Research and Writing

Part 1 of 1:

Research Paper Proposal Assignment:

During this entire term, you will be working toward finishing a well-developed argumentative research paper. Each week, you will complete steps to help you with the writing process. This week, you will write a research paper proposal assignment, which lets your instructor know what topic you intend to write about.

The proposal should have a title in the following format: A Proposal to Investigate [your clearly defined and narrowed topic]. Please remember you should choose a researchable topic that concerns professionals within your discipline.

It must also include the following sections (use the headings as they are shown here):

⢠Introduction

In this opening section, provide an explanation about why you are investigating this topic. Answer the following questions as you justify your proposal: Why is this topic timely or important to you or to your potential readers? Why should your audience be interested?

⢠Proposed Research

The proposed research question is the most crucial part of the proposal. Your role here is to analyze and evaluate a controversy, a debate among interested parties. What are the different positions in this debate? What do you think you will find out? Do you have a tentative position or hypothesis of your own? Scroll through the library after you have viewed this weekâs required library videos. What types of sources can you find on this topic? End this section with your tentative thesis statement. Remember, a thesis statement is one clear, concise sentence. It tells readers exactly what you are going to argue within a paper. Your thesis may be modified while writing your paper. Please highlight your thesis statement.

⢠Credentials

Why are you interested in this topic? What else have you done to prepare for this study? What background do you have in relation to this topic (work, classes, life experience)? What do you already know about this topic?

Notes: This proposal should be a 1- to 2-page, double-spaced, Word document. Please ensure you pay careful attention to grammar and use the appropriate formatting (APA/MLA) for your discipline.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click "Browse My Computer" and find your file. Once you have located your file, click "Open" and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit."

Part 1 of 2:

Locating Two Scholarly Sources:

In order to effectively write an argumentative research paper, writers must learn to find scholarly peer-reviewed sources, such as journal articles and books. This assignment will allow you to become familiar with the Excelsior Library and its databases.For this research paper, you will use scholarly, peer-reviewed sources. What does peer-reviewed mean? This is what you all do in class with each otherâs essays. You look over each otherâs work and provide feedback and further insight. The same occurs in the academic world, although drafts are reviewed by scholarly peers who are very knowledgeable about the subject matter. When a writer submits a work to be published in a journal or a book, a group of peers (or an editor) looks over the work. Facts are checked. Feedback is provided. Grammar is judged. Oftentimes, the work is returned to the writer, at least once, for further revision. This process continues until the peers or editors feel the work is ready to be published.Unfortunately, this process does not occur for most websites. In fact, the Web is often the place where people can publish what they want without anyone verifying their information. Therefore, you will be limited to ONE website for this paper, and it must have one of the following âendings:â .edu or .gov.In order to begin your research, then, you must become familiar with the library. Fortunately, much of the information we are looking for can be obtained from the comfort of our homes. Although instructors can guide you to the library and give you some tips, you will still have to browse through the different library search engines. You will have to learn which databases have full-text articles (the entire article right there at your disposal) and which databases will require you to go to the library and photocopy the journal. You will have to learn to ask librarians for help when you need it. Most importantly, you will have to learn to be pro-active about researching. It takes practice, patience, and dedication.To begin this process, please research Excelsior Libraryâs databases. You need to find two scholarly sources this week. You will submit the citations for your sources in proper format (APA/MLA) for your discipline. Here is an example of a properly formatted APA journal citation:

Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3), 120-125.

Retrieved from http://www.articlehomepage.com/full/url/

Here is an example of a properly formatted MLA journal citation:

Smith, Joseph. âDeconstructing Surveillance in Dewlenâs The Bone Pickers.â American

Studies, vol. 50, no. 2, 3 Mar. 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest,

doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 14 May 2016.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click "Browse My Computer" and find your file. Once you have located your file, click "Open" and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit."

Part 2 of 1

Introduction for Your Research Paper:

For this assignment, you will submit a complete draft of your research paper introduction in the assignment drop box. Instructional resources for this assignment are retrieved from the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.As a part of the research paper process, you are required to compose a complete draft of your introduction for your research paper. The introduction is the first paragraph of the research paper. It will introduce readers to your topic, any necessary background information, and your thesis statement. The thesis statement should be the last sentence of your introduction. Please remember your introduction may change, as you continue drafting your paper. This is simply a starting place for organizing your thoughts.Please submit your completed introduction in a Word document, ensuring you have utilized proper APA/MLA formatting.Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. When youâre ready to submit your work, click Browse My Computer and find your file. Once youâve located your file click Open and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click Submit and youâre done. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Part 2 of 2

Annotated Bibliography:

For this assignment, you will submit an annotated bibliography using the discipline-specific style format.Each entry should begin with an APA, MLA, or other appropriately formatted reference followed by the annotation. Each annotation should be approximately one paragraph in length (adjusted to the length of the source). The annotations should characterize/summarize the article being discussed and give an indication of how the source will be used in the research project. The items should appear in alphabetical order and should not be numbered. Two (2) of your four (4) sources should be from peer reviewed journals. This assignment is due at the end of Module 3.Required elements:

⢠Title Page⢠Four annotated bibliography entries

Be sure to submit your project in one Word document in the appropriate style or the style pre-approved by your instructor and place it in the appropriate assignment dropbox.SampleAPAentry:

There has been a transition in U.S firearm injuries from an epidemic phase (mid-1980s to early 1990s) to an endemic one (since the mid-1990s). Endemic U.S firearm injuries merit public health attention because they exact an ongoing toll, may give rise to new epidemic outbreaks, and can foster firearm injuries in other parts of the world. The endemic period is a good time for the development of ongoing prevention approaches, including assessment and monitoring of local risk factors over time and application of proven measures to reduce these risk factors, development of means to address changing circumstances, and ongoing professional and public education designed to weave firearm injury prevention into the fabric of public health work and everyday life. This source is critical in supporting my thesis in my paper. I will use statistics and expert opinion from this source to support my assertion that better and more comprehensive firearm injury prevention educational programs need to implemented in the United States.

Reference:

Christoffel, K. (2007, April). Firearm injuries: Epidemic then, epidemic now. American Journal of

Public Health, 97(4) Retrieved from

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/A...

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. When youâre ready to submit your work, click Browse My Computer and find your file. Once youâve located your file click Open and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click Submit and youâre done. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.Evaluation CriteriaRead the Annotated Bibliography Grading Rubric [PDF file size 41.1 KB] to understand expectations for this assignment. All textbook problem assignments, together, make up 20% of the total course grade.

Part 2 of 3

Discussion :

In 350 words post one of the quotes you collected from your sources along with the title of the article where the quote appears, the page number of the quote, and then comment on the quotes of two of your peers. You need to explain how you might use the quote in your paper as a support for your argument. Make sure to offer a substantial evaluation of the quotes you respond to.

Part 3 of 1

You have already written an introduction for your argumentative research paper. Now it is time to begin drafting body paragraphs.

Draft four complete body paragraphs for your argumentative research paper. Be sure to use one or more of the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos or pathos. Please remember the following:

⢠Refer to the Module Notes for further guidance on paragraph structure.⢠Be sure you use proper APA/MLA formatting.⢠Be sure to include your introduction, which ends with a clear thesis statement.⢠Each paragraph should be a minimum of eight sentences.⢠Be sure to cite any outside source information you reference within your paragraphs.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click "Browse My Computer" and find your file. Once you have located your file, click "Open" and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit."

Evaluation Criteria

This assignment is ungraded; however, it is required that you submit it as due so that your instructor can provide feedback that will help you in subsequent graded assignments. Skills addressed include applying strategies for drafting effective body paragraphs and using scholarly research to support ideas within paragraphs, which are needed for your research paper.

Part 3 of 2

In order to write an argumentative research paper effectively, writers must think of both arguments and counterarguments. This assignment will allow you to practice developing these ideas. It also allows you to critically examine and revise your thesis statement as you analyze arguments both that support and contrast your original thesis.Visit the site, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant. Read the section on âAnticipating Opposition.â Create a Pro/Con Chart about your primary argument and try to list at least four positive and four potentially negative aspects of your argument. âNegativeâ simply means that your argument is likely to be challenged or has already been challenged by other people in your major field of study. Use Microsoft Wordâs Table menu to create your chart. You simply click Table > Insert Table and then choose the number or rows (number of items under whichever side has the most items, Pro/Con) and columns (2).Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click "Browse My Computer" and find your file. Once you have located your file, click "Open" and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit."Reference:

⢠Paradigm Online Writing Assistant. (2014). Anticipating opposition. Retrieved from http://www.powa.org/convince/anticipating-oppositi...

Evaluation Criteria

Read the SLA_PRO/CON Chart Grading Rubric [PDF file size 62 KB] to understand expectations for this assignment. This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.

Part 3 of 3

Drafting paragraphs for your argumentative research paper. In order to support the argument in your paragraphs, you must find evidence from scholarly sources. You are going to share some of your findings from your scholarly sources and offer helpful suggestions to one another.In 350 words describe an interesting piece of evidence you have discovered in reading about your topic. Explain how you might use this piece of evidence to support your argument. Further, be sure to include your thesis statement, so that your peers know your overall argument.