Deforestation in Brazil

Year 9 Humanities – Economics & Business

Guided Inquiry Project

A GUIDED INQUIRY is primarily a RESEARCH TASK in which you address a complex question relating to our current area of study. The question for this inquiry is:

Create an economic profile of a country of your choice* and evaluate how its economy is performing.

*South American or African counties only unless otherwise instructed by your teacher.

Before you can conduct your research, however, you need to be clear about WHAT you are looking for and HOW you are going to go about finding it. You need to establish an AIM for your research or you will waste a lot of time.

This is your MAJOR ASSESSMENT TASK FOR THIS TERM. You will receive one grade at the end of the task which will represent your combined score for all the tasks listed below.

TASK: RESEARCH PLAN FIRST DRAFT FINAL REPORT TOTAL:

MARKS: /10 /10 /30 /50

REPORT: Your final written report needs to be between 1,000 -1,500 words

It should include the following:

• INTRODUCTION, BODY AND CONCLUSION

• INCORPORATING AT LEAST 3-4 DIFFERENT ECONOMIC ISSUES OF YOUR CHOSEN COUNTRY

• ANY RELEVANT MAPS, TABLES, DIAGRAMS OR CHARTS

• SUB-HEADINGS, CAPTIONS, ETC as appropriate

• BIBLIOGRAPHY listing your sources (at least six different sources must be included – mixture of web sites and other sources. Use the IRC guidelines on how to create a bibliography and use of quotes.)

STEP 1: ENGAGE WITH THE TOPIC (BRAINSTORM - GROUP TASK)

Form a group of 3-4 people.

What are some of your initial thoughts about the question? Try listing some of the different issues you might be interested in and what the causes might be. (Perhaps use a thinking tool i.e. SHEEPT factors to start your thinking.)

STEP 2: REFINE & DEFINE (RESEARCH PLAN)

What do you need to know? Where will you find this information? Where are you likely to find the most reliable and up-to-date information? Is it possible to use both primary and secondary sources of information?

STEP 3: ORGANISE & DEVELOP (RESEARCH)

You will receive guidance in doing your research from the library staff and your teachers. It is important that you make use of the opportunities that you are given and draw your research from a variety of different sources.

STEP 4: SYNTHESISE & CREATE (DRAFT REPORT)

Choose the information you will include and begin compiling it into your final report. You can think about maps, charts, diagrams, sub-headings, etc at this stage, but don’t worry about presentation yet. Make sure your information is relevant and accurate first.

STEP 5: FINAL REPORT

Now is the time to carefully proof-read your draft, checking for any errors, tidying up the formatting, checking your referencing, etc. This is the piece you will submit for