English Research Essay

English 1 12 , College Composition 2 Fall 20 20 , Kristin Vogt Essay # 2, Research ed Essay on an Issue in Pop Culture & Tech Due Dates: Wednesday, 10/21 : Researched essay topic: oral proposal during in -class mini -conference with instructor ; written proposal due to Canvas by midnight Monday, 11/ 2: Draft Thesis Statement due to Canvas by midnight Monday, 11/9 : First draft due b y midnight to discussion board for peer editing and to Canvas for instructor preliminary grading and feedback Fri day, 11/1 3: Editing worksheets due to peer and to instructor via Canvas (separate uploads) Wednesday, 11/18 : Final draft due by midnight * * * * * Length : Essay: 4-6 pages : 1000-1500 words — more is okay . This does NOT include the list of Works Cited, which is required. Sources: At least 5 high quality outside sources including at least 1 on each side of the question Value s: Proposal – 10 points Draft i ntroduction , t hesis & outline – 20 points First draft – required on time for final score to be recorded ; this draft will be given a preliminary grade Editing Worksheet – 20 points Final draft – 200 points Assignment: Compose a 4 -6 page essay in which you give an overview of the issue and answer the specific research question you proposed and had approved as your topic. You should develop your own stand on this question, and your essay must be driven by a strong, clear, specific and arguable thesis that serves as the blueprint for your argument . You may take one clear side in response to the question, or de velop an argument in which you show the pros and cons of both sides of the issue. English 1 12 , Fall 20 20 , Kristin Vogt Essay # 2, Researched Essay Page 2 You must use at least five high quality outside sources to provide evidence and support for your thesis . Your sources should be written by scholars and other experts and a uthorities on the topic and published by authoritative journals, newspapers, magazines and websites. These may include some of the sources your group located and reviewed for the annotated bibliography, in addition to any other sources you located in your own research. Al though you may use any of the starter articles I provide, they do not count towards your five required sources. Your sources must also deal with both sides of the issue . If you are taking a clear side to the question, you must use and respond to at least one source that offers a counter argument — an opposing view — to your thesis. If you are showing the pros and cons of each side, you will need sources that address both s ides of the question. Your final essay must include the following: • An effective introduction that includes a clear and strong thesis statement • Unified and coherent body paragraphs that develop your thesis • Relevant and specific evidence in support of your thesis that you have gathered during your research (properly attributed and cited) from at least five high quality outside sources (in addition to the starter articles if you use those ), including at least one source on each side of the issue • A conc lusion that synthesizes and shows the significance of your thesis and makes a good final impression • Proper MLA formatting for the essay • In-text citation s in MLA style for every use of an outside source, including quotes, paraphrases, and summaries • A correc tly formatted list of W orks Cited at the end of the essay • Proper grammar, mechanics, and academic style • 1000 – 1500 words (more is okay) Things to keep in mind while you are planning and writing this essay: • Topic: You will choose a very specific topic by developing a research question that you wish to answer by doing research. Your topic should address a problem related to the subject you have been assigned or the solution to a problem. For example, you may wish to research the question of how social media affects mental health. Depending on your precise area of research, you may discover that social media causes problems with mental health for certain people in certain ways OR you may find that social media helps certain people who are dealing with certain types of mental health problems. Either one is an appropriate topic for your essay, as long as you English 1 12 , Fall 20 20 , Kristin Vogt Essay # 2, Researched Essay Page 3 can provide strong evidence for the stand you will take on the issue, and as long as it is specific enough for you to cover in 4 -6 pages. • Purpose : This time, your purpose is to analyze and argue, which means you are explaining an issue and trying to convince people that your position on it is valid. • Audience : Your audience is a general audience that may include your peers, friends, family, ac ademics, researchers and policy -makers who are interested in the issue you investigate. However, you cannot assume they have read any of the same articles as you have, and you must also imagine that they may have had VERY different life experiences than you. • Evidence and use of sources : You will need to make decisions about whether to quote, summarize, paraphrase, or otherwise include data, ideas, examples, and other information from your research to support your argument. But your essa y must be essentially own composition: you cannot patch together a lot of quotes and paraphrases from your source to build your entire essay. Your evidence should support your thinking, not replace it. • Counterarguments : You must include an opposing view point on the issue, whether you are taking a clear stand on one side or the other, or describing the benefits and dangers of both sides. Sometimes you will be able to refute the entire counterargument. In other cases you may make some concessions while s till refuting a large part of the opposing view. • Organization and Style : You will need to develop a logical and coherent way of arranging your material that it is delivered effectively to the readers, so that they can follow your thinking easily and wit hout confusion. Background and philosophy: In your first essay, you practiced analysis and argument in response to one of the articles from our reading. For this paper, I ask you to broaden your approach, do some research about a general subject that I assign, develop a base of information about t he issue, identify a specific question you would like to answer, and write a paper in which you present different views and argue in favor of one position in response to your research question. You will not necessarily be responding to a single author or article, although you may find it helpful to use one as a focusing element. But your essay must include information and ideas gleaned from at least five outside sources in addition to any of the readings we have done during the semester. To help you deve lop a good bank of information to work with, you will work with a group to construct an annotated bibliography on the topic before writing your individual papers. Through out your academic career and quite probably in your work life, you will be asked to re search and analyze different subjects (sometimes of your own choosing, sometimes assigned by your professor or manager), and to compose argument essays about those subjects. You will be expected to locate appropriate sources of information in the library English 1 12 , Fall 20 20 , Kristin Vogt Essay # 2, Researched Essay Page 4 and online, including both print and electronic resources. Assignments will require you to compose essays in which you summarize, analyze, and synthesize information from a variety of materials, develop an argument, defend your case, and cite the sources that you have consulted. Many times in both college and the workplace, you will also need to work with a group to collaborate on a project. This researched essay assignment is designed to help you develop effective collaboration, research, argument, and writing skills, and to prepare you to succeed in future college assignments and courses, as well as in your chosen career . I hope it will also provide an opportunity for you to think and write about an interesting and potentially important cultural topic . A detailed scoring rubric is posted to Canvas as a separate document . Topics and group assignments are posted to Canvas as a separate document within the Unit 2 Module.