ITE 120 Assignment Playbook

For this ITE 120 capstone assignment, you will

• compare at least 3 prospective colleges or universities you would consider attending after completing your studies at PVCC, OR compare 3 items or activities (such as animals, sports, etc.)
• present the information using various tools: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and AccessBefore you begin working on your assignment, make sure to read the assignment instructions until you understand what is expected of you. If you have questions about your assignment, please contact your instructor.

When comparing colleges/universities, follow the process below.

Read the assignment instructions very closely, so you can understand what your instructor wants you to do. If there's something you don't understand, contact your instructor right away. I can't stress this enough.

Select the colleges and/or universities that you're interested in.  For this example, we will choose Virginia Commonwealth University, Stanford, and University of Pittsburgh.

Jot down what information you think would be useful for you to compare. Some items you could compare:  location, campus setting, campus housing availability, cost, and student-to-faculty ratio.

Look for information about each of your choices. The best tool to start researching colleges and universities is the College Navigator, maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics. It's easy to search and you get a lot of information about the institutions.

To search,  type in the name of the university (for example, Stanford). You will get a result like this:

Click on the "i" for very useful general information, or on the name, for very comprehensive information about many things related to the institution.

Check rankings, if this is important to you. The best ranking site is the U.S. News & World Report  Education Rankings.

Use the search box at the top and type in the institution's name (for example, Stanford). You will get the ranking (Stanford is ranked No. 3 in national universities), and some more information about the institution.

Visit your chosen institutions' websites. Here you can find things such as phone numbers, photos of the campus, information about specific majors, information about local events and things to do around town,  and more.

With all this information, you are now ready to write your essay and prepare all the other required documents. If you need more help, consult a librarian. See the "Need Help?" section below.

When comparing items (such as sports, activities, animals, etc.), follow the process below, and keep in mind that a comparison essay discusses similarities AND differences.

Select the items you will compare and the criteria you will use to compare them

• Example 1
  • Items: tomato plant, corn plant, & zucchini plant
  • Potential Criteria: General description | Leaves | Stem | Flowers | Fruit | Type of soil needed | Light needs |Watering needs | Hardiness zone | When to plant | When to harvest | Specific pests and how to control them
• Example 2
  • Items: baseball, football, & soccer
  • Potential Criteria: Number of players | Type of playing field | Major rules and regulations | Major competitions | Professional associations

Focus your essay

Depending on the length of the essay, you may need to trim the number of criteria you discuss. If you have a lot of room, you can use many criteria, but if your essay is short, you may want to focus on a smaller number of criteria, or even just one. For Example 1, after a brief description of similarities and differences, you could focus on a single aspect, such as pest control for each plant.  For Example 2, after a brief overview of similarities and differences, you could focus on the major competitions for each sport.

Find sources

The type of source you will use will depend on what you are comparing:

• A good starting point is Gale eBooks, which offers encyclopedias and manuals that provide general information on many different topics.
• Books can also be very useful for this type of essay; and you don't have to use the entire book. Just look at the chapters and pick the most useful one. To find books, go to the library's home page and search under FIND BOOKS.
• Websites can be useful as well, though their quality and reliability can be all over the place. Use the CRAAP method to evaluate their usefulness to your project.

Consult a librarian

Reach out to a librarian if you need help putting together your essay. Librarians can help you learn how to work smarter, not harder, and this will help you succeed, as well as increase your chances of a higher grade. See the "Need Help?" section below for more information.

• For help finding resources, use the information in the library's playbooks. Librarians can help you understand the playbooks, but they cannot conduct research for you.
• For help with formatting citations, please consult the library's citation styles playbooks. Please note the librarians cannot help you with citation generators or with any citation guide other than the library's. 
• For help with composition issues (such as spelling, grammar, flow, etc.), please visit the Writing Center.
• If you have questions, please email the  librarians at reference@pvcc.edu, visit the library and speak with a librarian, or connect via chat. If your section has an embedded librarian, contact that specific librarian.