Description
Choose one of the two topics you explored in the Project Proposal assignment. You’ve done some initial research into the topic. Now you’re going to dive much deeper.
Begin researching the topic from every possible angle. Look at peer-reviewed articles as much as you can. Read and analyze them in detail, but don’t narrow yourself to only peer-reviewed articles. Try Wikipedia reference links. See what a very general Google search turns up. Read some of the print sources in the library. See what general interest magazines such as National Geographic have to offer. Explore the depth and breadth of your topic through every possible avenue. Know it backward and forward.
Keep your topic flexible. It’s still possible to change your focus. Hang on to things loosely. Everything can change in the research process.
For the Research Essay, you must include a minimum of eight sources. This means that—in the research process—you will likely need to find more than eight. After doing so, narrow your sources down to the eight most useful. It’s important to make sure they are useful. Don’t throw sources into the paper simply to include them.
What are they adding?
How do these contribute to/change the conversation?
A minimum of three of your sources must be from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals. Of course, you can have more than three.
Write down the following entries for each of your eight sources:
1. A complete and accurate MLA Works Cited citation.
2. A few sentences summarizing the source and its contents.
3. A few sentences describing how you might use this source in the paper.
4. A few sentences describing the trustworthiness or ethos of this source.
The complete data for each entry should be about 75-100 words.
After your eight entries, include a final paragraph (50-100 words) detailing how the sources alter or evolve your research question.
What other questions do the sources ask or cause you to think about?
Has your thesis or question changed?
Have they reshaped or solidified your argument?
Your assignment should be anywhere from 600-1100 words, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced with standard one-inch margins. The length here is less important than the specificity. Please upload the file (doc, docx, or rtf) to the appropriate drop box by 11:59 PM on February 28.