Cited, but also by using the Acknowledgements page to document all sources of help that contributed to the final product.

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