For this assignment, you'll begin to develop a structure for your essay by thinking about and writing a detailed response to all prompts below. In order to complete this assignment, answer questions 1

For this assignment, you'll begin to develop a structure for your essay by thinking about and writing a detailed response to all prompts below.

In order to complete this assignment, answer questions 1-5 and respond to both reflection bullet points. Be sure your total word count is well above 400 words so that you are responding and reflecting in enough detail to provide a full analysis. When finished, upload your written response to USF Writes.

1. Introduce the research problem or question and the rationale for exploring it.

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  • Explain the issue or the problem
  • Describe the surrounding context if relevant
  • What would make someone curious about it? What would make someone want to read more about the topic?

1. Establish the significance of the problem or question and why readers should care about it.

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  • How many people are affected?
  • What aspects of our society are affected?
  • What difference will it make in people’s lives?
  • Why is this particular question significant?

1. Describe and analyze what has already been written or said by others about the topic.

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  • Who has made a significant contribution to the conversation (existing research) about this?
  • Who are the strongest, most credible voices in the conversation?
  • What have they said and how does that relate to your research question?
  • What important questions do these other voices raise for you?

1. Explain what you find to be the most significant or key answer to the research question?

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  • In the end, which voices were most convincing? Why?
  • What aspects of the conversation turned out to be most important? Why?
  • What might you add to the conversation?
  • What do you want to say?

1. Describe what you’ve come to understand about the topic that you didn’t fully appreciate when you began the project. What is left to explore? What would others still want to know?

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  • What difference will the discoveries you made about your topic make in your life? In your readers’ lives? In the lives of any specific audience to which your essay might be targeted?
  • What do you remain curious about?
  • What questions remain unanswered or what issue is unresolved?
  • What directions might you take if you were to continue to explore the topic?
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  • What do you want to say?

Reflection:

After you have developed your response to the questions above, write a reflection on the following prompts:

• Consider and identify anything you can’t answer, any areas you might need more sources to support, or any questions that come up. Even if you can’t answer all the prompts above, do you have enough to start to develop a structure for your essay that will guide your writing? What other information/material/sources might help?
• Can you imagine using this structure to build on and can you imagine adding evidence from the sources you have to each of your points? Can you envision how you might provide analysis of all that evidence? Can you determine a clear thesis that represents your essay and to which all your other points will connect? Can you see ahead to a possible conclusion that gives readers a sense of what’s most important to know about your topic? How do you envision your research essay starting to take shape -- which parts are strong and which need some strengthening.